As evidenced by the previous list from Waterstones, this appears to be the year when British book critics abandon all pretense of selectivity, and simply try to make everyone happy. Can a “best books of the year” list that runs to 39 titles really be discerning? How about 44? That’s the length of the following two inventories from the London Times . The “ Best Crime Books of 2023 ” were chosen by reviewer Joan Smith, while the “ Best Thriller Books of 2023 ” come from John Dugdale.
Best Crime Books of 2023:
• Past Lying , by Val McDermid (Sphere)
• The Prey , by Yrsa Sigurdardottir
• The Great Deceiver , by Elly Griffiths (Quercus)
• Stigma , by Jørn Lier Horst and Thomas Enger (Orenda)
• Everybody Knows , by Jordan Harper (Faber and Faber)
• The Mystery of the Tree House , by Lesley Thomson (Head of Zeus/Aries)
• The Pit , by Peter Papathanasiou (MacLehose Press)
• The Raging Storm , by Ann Cleeves (Macmillan)
• Prom Mom , by Laura Lippman (Faber and Faber)
• Reykjavik , by Ragnar Jónasson and Katrín Jakobsdóttir (Michael Joseph)
• All Her Secrets , by Jane Shemilt (HarperCollins)
• Someone You Know , by Erin Kinsley (Headline)
• Murder in the Family , by Cara Hunter (HarperFiction)
• The Contest , by Karen Hamilton (Wildfire)
• Case Sensitive , by A.K. Turner (Zaffre)
• Standing in the Shadows , by Peter Robinson (Hodder & Stoughton)
• Midnight , by Amy McCulloch (Michael Joseph)
• Black Fell , by Mari Hannah (Orion)
• The Dead Don’t Speak , by Clair Askew (Hodder & Stoughton)
• Killing Moon , by Jo Nesbø (Harvill Secker)
• The Invisible Web , by Oliver Bottini (MacLehose Press)
• The Last Songbird , by Daniel Weizmann (Melville House)
• The Detective , by Ajay Chowdhury (Harvill Secker)
• The Lock-Up , by John Banville (Faber and Faber)
• The Girl by the Bridge , by Arnaldur Indridason (Vintage)
• The Monk , by Tim Sullivan (Head of Zeus/Aries)
• Cut Adrift , by Jane Jesmond (Verve)
• Eleven Liars , by Robert Gold (Sphere)
• Freeze , by Kate Simants (Viper)
• Tokyo Express , by Seicho Matsumoto (Penguin Classics)
• The Broken Afternoon , by Simon Mason (Riverrun)
• The Blood Line , by Will Shindler (Hodder & Stoughton)
• The Last Remains , by Elly Griffiths (Quercus)
• Exiles , by Jane Harper (Macmillan)
• Stay Buried , by Kate Webb (Quercus)
• Dead Man’s Creek , by Chris Hammer (Wildfire)
• The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels , by Janice Hallett (Viper)
• Blink of an Eye , by Jo Callaghan (Simon & Schuster UK)
• The Other Half , by Charlotte Vassell (Faber and Faber)
Best Thriller Books of 2023:
• The Secret , by Lee Child and Andrew Child (Bantam)
• Kennedy 35 , by Charles Cumming (HarperCollins)
• Geneva , by Richard Armitage (Faber and Faber)
• The Year of the Locust , by Terry Hayes (Bantam)
• Bright Young Women , by Jessica Knoll (Macmillan)
• The Beaver Theory , by Antti Tuomainen (Orenda)
• The Exchange , by John Grisham (Hodder & Stoughton)
• Traitors Gate , by Jeffrey Archer (HarperCollins)
• The Trap , by Catherine Ryan Howard (Bantam)
• The Lie Maker , by Linwood Barclay (HQ)
• The Traitor , by Ava Glass (Penguin)
• All the Little Liars , by Victoria Selman (Quercus)
• Assassin Eighteen , by John Brownlow (Hodder & Stoughton)
• Kill For Me, Kill For You , by Steve Cavanagh (Headline)
• The New Wife , by J.P. Delaney (Quercus)
• None of This Is True , by Lisa Jewell (Century)
• Fearless , by M.W. Craven (Constable)
• Beware the Woman , by Megan Abbott (Virago)
• The Trial , by Rob Rinder (Century)
• Everyone Here Is Lying , by Shari Lapena (Bantam)
• The Scarlet Papers , by Matthew Richardson (Michael Joseph)
• Central Park West , by James Comey (Head of Zeus/Aries)
• Drowning , by T.J. Newman (Simon & Schuster UK)
• The End of the Game , by Holly Watt (Raven)
• Small Mercies , by Dennis Lehane (Abacus)
• No One Saw a Thing , by Andrea Mara (Bantam)
• A Good Night to Kill , by Amen Alonge (Quercus)
• The Hike , by Lucy Clarke (HarperCollins)
• No Place to Hide , by J.S. Monroe (Head of Zeus/Aries)
• The Warlock Effect , by Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nyman (Hodder & Stoughton)
• City of Dreams , by Don Winslow (HarperCollins)
• Until Proven Innocent , by Nicola Williams (Hamish Hamilton)
• The Favour , by Nicci French (Simon & Schuster UK)
• The Translator , by Harriet Crawley (Bitter Lemon Press)
• Red Queen , by Juan Gómez-Jurado (Macmillan)
• The Mother , by T.M. Logan (Zaffre)
• I Will Find You , by Harlan Coben (Century)
• Damascus Station , by David McCloskey (Swift Press)
• Look Both Ways , by Linwood Barclay (HQ)
• All The Dangerous Things , by Stacy Willingham (HarperCollins)
• The Only Suspect , by Louise Candlish (Simon & Schuster UK)
• White Riot , by Joe Thomas (Arcadia)
• In at the Kill , by Gerald Seymour (Hodder & Stoughton)
• Shadow State , by Andy McNab (Welbeck)
(Hat tip to Deadly Pleasures Mystery Magazine .)
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