Next in the ‘my year in books’ series, I’m thrilled to welcome one of the coolest, nicest and most eclectic books reviewers around, Kristen Centorcelli, the woman behind the great site, My Bookish Ways.
Her site is a must read for fans of urban fantasy, horror and dark crime and suspense. The content is always good, her book selections are always varied and it’s a wonderful looking site, too.
Read her top five fiction reads for 2013 below and then head on over and check out her site.
Welcome Kristin.
Three Graves Full, Jamie Mason
It’s been about a year since Jason Getty killed a man and buried him in his backyard, and it’s eating him up inside. When two bodies are discovered on his property by his lawn service, two bodies that are not the man he buried, he’s not only shocked, but he feels like it’s only a matter of time until his dirty secret will certainly be revealed. Two detectives are on the case, and a woman whose fiancé recently disappeared is determined to find out what happened to him. All is connected, in the most terrifying ways. A quirky, fast paced, excellent read.
The Panther, Nelson DeMille
I’m a huge fan of DeMille’s John Corey series, and The Panther was not only an excellent read, but it was a riveting look into a country constantly on the brink. When John Corey, of the New York Anti-Terrorist Taskforce, and his FBI agent wife, Kate Mayfield, are asked to go to Yemen on a mission, John is a bit dubious, but game. A US Citizen who calls himself The Panther has been murdering innocent people, and he needs to be stopped, but at what cost? John Corey’s smarts and his snark are in fine form, and as usual, this series doesn’t disappoint.
Donnybrook, Frank Bill
If you’ve ever been curious about Southern Noir, or Grit Lit, Donnybrook would be a great intro. Jarhead Earl’s kids don’t have enough to eat, and he’ll do anything to change that, so with purloined entry fee in hand, he heads to a 3 day bare knuckle brawl called the Donnybrook in the backwoods of Southern Indiana. On the way, he hooks up with some very shady characters and finds himself in a much more trouble than when he started out. This is like a It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World on meth, and it’s tragic, sometimes brutally funny, violent, and you won’t be able to take your eyes off of it.
A Matter of Blood, Sarah Pinborough
If you like your mystery with a heavy dose of horror and the supernatural, and your cops a bit on the damaged side, then Sarah Pinborough is your gal. DI Cass Jones has a penchant for women (that are not his wife), cocaine, and even bribery, but he’s a very good cop, and he’s on the trail of a brutal serial killer that shows no sign of letting up. When his brother supposedly commits suicide, Cass is thrown into something much bigger than simple murder, and a man who calls himself Mr. Bright makes himself known, but Mr. Bright may not be a man at all…
Extinction Machine (Joe Ledger #5), Jonathan Maberry
If you visit my blog, you probably already know that this is one of my favorite series and I’ll preach to anyone that will listen about how much I love Joe Ledger, so it’s really no surprise that the latest book in the series is on this list. In Extinction Machine, aliens are on the menu, and Joe and the DMS is up against an enemy that is complex, tragic, and all kinds of bad. If you haven’t yet discovered Joe, I recommend starting with Patient Zero and work your way up, you won’t be sorry.
My husband has read (and liked) Three Graves Full, so I will probably read that sometime. The rest may be too horrifying or dark for me. Except maybe Nelson DeMille, whose books are very very long.