My top ten

Sharon Wheeler – keeping PJ Nunn's seat warm!

OK, so this might be jumping the gun a tad, but my excuse is that I'm just leaping off the substitutes' bench today to replace PJ Nunn, and I'm not sure when I'll be picked for the first team again! And I can't possibly pass up the opportunity to select my top ten books of 2009. Yes, I know there's another month to go before the end of the year, and yes, I might well find another gem during that time (although if you'd seen what's in my review pile, you'd understand why I'm feeling a tad pessimistic). And anyway, if 'best of' lists are good enough for some of the UK national papers before the end of November, they're good enough for Dead Guy!

So, here goes … The books are in no particular order, complete with brief cryptic comments. I've linked to my full reviews on RTE in case anyone's interested.

The Girl Who Played With Fire

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest – Stieg Larsson

It's pretty unusual to have two books released by the same author in the same year (unless you're the wonderfully prolific Ken Bruen), but this is no ordinary series. Just in case you happen to have been living in a cave for the past couple of years, Larsson's trilogy featuring a Swedish journalist and an anti-social computer hacker was published posthumously and has quite rightly gone supernova.

Flipping Out – Marshall Karp

Karp's good-humoured series features a couple of wise-cracking Los Angeles cops, whose cases seem to have a movie or literary theme. The doctor should prescribe them when readers are feeling down.

If It Bleeds – Duncan Campbell

The title's from the old newspaper adage – if it bleeds, it leads. And Campbell, a veteran UK journalist, takes us on a highly enjoyable romp through the life of a permanently bemused crime hack who's finding all this new technology just a bit too much.

Winterland – Alan Glynn (review to come next week!)

This is a second novel for Irish writer Glynn, and it's tremendous. It takes us on an intense journey through modern Ireland, where politics, business and crime all collide.

The Dark Vineyard – Martin Walker

Walker's debut novel, Bruno, Chief of Police, was on my 'best of' list last year. The second in the series, set in deceptively idyllic rural France, shows a dark side beneath that relaxed village life.

Sanctuary – Ken Bruen

I'd read Ken Bruen's shopping list – and, come to think of it, he'd tell a better and sharper story on it that a lot of writers do in 300 pages. Sanctuary is the next instalment of the Jack Taylor series. Noir at its total best.

A Tribute to Zed Beddington – Nick Wray

A gem of a crime debut novel, published by a small indie UK publisher. I can do no better than point you the – for once – uncannily accurate blurb: "… a tale of sex and drugs and Transit vans, motorways, amplifiers, ripped-off lyrics, creative accountancy, Mozart, life after death, home improvements and finding love where you least expect it."

Midnight Fugue – Reginald Hill

Hill's 24 books into his Dalziel and Pascoe series, and his footwork is still as deft and fancy as ever. He should teach masterclasses in how to retain your enthusiasm.

The Redeemer – Jo Nesbo

Another example of class storytelling from the creator of maverick Oslo cop Harry Hole. After reading it, you'll want to steer clear of vacuum cleaners …

There were near-misses for John Connolly's The Lovers and Graham Hurley's No Lovelier Death. And I promise to keep my bottom ten books of the year to myself!