My Top 10 2013 Mystery and Thrillers

When not watching TV or listening to music, you can usually find me reading books. I had hoped to get my pile of novels waiting to be read down to a manageable number this year, but between not enough time and a ton of new releases, that hope died a hard death. However, that doesn't mean I didn't get to read anything.

In fact, for all of 2013 I managed to finish 41 books that covered science fiction, fantasy, comic strip collections and for the subject of this article, mysteries and thrillers.

It should be pointed out that some of my selections were published as hardcovers in 2012, but as paperbacks in 2013...which is why they are on the list. As for authors "missing" from my list? I probably have their book(s), but just haven't been able to read them yet.

By the way if you want to check out magazines devoted to mysteries and thrillers you should check out Mystery Scene Magazine or the online only Suspense Magazine.

The biggest new discovery for me was the author C.J. Box. He writes the Joe Pickett series, which features a Wyoming game warden. I read an interview with the author in the aforementioned Mystery Scene Magazine and was intrigued enough to picked up the first book in the series published back in 2001. It blew me away and soon I owned all of the paperback installments. I've made my way through most of them and the author has been quickly added to my list of favorites.

And now for the Top 10 Mystery/Thriller Novels of 2013 countdown (in descending order):

#10 - The Wicked Girls by Alex Marwood

A rather stunning, intense novel that tells the tale of two women in modern day and from 25 years in the past when they were held responsible for killing a younger girl.

Marwood's book manages to humanize two characters you would normally find utterly reprehensible. You'll never forget the revulsion you feel for what happened, but the mark of success is that in the modern day, Marwood still makes you feel sad at the resolution.

#9 - The English Girl by Daniel Silva

Israeli spy Gabriel Allon ends up tapped to rescue the secret lover of the British Prime Minister, but as is the case when Allon is involved, things are not what they seem. Soon, the hunt spins out of control. But the question on everyone's mind: Who is Madeline Hart, really?

Silva is one of my favorite authors because he takes his series character, Allon, and throws him into a ton of seemingly out of this world scenarios, somehow making them utterly believable. Another point in his favor is that he knows how to mix the character building touches with the action/adventure, balancing out the individual aspects of each story without deadening the experience on either side.

#8 - Judgment Call by J. A. Jance

Cochise County sheriff Joanna Brady finds her personal and professional lives clashing when her teenage daughter finds the body of her high school principal during a morning horseback ride. People, including the sheriff herself, weren't too fond of the principal, but as the investigation into her murder progresses, you learn that the victim had much to hide and was more than her hard case persona would have you believe.

I remember stumbling upon the first book in the series, Desert Heat, years ago and being instantly hooked on the series heroine. Jance continued the story and advanced the lives of all the regular characters as the series went on. Nothing stands pat with the series and I am always looking forward to my next visit to Bisbee, Arizona.

#7 - Breakdown by Sara Paretsky

Chicago private investigator V.I. Warshawski is unwittingly drawn into her next case when she gets dragged into tracking down a group of preteens in a graveyard. They are holding a ritual tied to a series of novels they read (think Twilight). However, they end up discovering an ACTUAL corpse. Now the spin control is working fast and furious because the girls are tied to political power and financial wealth.

Paretsky has spent a long time refining the gloriously awesome Warshawski through her novels and yet the rough edges never quite disappear, which inevitably proves to be a good thing. The twists and turns are never quite going where you think but V.I.'s sense of justice always finds the just solution.

#6 - Hush Now, Don't You Cry by Rhys Bowen

The latest entry in the Molly Murphy series finds our early 1900's detective on her honeymoon in Newport, Rhode Island. She and her husband are at the home of New York Alderman Brian Hannan. When their host is found dead, the promise to stop investigating cases she made to her husband goes out the window.

Since learning of the author's books in a newspaper St. Patrick's Day article, and picking up the first book Murphy's Law, I have loved the historical detective series. Bowen has worked in real people amongst her fictional creations and made them work. Set in a time where women weren't exactly supposed to be plying the private investigation trade, Molly Murphy's tales are a fascinating trip back in time combined with wonderfully told mysteries.

#5 - The Black Box by Michael Connelly

Los Angeles police detective Harry Bosch gets the shock of his life when a weapon used in a string of recent crimes ties back to a murder case he worked during the 1992 L.A. Riots. Journalist Anneke Jespersen was killed and due to the priorities of the police during the riots, her case was given short shrift and never solved. Now with Bosch chasing after a second chance to solve the case, he is an unstoppable force in pursuing the murderer.

Michael Connelly is pretty much the best crime fiction writer in the U.S. today. He writes the Harry Bosch series, has spin off books and he has yet to deliver anything short of a magnificent read.

#4 - The Last Man by Vince Flynn

When the head of the CIA's clandestine operations in Afghanistan disappears, it is left to the organization's "Iron Man", Mitch Rapp, to find out where the agent is and if they've been compromised. His missions are never easy, but tracking someone down in Afghanistan would seem to be that much harder. Especially when it turns out that Rapp is being tracked by an assassin himself.

Vince Flynn's seemingly invincible Mitch Rapp might at times seem like too much of a Superman, but it is to the author's credit that he grounds the hero with real world sensibilities. Sure, he's as much of a bad-ass as Jack Bauer, but you don't get to be a favorite author of former US Presidents if your books aren't believable. Sadly, this is also likely the last book in the series as the author passed away during the year.

#3 - Left For Dead by J.A. Jance

In Jance's Ali Reynold series, the ex-TV anchor turned blogger and investigator is called upon to help clear a former Arizona Police Academy classmate from charges of wrongdoing after he is shot down. But does her case have something to do with the case of an illegal alien found beaten and raped?

Jance writes the Ali Reynolds as well as the Sheriff Joanna Brady series and while they are both set in the desert climes of Arizona, there is much to set the two characters apart. She never fails to make Reynolds intriguing and has a wonderful supporting cast of characters to enliven the proceedings. Sister Anselm is one of those characters and plays a big role as an advocate for the rape victim in this story.

#2 - The Other Woman by Hank Phillippi Ryan

Jane Ryland is a former TV anchor who was disgraced when she refused to reveal a source. The cost was her job and respect. She then takes a job working at a newspaper writing fluff articles, but in the midst of an election season, she finds herself tracking down an alleged mistress of a Senate candidate. Meanwhile, a Boston police detective is tracking a potential serial killer, how long will it be before their interests coincide?

The author is a noted TV reporter in the Boston market and with The Other Woman, took a huge step forward from her previous novels. I got this book for Christmas last year but didn't get around to reading until the calendar turned to 2013. What I got once I sat down to read was a superior novel with well cast characters and an enthralling story. I'm really looking forward to reading the next book in her The Wrong Girl series.

#1 - The Fallen Angel by Daniel Silva

The immediate predecessor to The English Girl finds Gabriel Allon taking refuge in The Vatican to recover from his last operation. But his down time is interrupted when the private secretary to the Pope asks him to investigate the discovery of a woman's body in St. Peter's Basilica. The police are thinking suicide but Allon has a different opinion. When he discovers that the victim uncovered a big secret which could be the undoing of a criminal empire, the worldwide hunt for the killers begins.

As I said when I wrote about The English Girl, Silva is a master at combining high action and character building to make an utterly wonderful tale. You never feel a moment's doubt about the quality of what you are reading and are left at the end with a fully stuffed feeling, yet crave more at the same time.

So there's my picks for 2013. What books grabbed your interest this year?