While I have read fewer books in 2023 than in the last several years, it was still difficult winnowing the list down to a top ten. My list continues to be a mix of new and backlist titles, as I can never catch up on my TBR list.

10. All The Sinners Bleed – S.A. Cosby

Some readers will want to check the trigger warnings before starting S.A. Cosby’s latest. This novel is dark and grisly. However, Titus, the first Black sheriff in rural Virginia county working to uncover a brutal serial killer, has real depth. In All The Sinners Bleed, everyone pays for their sins one way or another, including Titus.

9. Sea of Tranquility – Emily St. John Mandel

Wonderfully written literary lite-science fiction. I am so often disappointed when novels attempt to weave together different points of view and jump between various points in time. However, it is a pleasure to follow along as the Sea of Tranquility unfolds.

8. Gods of Jade and Shadow – Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Gods of Jade and Shadow is a coming-of-age novel that revitalizes time-honored questing fantasy tropes by incorporating Mayan mythology in a Jazz Aged Mexico. 

7. Death on Gokumon Island – Seishi Yokomizo

Seishi Yokomizo’s Detective Kosuke Kindaichi mysteries are great fun. Each is a locked room mystery akin to Agatha Christie’s Poirot novels. Written in 1948, Pushkin Vertigo published their English translation of Death on Gokumon Island last year and has now translated five novels in the series. In Death on Gokumon Island, Kindaichi arrives at a remote island to deliver the news that the heir of a prominent family has died en route from returning from the war. However, the heir prophesied with their dying breath that the news of his death would put his sisters in harm’s way. As the prophecy starts to come true, Detective Kindaichi must work to solve the case to protect the sisters. 

6. The Grace of Kings – Ken Liu

The Grace of Kings is epic fantasy at its finest. Liu has created a rich world with a fully realized history. As a continent united under the banner of a single empire is thrust into a tumultuous uprising, two men form a bond as brothers during their efforts to overthrow the empire. However, can their friendship last as they gain political power and envision different worlds after the empire?

5. The Weaver and the Witcher – Genevieve Gronichec

Though I generally enjoy Nordic mythology and historical fiction set in Scandinavia, this surpassed my expectations. Gronichec balances historical detail with approachability, so the story never becomes a slog or confusing but flows quickly and is extremely hard to put down.

4. Seveneves – Neal Stephenson

The payoff is worth it if you stomach (or are interested in) the frequent, detailed explanations of orbital mechanics and advanced physics. Stephenson can be a bit much, but he also creates compelling, complex stories. What if the moon exploded into pieces that would begin to rain down on the world, creating an inhospitable environment for all humanity for thousands of years? Could enough humans escape to space and live long enough to re-inhabit Earth in the future? 

3. The Daughter of Doctor Moreau – Silvia Moreno-Garcia

I was very skeptical of this book. I was never particularly interested in the story of The Island of Doctor Moreau and find the human-animal hybrid concept unsettling. However, Silvia Moreno-Garcia is phenomenal, and I am grateful for having taken the leap. Though a little slow to start, it picks up before ending in a fury. 

2. The Lies of Locke Lamora – Scott Lynch

Easily the most fun book I read this year. Fantasy heist caper à la Robin Hood meets Ocean’s Eleven. The Lies of Locke Lamora is the first in an enjoyable trilogy.

1. Rebecca – Daphne du Maurier

It’s a classic for a reason. After reading Wuthering Heights a few years back and being rather underwhelmed, I mistakenly assumed all other Gothic Romances were overwrought ghost stories. Instead, Rebecca is an atmospheric domestic thriller masterpiece.

Honorable Mentions