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The best books of 2023

This list is part of the best books of 2023.

We've asked 1,624 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 Five Decembers

Andrew Welsh-Huggins Why did I love this book?

This book encompassed so many different genres and yet still grabbed my attention from page one to the end—it’s a long read, too. It’s a World War II historical epic, an edge-of-your-seat crime novel, and a romance.

Kestrel does a brilliant job evoking Hawaii right before Pearl Harbor and Japan during the war, and really made me care about the main character, Honolulu police Detective Joe McGrady, and his efforts to both survive the war and solve a gruesome set of murders.

By James Kestrel,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Five Decembers as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Winner of the 2022 Edgar Award for Best Novel

"War, imprisonment, torture, romance...The novel has an almost operatic symmetry, and Kestrel turns a beautiful phrase."
-New York Times

Five Decembers is a gripping thriller, a staggering portrait of war, and a heartbreaking love story, as unforgettable as All the Light We Cannot See.

NOMINATED FOR BEST THRILLER IN THE 2022 BARRY AWARDS

FINALIST FOR THE HAMMETT PRIZE 2021

"Read this book for its palpitating story, its perfect emotional and physical detailing and, most of all, for its unforgettable conjuring of a steamy quicksilver world that will be new to almost…


My 2nd favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of Heat 2

Andrew Welsh-Huggins Why did I love this book?

I’m not sure this is a thing—novelization sequels that are as good as or better than the original movie—but I’d nominate Heat 2 for such an award.

Gardiner, an acclaimed thriller writer, and Mann, the director of the 1995 Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino film Heat, teamed up to write a successful literary prequel/sequel that explains the road that DeNiro and Pacino’s characters traveled before the heist pictured in the movie, and then fills in the story of Val Kilmer’s character, Chris Shiherlis, after the events of the film.

The book can definitely be read on its own but also serves as an excellent companion to the movie—great concept and execution.

By Michael Mann, Meg Gardiner,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked Heat 2 as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

NOW A NO.1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

Michael Mann, Oscar-nominated filmmaker and writer-director of Heat and Miami Vice, teams up with Meg Gardiner to deliver Mann's first crime novel, an explosive return to the world and characters of his classic film Heat - an all-new story that illuminates what happened before and after the film.

A Times Book of the Year 2022

'Michael Mann's HEAT is one of my all-time favourite movies. HEAT 2 is now one of my favourite suspense novels' JAMES PATTERSON

Described by Michael Mann as both a prequel and sequel to the renowned, critically acclaimed film…


My 3rd favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of The Stranger Inside

Andrew Welsh-Huggins Why did I love this book?

Unger excels at slow-burn psychological thrillers bursting with secrets, and this is no exception.

The concept is chilling—the recent (and unsolved) slaying of a murderer who escaped justice brings back painful memories and hard questions for a woman, Rain Winter, whose childhood abductor—and killer of her friend—was also murdered after the fact. A radio journalist now at home with her baby, Rain decides to investigate whether a vigilante killer is at work.

Twist after twist kept me guessing all the way to the shocking revelations at the end. Unger is right up there with Karin Slaughter as one of my favorite thriller writers.

By Lisa Unger,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Stranger Inside as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Named a BEST BOOK by People Magazine, Boston Globe, BookBub, PopSugar, CrimeReads and more.

“Brilliant…. A well-crafted psychological thriller.” —The New York Times Book Review

When former journalist Rain Winter was twelve years old, she narrowly escaped an abduction while walking to a friend’s house. The abductor was eventually found and sent to prison, but years later was released. Then someone delivered real justice--and killed him in cold blood.

Now Rain is living the perfect suburban life, spending her days as a stay-at-home mom. But when another criminal who escaped justice is found dead, Rain is unexpectedly drawn into the…


Plus, check out my book…

The End of the Road

By Andrew Welsh-Huggins,

Book cover of The End of the Road

What is my book about?

The End of The Road loosely uses the structure of Homer’s Odyssey to follow a young woman named Penny and her solo journey of revenge after her boyfriend, Myles, is shot and left for dead one day after his release from prison.

Suspicious of police, Penny refuses to involve the authorities and instead goes by herself after Pryor, the crime lord who shot Myles, in a chase that Penny’s not sure she’ll survive. Along the way, she encounters J.P., a sheriff’s deputy from a neighboring rural county, who is inadvertently caught up in the action.

The novel weaves together the stories of Penny, Pryor, and JP as their merging trails bring them closer and closer to a final, deadly confrontation.