According to the list running down the side of the site, I have finished 73 books in 2008, and with a couple of weeks off coming before the New Year I would expect that number to edge close to 80. Not a huge year in terms of numbers, but what really stands out is the quality.
I have not yet explained the rating system I have given to the books, but basically it ranges from 5 stars, essentially meaning "unmissable", to one star, "not completely terrible, but...".
Below is a bit of a round-up of the year, and a guide to those looking for that last minute gift for those who like a bit of murder and mayhem at Christmas.
Best (new) Crime Novel
A lot to like this year. Andrew Taylor wrote a wonderfully seductive and atmospheric novel in Bleeding Heart Square, which any other year might have come out on top. Stieg Larsson's The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo absolutely lived up to the pre-publication hype, and I only have to endure one more torturous trip to northern Europe where all three books in the series are available in Finnish, Swedish and every other language bar English on every shelf of every bookshop, before the translation of the second book becomes available in 2009.
But one book outshone the rest this year: The Turnaround by George Pelecanos. As moving a journey into the human condition as you could imagine, and so eloquently told. Simply brilliant.
Best Thriller
A bit of licence here. Thriller as opposed to "Crime Novel". This is for the "up all night" experience. Call it the Harlan Coben award, if you like. And it goes to: Linwood Barclay for Too Close to Home. Consummate story-telling.
Best (old) Crime Novel
The imperative of reading and reviewing new fiction for the site means I tend not to spend too much time in back catalogues, but I couldn't resist a secondhand story copy of Mo Hayder's first Jack Caffery novel, Bird Man. If you haven't found Hayder yet, the Caffrey trilogy, Bird Man, The Treatment and Ritual are exceptional.
Best writer discovery
I am not entirely sure how I managed to miss Michael Rowbotham for quite so long. I know he has an army of fans out there and with good cause. I listened to, rather than read, two of his books this year: Lost and The Suspect, and was enthralled with both. Lost was particularly memorable for the exceptional narration of Ray Lonnen.
Best Non-Fiction
You would have to be Dick Cheney not to be moved by the tragic tale of Wyoming roughneck Colton H Bryant who lost his young life on the oil fields because of the greed and corruption of the oil industry. Beautifully told by Alexandra Fuller, The Legend of Colton H Bryant is a very modern morality tale with an unforgettable hero.
Honourable mention to the wonderfully evocative Girls of Tender Age by Mary-Ann Tirone Smith.
Best addition to series
Sorely tempted to give this one to Revelation, the fourth in the vibrant Tudor series featuring Matthew Shardlake by CJ Sansom. But instead I'll go for James Lee Burke's Swan Peak. There have been times in recent Robicheaux books where I have wondered how much value Burke has been bringing to the series by extending it, but this terrific book suggests there is life in the old dog yet.
Best Television adaptation
Praise be for Sky Plus. It's been a busy time of late and not a lot of time for television, but last night I finally managed to sit down and watch the first episode of the BBC's adaptation of Wallander, with Kenneth Branagh in the lead as Henning Mankell's disillusioned Swedish detective. Well, Branagh is brilliant, looking every bit as lived in as Wallander should be and the production values are so high that it shows what can be achieved by British television makers when they put their minds to it.
Look out for this in 2009
Two books scheduled for release early next year which I plan to review soon. One is Neil Cross' disturbing thriller Burial, the other a quite unexpected triumph called (wonderfully) The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Canadian author Alan Bradley. I took the latter to the beach in the summer and was totally charmed by it and its pre-teen detective Flavia de Luce. A lovely New Year hangover cure.
