Jeez, another year down, huh?
I dusted off this ol’ blog to write about the books I enjoyed this year and was surprised to see I hadn’t bothered to post about anything in the past year.
Which is pretty crazy, really, because back in June I won the Thriller Award for my novel The Killing Room.
That award ceremony took place at ThrillerFest in New York City. Other winners included S.A. Cosby, Gregg Hurwitz, I.S. Berry, Luke Dumas, Lisa Unger, and Elizabeth Wein, so I was in good company.
Then, in August, the second book in the Killing Room series, Enemy of the State, came out.
The book received nice reviews from both Best Thriller Books and The Big Thrill — though I don’t recommend looking at those reviews if you haven’t read The Killing Room yet, as it’ll give away some major spoilers.
Now, the question some readers have asked: Will there be a third book?
The answer: Maybe.
It all depends, really, on how well the first two books in the series do.
If they sell enough copies, the publisher will decide to publish more books.
If they don’t sell enough copies, the publisher will decide to cut its losses and say no thanks to any future books.
That’s publishing for you.
So then what’s in store for 2025?
I’ve got a new Avery Bishop novel that’ll be released as an Audible Original (I thought it would come out this year, but stuff happens, ya know?).
And … that’s all I can really talk about at the moment. But some cool stuff is in the works, and I can’t wait to share it all when the time comes.
Anyway, I’ve read and listened to a lot of books this year, and while I’ve enjoyed most of them, only a few did I really enjoy. And so, without further ado (and in no particular order except which they were read), here are the books I enjoyed very much in 2024, which I think others might enjoy too. But as is the case with everything, your mileage may vary.
NOVELS
CALIFORNIA BEAR by Duane Swierczynski
CHAIN GANG ALL-STARS by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
SING HER DOWN by Ivy Pochoda
ANOTHER BROOKLYN by Jacqueline Woodson
HOW CAN I HELP YOU by Laura Sims
HIDDEN PICTURES by Jason Rekulak
CATCHPENNY by Charlie Huston
EILEEN by Ottessa Moshfegh
WE THE ANIMALS by Justin Torres
SHE RIDES SHOTGUN by Jordan Harper
THE LAST KING OF CALIFORNIA by Jordan Harper
SHELL GAMES by Bonnie Kistler
THE LONG AND FARAWAY GONE by Lou Berney
AUDIOBOOKS
FUN & GAMES by Duane Swierczynski, read by Pete Larkin
FIRST LIE WINS by Ashley Elston, read by Saskia Maarleveld
LONE WOLF by Gregg Hurwitz, read by Scott Brick
THE IMPOSSIBLE FORTRESS by Jason Rekulak, read by Griffin Newman
WHAT LIES BENEATH by Joe Hart, read by Kate Rudd
NEVER COME BACK by Joe Hart, read by Kate Rudd
LESLIE F*CKING JONES by Leslie Jones, read by Leslie Jones
PLAYING WITH FIRE by Tess Gerritsen, read by Julia Whelan and Will Damron
THINK TWICE by Harlan Coben, read by Steven Weber
REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES by Shelby Van Pelt, read by Marin Ireland and Michael Urie
LOCAL WOMAN MISSING by Mary Kubica, read by Brittany Pressley, Jennifer Jill Araya, Gary Tiedemann, Jesse Vilinsky
COLD IN JULY by Joe R. Lansdale, read by Brian Hutchison
SMALL THINGS LIKE THESE by Claire Keegan, read by Aidan Kelly
THE KINGDOM, THE POWER, AND THE GLORY: AMERICAN EVANGELICALS IN AN AGE OF EXTREMISM by Tim Alberta, read by Tim Alberta
BROKEN by Don Winslow, read by Ray Porter and Kaleo Griffith
CONCLAVE by Robert Harris, read by Roy McMillan
COLLECTIONS
THE BEASTS YOU ARE by Paul Tremblay
ROMAN STORIES by Jhumpa Lahiri
YOU LIKE IT DARKER by Stephen King
SAFE ENOUGH AND OTHER STORIES by Lee Child
STORIES
STORIES STOCKHOLM by Catherine Steadman
HUNTER/GATHERER by Benjamin Percy
THE CHRISTMAS GUEST by Peter Swanson
POEMS
UNSHUTTERED by Patricia Smith
GRAPHIC NOVELS
BREAKNECK by Duane Swierczynski, Simone Guglielmini, Raffaele Semeraro, Lovern Kindzierski, and Chris Chuckry
Now, what about you? Any books you read (or listened to) this past year you really enjoyed?