The best books of 2023

This list is part of the best books of 2023.

Join 1,707 readers and share your 3 favorite reads of the year.

My favorite read in 2023

Book cover of Mr. Bazalgette's Agent

Caitlin Davies Why did I love this book?

Mr. Bazalgette’s Agent was published in 1888 and is said to be the first British novel to feature a professional female detective.

Twenty-eight-year-old Miriam Lea, a former actress, is a ‘lady of brains’ who applies for a job at Alfred Bazalgette’s Inquiry Office in London. 

Miriam is an ‘adventuress’ who longs to be successful in her new career, but when she sets off to the diamond mines of South Africa to find a clerk accused of fraud, she’s acutely aware this isn’t a job for a lady.

Mr. Bazalgette’s Agent is a fast-paced read. Miriam is independent and resourceful, and the novel gives a good insight into how Victorian readers viewed private detection. The end made me laugh out loud, although I don’t think this was the author’s intention.

By Leonard Merrick,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Mr. Bazalgette's Agent as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

When Miriam Lea falls on hard times, an advertisement calling for private agents catches her eye, and within weeks she finds herself in Mr Bazalgette's employ as a private detective, travelling on a train to Hamburg in pursuit of an audacious fraudster. What follows is a journey through some of the great cities of Europe - and eventually to South Africa - as Miss Lea attempts to find her man. Miriam Lea is only the third ever British professional female detective to appear in a work of crime fiction. Originally published in 1888, Mr Bazalgette's Agent presents a determined and…


When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

My 2nd favorite read in 2023

Book cover of Woman Detective

Caitlin Davies Why did I love this book?

Annette Kerner was Britain’s most famous sleuth in the early 1950s; she called herself Mrs. Sherlock Holmes and ran the Mayfair Detective Agency on Baker Street.

Her memoir was ghost-written by an unnamed journalist, and it’s a rollicking and often unbelievable read, from Annette’s recruitment by the Secret Service to how she first became a private eye.

Annette’s tales of stolen paintings, Cambridge shootings, Park Lane divorces, blackmail, and poisonings are often far-fetched, and her memoir made me want to find out how much was true. I eventually discovered that Mrs. Sherlock Holmes was not the person she said she was.

By Annette Kerner,

Why should I read it?

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


My 3rd favorite read in 2023

Book cover of A Suitable Job for a Woman: Inside the World of Private Eyes

Caitlin Davies Why did I love this book?

A Suitable Job for a Woman, published in 1995, is an incredibly useful book in terms of the popular depiction of female PIs versus the day-to-day reality of women in the industry.

Val McDermid interviewed 34 PIs in Britain and the States, and while American PIs were open and relaxed, British women were more wary. Thirty years later, I had the same problem, and it took me a long time to earn the trust of my interviewees. 

Val anticipated there would be more women working in private investigation in the future – and while progress has been slow, around 30 percent of trainees in Britain are now women. As one of her interviewees explains, it is "one of the few jobs where women can exploit the fact that we’re second-class citizens."

By Val McDermid,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked A Suitable Job for a Woman as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

""But down these mean streets must go a man who is not himself mean, who is neither tarnished or afraid."" When Raymond Chandler wrote these words in his classic The Simple Art of Murder, he drew a blueprint for the male private eyes who descend from Philip Marlowe to populate the world of crime fiction.
But what if the private eye is a woman? And what if she is not a character in a novel but a real, working investigator testing not only the meanness but the absurdity of life on seamy streets? Who will tell her story?


Enter Manchester's…


Don‘t forget about my book 😀

Private Inquiries: The Secret History of Female Sleuths

By Caitlin Davies,

Book cover of Private Inquiries: The Secret History of Female Sleuths

What is my book about?

The female private detective has been a staple of popular culture for 150 years, from Victorian lady sleuths to ‘busy-body spinsters’ and gun-toting modern PIs. But what about the real-life women behind the fictional tales – what crimes did they solve, and where are their stories?

In Private Inquiries, Caitlin Davies traces the history of the UK’s female investigators from the 1850s to the present day. Women like Victorian inquiry agent Antonia Moser, the first woman to open her own agency; and Liverpool sleuth Zena Scott-Archer, the first woman president of the World Association of Detectives. Caitlin also follows in the footsteps of her subjects, training to become a PI, and meeting modern investigators to find out the reality behind the fictional image.

My book recommendation list

Book cover of Mr. Bazalgette's Agent
Book cover of Woman Detective
Book cover of A Suitable Job for a Woman: Inside the World of Private Eyes

Share your top 3 reads of 2024!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,388

readers submitted
so far, will you?