On Goodreads I have a total of 85 books read this year and the year isn’t quite over. I decided I wanted to write a blog post of my top reads of the year. A difficult task to narrow so many books down. But then again, compared to some readers, that’s not so many. But, for me, it’s an improvement on the previous year and it’s all we can strive for isn’t it? Improvement.
So how many books do I list? I decided on 5 as I didn’t want a long post where you would get bored. I don’t do long posts. I started writing down contenders and then I had the onerous task of crossing books off. Who wants to cross books off a list?
Finally I had my top 5 reads of 2014. These are books I read this year, not books released this year. In fact, one of these books is a few years old. It is also not just a crime fiction list, as I did make a decision to widen my reading horizons. But with only 5 books, you won’t be surprised to find that 4 of them are crime.
I wonder what you will make of this list. Here it is, laid out, my thoughts, in book format.
5. Emma Kavanagh – Falling
A plane falls out of the sky. A woman is murdered. Four people all have something to hide.
Jim is a retired police officer, and worried father. His beloved daughter has disappeared and he knows something is wrong.
Tom has woken up to the news that his wife was on the plane and must break the news to their only son.
Cecilia had packed up and left her family. Now she has survived a tragedy, and sees no way out.
Freya is struggling to cope with the loss of her father. But as she delves into his past, she may not like what she finds.
‘Before the plane crash, after the plane crash, such a short amount of time for the world to turn on its head. ‘
4. The Good Girl by Mary Kubica
“I’ve been following her for the past few days. I know where she buys her groceries, where she has her dry cleaning done, where she works. I don’t know the color of her eyes or what they look like when she’s scared. But I will.”
Born to a prominent Chicago judge and his stifled socialite wife, Mia Dennett moves against the grain as a young inner-city art teacher. One night, Mia enters a bar to meet her on-again, off-again boyfriend. But when he doesn’t show, she unwisely leaves with an enigmatic stranger. With his smooth moves and modest wit, at first Colin Thatcher seems like a safe one-night stand. But following Colin home will turn out to be the worst mistake of Mia’s life.
Colin’s job was to abduct Mia as part of a wild extortion plot and deliver her to his employers. But the plan takes an unexpected turn when Colin suddenly decides to hide Mia in a secluded cabin in rural Minnesota, evading the police and his deadly superiors. Mia’s mother, Eve, and detective Gabe Hoffman will stop at nothing to find them, but no one could have predicted the emotional entanglements that eventually cause this family’s world to shatter.
3. A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
The monster showed up after midnight. As they do.
But it isn’t the monster Conor’s been expecting. He’s been expecting the one from his nightmare, the one he’s had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments, the one with the darkness and the wind and the screaming…
This monster is something different, though. Something ancient, something wild. And it wants the most dangerous thing of all from Conor.
It wants the truth.
2. Rubbernecker by Belinda Bauer
‘The dead can’t speak to us,’ Professor Madoc had said.
That was a lie.
Because the body Patrick Fort is examining in anatomy class is trying to tell him all kinds of things.
Life is already strange enough for the obsessive Patrick without having to solve a possible murder. Especially when no one believes a crime has even taken place. Now he must stay out of danger long enough to unravel the mystery – while he dissects his own evidence.
But as Patrick learns one truth from a dead man, he discovers there have been many other lies rather closer to home…
1. Cry Baby by David Jackson
It’s every mother’s nightmare – the abduction of her baby.That’s how it starts for Erin Vogel when she is attacked and left unconscious in her apartment. When she awakes, it is to find that Georgia, her six-month-old daughter, has been taken.But Erin is given a chance to get Georgia back. At an unthinkable price.Like most mothers, she has always said she would do anything for her child. Now the strength of that bond is about to be put to the ultimate test.And when her actions arouse the interest of a certain Detective Callum Doyle, one thing is inevitable: a confrontation that will be as explosive as it is unforgettable.From the highly acclaimed author of Pariah, The Helper and Marked comes a nerve-shredding novel that questions the line we draw between good and evil.
Any books I finish between now and the New Year, I will not put as completed on my Goodreads account now until January starts, so they can be a part of next years feature. Were there any surprises in here? Have you read any and loved them or have you read any and hated them? Let me know!
MarinaSofia says
Hard to narrow things down, I know. I’ve tried to create a short list as well, which I’ll be posting later today, but some cheating may be involved…
I still haven’t read Rubbernecker, although I’ve heard so many good things about it. A Monster Calls is a classic, I think, very moving and rather frightening (and written for children, right?). You put me onto Cry Baby, which I read in just a few hours.
Rebecca Bradley says
A Monster Calls is a YA yes. And it had me in floods of tears. So much so my little man asked me to stop reading it!
And Cry Baby! Just fantastic. I look forward to seeing your list later today. Not an easy task at all.
Prashant C. Trikannad says
Rebecca, I haven’t read any of these authors but it’s always good to know about them. You read a good number of books this year. I think I might have read half that number plus some short stories.
Rebecca Bradley says
It was a definite improvement on past years and above the target I set myself. It leaves me wondering what to set myself for next year!
readingwritingandriesling says
We share a few on your list Rebecca – I deliberately wont read plane crash books – so that one was never going to happen and I haven’t read Cry Baby but the others I have read and agree – each great in their own way. What is your goal for next year? I think I will have read about 170 by the end of the year…maybe 200 wont be too much of a reach in 2015?
Rebecca Bradley says
Wow! That is some going Carol. I feel like I don’t read! I think I should probably put it up to a number that is more of a push to reach, so – 100. Don’t laugh! Falling is amazingly written but it wouldn’t help your reasons for not reading them. And Cry Baby is just stunning. As are his other books to be honest.
readingwritingandriesling says
I’ll keep a look for Cry Baby…
Numbers? Well I didn’t write a novel or have any young kids to look after ….:) Even if I aim for 200 books that is just over 3 a week…doesn’t sound like so many when you break it down like that.
M.H. Vesseur says
Nice list, Rebecca. As an aside, I’m especially attracted to the cover designs. That’s always the question: does the cover invoke the eventual reading? These are all well designed – being a crime writer myself I’m constantly puzzled by the way the cover design is done. Other than that there is no way I am going to keep up with you and some of the commenters here (I read one goal of 200 novels in 2015) — perhaps in another life…
Rebecca Bradley says
The way I keep improving year on year, maybe I will reach that book goal… Though not likely. I will continue to enjoy and read as much as I can. And yes, I love covers.
Alex J. Cavanaugh says
Impressive amount of books! I’ve heard a lot of good things about When a Monster Calls.
Rebecca Bradley says
It did have me sobbing buckets.
Margot Kinberg says
You’ve got an excellent list here, Rebecca! They reflect a really interesting variety within the genre, and I can see why you’d have chosen the ones you did. As to number of books read? I don’t think any of us (myself included) reads everything we want to read…
Rebecca Bradley says
There are so many books out there aren’t there! And not enough time.
Linda King says
I loved Rubbernecker and The Good Girl – now I have 3 more on my ‘to read’ list! Thanks Rebecca! Happy reading in 2016!
Rebecca Bradley says
They are great books. A Monster Calls will have you sobbing 🙂
Linda King says
OR EVEN 2015, ha! Oops!
Rebecca Bradley says
I knew what you meant! 🙂
FictionFan says
Tis not the quantity, ’tis the quality that matters! I’ve read slightly less this year than last year, and have abandoned more without finishing than in any previous year. I’ve never set a target for a number to read, in case it starts to feel like a duty rather than a pleasure. The only one of these I’ve read is Rubbernecker, and I absolutely loved it… 😀
Rebecca Bradley says
It is definitely a great book. I think you’d enjoy Cry Baby. I know what you mean about duty. Sometimes I get reading tired. It’s why I switch between genres to try and prevent that. And I’m not even a fast reader.
Jacqui Murray says
Good Girl was wonderful Excellent choice.