Author Animal lover Christian Survival horror fan Medical interest Artist
The best books of 2023

This list is part of the best books of 2023.

We've asked 1,641 authors and super readers for their 3 favorite reads of the year.

Shepherd is reader supported. When you buy books, we may earn an affiliate commission.

My favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of The Bone Collector

Bronwyn Rust Why did I love this book?

This riveting story is a classic race against the clock, police procedural thriller incorporating fascinating details about police forensics.

I enjoyed the realism. The intense gruesome killings made this book a real page-turner, with interesting and complex characters. The overall book is well-paced, well-written, and a joy to read.

By Jeffery Deaver,

Why should I read it?

8 authors picked The Bone Collector as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From the Sunday Times bestselling author of The Goodbye Man, discover Jeffery Deaver's chilling thriller that inspired the film starring Angelina Jolie and Denzel Washington and is now a major NBC TV series.

Their first case, their worst killer . . .

New York City has been thrown into chaos by the assaults of the Bone Collector, a serial kidnapper and killer who gives the police a chance to save his victims from death by leaving obscure clues. Baffled, the cops turn to the one man with a chance of solving them - Lincoln Rhyme.

Left paralysed by a debilitating…


My 2nd favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of Doctor Sleep

Bronwyn Rust Why did I love this book?

A sequel that I enjoyed more than the original, which is a first for me.

The poetic story is about the war between good and evil, layered in a fantastical supernatural tale. The protagonist comforts the dying and prepares them for the afterlife while wrestling with his inner demons. The ultimate message is to embrace what makes us different.

By Stephen King,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Doctor Sleep as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Soon to be a major motion picture starring Ewan McGregor!

'By the end of this book your fingers will be mere stubs of their former selves . . . King's inventiveness and skill show no signs of slacking: Doctor Sleep has all the virtues of his best work' - Margaret Atwood, New York Times

An epic war between good and evil, a gory, glorious story that will thrill the millions of hyper-devoted readers of The Shining and wildly satisfy anyone new to the territory of this icon in the King canon.

****************

Following a childhood haunted by terrifying events at…


My 3rd favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of Gone Girl

Bronwyn Rust Why did I love this book?

This book truly terrified me, more than any horror has.

The human mind and the capabilities without a conscience left me feeling mentally sick. It had my own mind doing somersaults long after reading. As disturbing as it was, I found it difficult to put the book down. It’s definitely one you won’t forget.

By Gillian Flynn,

Why should I read it?

26 authors picked Gone Girl as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

THE ADDICTIVE No.1 BESTSELLER AND INTERNATIONAL PHENOMENON
OVER 20 MILLION COPIES SOLD WORLDWIDE
THE BOOK THAT DEFINES PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER

Who are you?
What have we done to each other?

These are the questions Nick Dunne finds himself asking on the morning of his fifth wedding anniversary, when his wife Amy suddenly disappears. The police suspect Nick. Amy's friends reveal that she was afraid of him, that she kept secrets from him. He swears it isn't true. A police examination of his computer shows strange searches. He says they weren't made by him. And then there are the persistent calls on…


Plus, check out my book…

Angellove: We will be the Lucky ones.

By Bronwyn Rust,

Book cover of Angellove: We will be the Lucky ones.

What is my book about?

In this second installment, we pick up a year later with former Medical Examiner and Forensic Pathologist, Dr. Madison Fur Immer facing the fallout of the carnage she had caused.

The helplessness and hopelessness Madison felt after the tragedy, now shifts to the ones she loves most.
Madison's mother, Jessie, finds out she's more like her daughter than she thought, when she discovers just how far a mother's love can go. Molly spirals into the deepest depths of darkness...where Madison is confronted with her faith.

In this thought-provoking, suspenseful, and gripping medical thriller, we see what happens when Madison decides to let all feelings disappear and what chaos it brings...