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 56 Days

Lesley Kelly Why did I love this book?

It took me a while to get round to reading this novel, which was both set and written during Covid, but it was totally worth the wait.

As my novels are also set during a pandemic (fictional in my case) I’m always curious how other writers use viruses as inspiration, and Catherine Ryan Howard’s has used Covid to create a cracking thriller. Starting with the discovery of a body, the plot keeps twisting and turning so every time you think you have worked out what is happening, the rug is pulled out from under you.

Ciara and Oliver meet in the very early days of the pandemic, and when lockdown is announced they move in together. But neither of them are quite who they seem…Excellent novel, full of suspense.

By Catherine Ryan Howard,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked 56 Days as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Don’t miss The Trap, the latest dark and twisted thriller from internationally bestselling crime writer Catherine Ryan Howard―inspired by a series of still-unsolved disappearances.

*A New York Times Best Thriller of 2021

*A Washington Post Best Thriller for 2021

*A New York Public Library Best Book of the Year

*An Amazon Editors’ Pick

''Bloody good.'' --The New York Times

''Timely, surprising, emotionally alive, this is about as good as suspense fiction gets.'' --Washington Post

No one even knew they were together. Now one of them is dead.

56 DAYS AGO

Ciara and Oliver meet in a supermarket queue in Dublin…


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My 2nd favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of Time Shelter

Lesley Kelly Why did I love this book?

This International Booker Prize-winning novel features a man called Gaustine who opens a clinic for the past for Alzheimer’s patients, with each floor reproducing a different decade. However, the clinic then becomes incredibly popular, with lots of people wanting to return to a different time.

This book really spoke to me as we’ve had a number of family members with dementia and I’ve spent a lot of time reminiscing with them over the past few years. Also, who can resist the temptation to fantasize about returning to the decade when we thought the clothes were best, the music was best, the politics were best…

By Georgi Gospodinov, Angela Rodel (translator),

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

WINNER OF THE INTERNATIONAL BOOKER PRIZE 2023
A GUARDIAN AND FINANCIAL TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR

'The most exquisite kind of literature... I've put it on a special shelf in my library that I reserve for books that demand to be revisited every now and then. '
OLGA TOKARCZUK, author of Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead

'Could not be more timely... It's funny and absurd, but it's also frightening, because even as Gospodinov plays with the idea as fiction, the reader begins to recognise something rather closer to home... A writer of great warmth as well…


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My 3rd favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of The Vinyl Detective: Low Action

Lesley Kelly Why did I love this book?

I stumbled across the Vinyl Detective novels this year and pretty much binge read them. Such a brilliant idea that there could be a whole range of crimes connected to different genres of music – all of it on collectible vinyl.

I’m totally in love with the characters in this book: the Vinyl Detective himself, his girlfriend Nevada, and the hilarious brood of friends and supporting characters. And best of all, while writing this review I checked a couple of details on Amazon and saw that there is a new Vinyl Detective novel out!

By Andrew Cartmel,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

The Vinyl Detective goes punk in his fifth hilarious adventure. "Like an old 45rpm record, this book crackles with brilliance." David Quantick on Written in Dead Wax.

Semi-retired god of rock guitar and local poseur Erik Make Loud has got himself a new girlfriend. Helene Hilditch - formerly known as Howlin' Hellbitch - of all-girl punk outfit Blue Tits is a mean guitarist, someone is trying to kill her.

With a rare pressing of the Blue Tits' first album to find, the Vinyl Detective and Nevada are called in to help. But this time the question is who isn't a…


Don‘t forget about my book 😀

The Health of Strangers

By Lesley Kelly,

Book cover of The Health of Strangers

What is my book about?

The Virus is spreading. Monthly health checks are mandatory. Enter the Health Enforcement Team, an uneasy mix of police and health service staff. Stuck with colleagues they don't like, politicians they don't trust and civil servants undermining them, Mona and Bernard are fighting more than one losing battle.