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 Miss Benson's Beetle

Susan McCormick Why did I love this book?

This was one of the most unusual books I’ve read, about two women after the war in England who embark on an adventure to find an elusive golden beetle. The women are nothing alike, are thrown together by accident, don’t even like each other in the beginning, but become the very best of friends.

One is running from something, and one has nothing to run from. Both characters are so believable, even though they are incredibly unique, and their blossoming friendship is lovely to watch. The story is funny and sad and heartwarming and heartbreaking and like nothing you’ve read before.

By Rachel Joyce,

Why should I read it?

7 authors picked Miss Benson's Beetle as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

WINNER OF THE WILBUR SMITH ADVENTURE WRITING PRIZE | BEST PUBLISHED NOVEL
WOMAN & HOME BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR and A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

'The perfect escape novel for our troubled times.' PATRICK GALE

It is 1950. In a devastating moment of clarity, Margery Benson abandons her dead-end job and advertises for an assistant to accompany her on an expedition. She is going to travel to the other side of the world to search for a beetle that may or may not exist.
Enid Pretty, in her unlikely pink travel suit, is not the companion Margery had in…


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My 2nd favorite read in 2023

Book cover of The Bullet That Missed

Susan McCormick Why did I love this book?

Third in a series, these books keep getting better, and that’s saying a lot since I enjoyed the others so much.

A gang of elder sleuths—right up my ally since I write a cozy mystery series with a gaggle of older lady amateur detectives. I love books that show this generation with all their wisdom and gumption, but also with the frailties and fears that come with age.

This book has a murder with no body, two ruthless bad guys turned buddies in the most poignant of ways, lots of tea and cake, and even a new romance.

By Richard Osman,

Why should I read it?

10 authors picked The Bullet That Missed as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Brought to you by Penguin.

A new mystery is afoot in the third book in the Thursday Murder Club series from record-breaking, bestselling author Richard Osman.

It is an ordinary Thursday and things should finally be returning to normal.

Except trouble is never far away where the Thursday Murder Club are concerned. A decade-old cold case leads them to a local news legend and a murder with no body and no answers.

Then a new foe pays Elizabeth a visit. Her mission? Kill. . . or be killed.

As the cold case turns white hot, Elizabeth wrestles with her conscience…


My 3rd favorite read in 2023

Book cover of A Song of Comfortable Chairs

Susan McCormick Why did I love this book?

I have read this series since its inception in 2003, I’ve watched the television show, and I’ve seen Alexander McCall Smith in person. I am a true fan, and anything in this series is something I know will make me warm inside, a comfortable read like the comfortable chair in the title.

This was one of my favorite Ladies Detective Agency books of late. So enjoyable, with trouble with Mma Makutsi, BFF of No 1 Lady Detective Mma Ramotswe, plus trouble for the beloved Double Comfort Furniture Store, not to mention trouble with a teenager.

The conflict is real and resolved in a wonderful, charming, warm, and fuzzy manner.

By Alexander McCall Smith,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked A Song of Comfortable Chairs as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The twenty-third book in the perennially adored The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series.

Grace Makutsi's husband, Phuti, is in a bind. An international firm is attempting to undercut his prices in the office furniture market. Phuti has always been concerned with quality and comfort, but this new firm seems interested only in profits. To make matters worse, they have a slick new advertising campaign that seems hard to beat. Nonetheless with Mma Ramotswe's help, Phtui comes up with a campaign that may just do the trick.

Meanwhile, Mma Makutsi is approached by an old friend who has a troubled…


Don‘t forget about my book 😀

The Fog Ladies

By Susan McCormick,

Book cover of The Fog Ladies

What is my book about?

Book 1 in this award-winning, endearing cozy murder mystery series.
Young, overworked medical intern Sarah James has no time for sleuthing. Her elderly neighbors, the spunky Fog Ladies, have nothing but time. When old ladies start to die in their elegant apartment building in San Francisco, Sarah assumes it is the natural consequence of growing old. The Fog Ladies assume murder.

Mrs. Bridge falls off a stool cleaning bugs out of her kitchen light. Mrs. Talwin slips on bubbles in the bath and drowns. The Pacific Heights building is turning over tenants faster than the fog rolls in on a cool San Francisco evening.

Sarah resists the Fog Ladies’ perseverations. But when one of them falls down the stairs and tells Sarah she was pushed, even Sarah believes evil lurks in their building. Can they find the killer before the killer finds them?

Book cover of Miss Benson's Beetle
Book cover of The Bullet That Missed
Book cover of A Song of Comfortable Chairs

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