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The best books of 2023

This list is part of the best books of 2023.

We've asked 1,608 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 Outsider

Stephen B. King Why did I love this book?

As always, I feel that my namesake is the number one author for creating characters you not only feel for but fear for. The premise of this book is startlingly good: How can a person be in two different places at once and murder someone?

The first part of this story is set in the here and now, not in the supernatural. It is only as the investigation deepens that we begin to see the horror that is The Outsider. The protagonist, a person we can all relate to, finds it very difficult, if not impossible, to believe that the murders are carried out by someone or something other than the person there is undeniable proof of. 

By Stephen King,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

When an eleven-year-old boy is found murdered in a town park, reliable eyewitnesses undeniably point to the town's popular Little League coach, Terry Maitland, as the culprit. DNA evidence and fingerprints confirm the crime was committed by this well-loved family man.

Horrified by the brutal killing, Detective Ralph Anderson, whose own son was once coached by Maitland, orders the suspect to be arrested in a public spectacle. But Maitland has an alibi. And further research confirms he was indeed out of town that day.

As Anderson and the District Attorney trace the clues, the investigation expands from Ohio to Texas.…


My 2nd favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of Along Came a Spider

Stephen B. King Why did I love this book?

James Patterson is a wonderful writer, and this book introduces Alex Cross, a police detective who is a widower with two small children.

They live with the elderly woman who raised him, and she passes on the values she taught Alex to his children. Alex is a good person. Flawed like the rest of us, but he is trying to make a difference in the world. He tries to capture a man responsible for heinous crimes against two abducted children from a prestigious school. Is the perpetrator unhinged, or when he is caught, is he pretending to be unhinged?

In my own novels, I show a glimpse into the mindset of the serial killer my protagonists are hunting, and this book does the same thing. James Patterson is a vastly superior writer than I could ever hope to be.

I loved this story so much that when I finished, I immediately bought the second book in the series.

By James Patterson,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Along Came a Spider as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The legendary thriller that launched the Alex Cross phenomenon

Adapted into a major Hollywood movie starring Morgan Freeman
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Two children have been kidnapped from an elite private school in Washington DC, and Detective Alex Cross is charged with finding them.

The kidnapper's identity is quickly determined as one of the children's teachers. But capturing him is the true challenge.

As Cross gets pulled deeper into the strange world of the kidnapper, it becomes clear he is far more dangerous than anyone could have anticipated.
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'No one gets this big without amazing natural storytelling talent - which is what…


My 3rd favorite read in 2023…

Book cover of Kiss the Girls

Stephen B. King Why did I love this book?

I was drawn into the rich character of Detective Alex Cross, and the second book in the series doesn't disappoint.

This time, Alex’s favorite niece disappears, and he helps the investigation to find her as she has been abducted by a serial killer. He soon discovers that the killer has a rival in another State, and they are trying to outdo each other in a spiral of violence and horror for the victims.

This is a great read, which reminded me of driving past a car wreck. You don’t want to look, but you know you will.

By James Patterson,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Kiss the Girls as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

SOON TO BE AN ORIGINAL AMAZON PRIME SERIES
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DETECTIVE ALEX CROSS'S NIECE IS MISSING

Cross fears the disappearance could be linked to a string of recent abductions and murders that are terrorising the US.

Two killers, operating on opposite sides of the country, are collaborating and competing to commit increasingly horrific crimes.

If he's to rescue his niece, Cross must hunt down these two brutal masterminds. All the while, countless lives hang in the balance.
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'No one gets this big without amazing natural storytelling talent - which is what Jim has, in spades. The Alex Cross series proves…


Plus, check out my book…

The Boy in the Bubble

By Stephen B. King,

Book cover of The Boy in the Bubble

What is my book about?

Timothy suffers from so many potentially fatal allergies he's forced to live in a self-contained bubble. Protected from everything and loved by his parents, Timothy endures a lonely childhood. Yet, as nature compensates, he develops extraordinary telekinetic and psychic powers.

As he reaches puberty, his secret talents increase in power so he can travel the world in his mind. Using his power while juggling numerous cars in the air, Timothy suffers a ruptured hernia and is rushed to the hospital for emergency surgery.

But the operation goes wrong, Tim awakens in agony, and the arrogant, incompetent surgeon can't help. Enraged, Timothy unleashes the full power of his ability—and no one in his path is safe.