It's the winter solstice today: one of many days of celebration which fall around this time of year. And don't we need something to lift the December gloom! I think that's kind of the point: something to look forward to and lift the spirits at a time when the weather seems determined to frustrate plans and good intentions and winter seems set to go on and on and on. Or if you prefer a more positive view, we could look on the days when it's gloomy at best, snowy or foggy at worst and hardly seems to get light at all as an excuse to curl up in a favourite chair with the latest in a series of good books. Let's go with the second option, with a nod to the celebratory aspect of the first. Christmas is my family's midwinter celebration of choice, and top of the gift list you'll find, yes, you guessed, more good books. Which segués neatly into the remainder of my top twelve picks of the year that's almost gone. Numbers eight through to one coming up, with the same rider as last week: the differences in quality and enjoyment factor are infinitesmal, and every one is a winner.
Coming in at number eight is A Life to Kill by Matthew Hall. Finding a new series character to follow always gives me a buzz, and since I usually make the discovery in mid-series it gives me plenty of backlist to catch up on. Jenny Cooper is a coroner, and my eyes were opened regarding what a coroner actually does. Maybe not all the time: I suspect that like most jobs it has its share of tedious routine. But Jenny gets plenty of excitement too, such as taking on the might of the military to get to the bottom of the death of a serving soldier in Afghanistan. She's a real find.
Number seven was an old friend. Harry Bingham's Fiona Griffiths series hooked me firmly four years ago, and thank goodness for the yearly top-up fix he's provided ever since. The Deepest Grave offers the usual great mystery and also digs a little further into Fiona's past – dig being the operative word this time around. Check it out; you won't regret it.
Number six... Did I mention there was a tiny cheat? This is it. It's two books. My lovely daughter handed me The London Eye Mystery by Siobhan Dowd during our burning hot holiday in August. It's technically a children's book, but then so is Harry Potter, and who cares when it's this brilliant? And that's all I'm saying, except this: Siobhan Dowd died, far too young, before she could write the follow-up, so the publishers asked Robin Stevens, author of the hilarious Murder Most Unladylike series (think Angela Brazil meets Agatha Christie) to write it instead. The result was The Guggenheim Mystery, and you absolutely cannot see the join; it's every bit as brilliant, and in style and tone indistinguishable from the original. That takes skill.
My old favourite Phil Rickman had to be in there somewhere, and Friends of the Dusk comes in at number five. What can I say? It's Merrily Watkins, and it's deliciously creepy. Please, Santa, there's a new one just out in paperback, and I've been a really good girl...
Money Tree by Gordon Ferris at number four is that rare commodity, a brilliant self-published novel – though the author has an enviable track record, so I was never in any doubt. The crime is around finance, both high and less so. Something completely different, and it had me engrossed.
And so we come to the top three. The Last Confession of Thomas Hawkins is glorious eighteenth century romp from start to finish. You gotta love Thomas, and yes, Antonia Hodgson is a big wheel in publishing, but this would have made it anyway, or there's no justice. And there is justice: it happens in every crime novel I read...
Runner-up 2017 is Summary Justice by John Fairfax. The protagonist is a lawyer, and also a convicted murderer. Yeah, I didn't believe it either, but it could happen. It's the first of a series, and I can hardly wait to see what happens in book two.
And finally – fanfare, please – at number one is A Twist of the Knife by Becky Masterman. Brigid Quinn is a woman of a certain age, with an FBI past that keeps pulling at her; she's a character to root for, and I love her to bits. This is her third outing in five years, and they don't come around often enough.
That's it, folks: Lynne's top picks for 2017. Some old favourites, some new names, every one worth a look. I hope I've whetted an appetite or two.
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