This is only my 2nd post here in 2024. And it relates to my first post back in January where I discussed the number of mystery books that various reviewers I admire read. One of them, George Easter read 121 books in 2023. That is beyond my capacity, but in that post I suggested I might:
READ ONE BOOK A WEEK. No, I couldn’t do that at all. My total fell short of 52 books.
READ 42 BOOKS. That was based on 3.5 books per month, a pace that I thought matched my reality. My total fell short of 42 books. But close!
My list (which I maintained through the year for the first time ever) included 35 books not including December. I’m sure there will be 2-3 more including The Thursday Murder Club.
Of course all of our Mystery Book Club books were included, so that means I have read 24 books in addition to the 11 books so far this calendar year. I’ve never been a fast reader.
All of the books were “graded” and I decided to list below only the books I graded 86 or higher. Naturally I am trying to find books that I think will interest me so 16 of the 35 books make it into this top third grouping. Three of them were Mystery Book Club titles.
| Date | Title | Author | Grade | Type |
| 06-22-23 | All the Sinners Bleed | S. A. Cosby | 97 | Southern Noir/ Sheriff Procedural |
| 09/19-21 | Idyll Fears Book 2 of 3 | Stephanie Gayle | 96 | Police Procedural/ Thriller |
| 01-09-10 | Chasing the Dime (2002) | Michael Connelly | 96 | Corporate Thriller |
| 01-05-6 | Liar’s Candle (2018) | August Thomas | 94 | Spy Thriller/Mystery |
| 10/22-27 | The Gods of Guilt | Michael Connelly | 92 | Legal Thriller |
| 08/03-06 | Bitter Medicine | Sara Paretsky | 91 | Legal Thriller |
| 07/19-23 | The River We Remember | William Kent Krueger | 91 | Literary – Police Procedural |
| 09/22-24 | Idyll Hands Book 3 of 3 | Stephanie Gayle | 90 | Police Procedural/ Thriller |
| 04-09-16 | Third Man Out | Richard Stevenson | 90 | Gay PI Story w/ Social Commentary |
| 01-15… Feb-27 | Lost Man of Bombay | Vaseem Kahn | 90 | Historical Police Procedural |
| 01-03-5 | Remain Silent (2023) | Robin Gigl | 90 | Legal Thriller |
| 09/06-07 | Idyll Threats Book 1 of 3 | Stephanie Gayle | 89 | Police Procedural (Literary Mystery?) |
| 08/07-08 | Writing in an Age of Silence | Sara Paretsky | 88 | Memoir |
| 11/9-11 | The Waiting | Michael Connelly | 87 | Police Procedural |
| 11/1-30 | Reversible Errors | Scott Turow | 86 | Character-Driven Legal Drama |
| 09/16-19 | Indemnity Only | Sara Paretsky | 86 | Legal Thriller |
