The best books of 2024

This list is part of the best books of 2024.

Join 325 readers and share your 3 favorite reads of the year.

My favorite read in 2024…

Book cover of The Mercy Chair

Paul Gitsham I ❤️ loved this book because...

A new Washington Poe and Tilly book is always a treat. Few writers can blend twisty plots, disturnibng imagery and laugh-out-loud moments as well as M.W. Craven.

  • Loved Most

    🥇 Writing 🥈 Character(s)
  • Writing style

    ❤️ Loved it
  • Pace

    🐇 I couldn't put it down

By M.W. Craven,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Are you sitting comfortably? Then I'll begin . . .

Washington Poe has a story to tell.

And he needs you to listen.

You'll hear how it started with the robber birds. Crows. Dozens of them. Enough for a murder . . .

He'll tell you about a man who was tied to a tree and stoned to death, a man who had tattooed himself with a code so obscure, even the gifted analyst Tilly Bradshaw struggled to break it. He'll tell you how the man's murder was connected to a tragedy that happened fifteen years earlier when a young…


Shepherd is reader supported. When you buy books, we may earn an affiliate commission.

My 2nd favorite read in 2024…

Paul Gitsham I ❤️ loved this book because...

The latest Michael Connelly is always a fixture on my Christmas wishlist, and is often the first one I read in the new year. The Lincoln Lawyer series continues to raise the bar for legal thrillers. Add in Mickey's brother, Harry Bosch, and I am in heaven! Leaving aside the fantastic plots and well-developed characters, what drags me in each time is the world that Connelly has built. I feel as though I know Los Angeles, despite never having set foot on the US West Coast. I can't wait for the next one!

  • Loved Most

    🥇 Immersion 🥈 Character(s)
  • Writing style

    ❤️ Loved it
  • Pace

    🐇 I couldn't put it down

By Michael Connelly,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Defense attorney Mickey Haller is back, taking the long shot cases, where the chances of winning are one in a million. He agrees to represent a woman in prison for killing her husband, a sheriff’s deputy. Despite her conviction four years earlier, she still maintains her innocence. Haller enlists his half brother, retired LAPD Detective Harry Bosch, as investigator. Reviewing the case, Bosch sees something that doesn’t add up, and a sheriff’s department intent on bringing a quick search for justice in the killing of one of its own.
 
The path to justice for both the lawyer and his investigator…


Want my future book recommendations?

My 3rd favorite read in 2024…

Book cover of The Last Devil to Die

Paul Gitsham I ❤️ loved this book because...

Richard Osman isn't for everyone, but I adore the Thursday Murder Club series. Over four books I've grown to love the characters. I really enjoy Osman's writing style, which gets better with each book. He really knows these characters and it shows. His wry, observational humour is balanced perfectly with the poignancy of older people determined that the last chapters of their lives will be as fun and meaningful as the first.
As an aside, this is the first book that has made me cry in a very long time. If you've read it, you will know exactly what I am refering to. I can't wait until 2025 and the next installment.

  • Loved Most

    🥇 Character(s) 🥈 Writing
  • Writing style

    ❤️ Loved it
  • Pace

    🐇 I couldn't put it down

By Richard Osman,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked The Last Devil to Die as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A new mystery is afoot in the fourth book in the Thursday Murder Club series from million-copy bestselling author Richard Osman

You'd think you be allowed to relax over Christmas, but not in the world of the Thursday Murder Club.

On Boxing Day, a dangerous package is smuggled across the English coast. When it goes missing, chaos is unleashed. The body count starts to rise – including someone close to the Thursday Murder Club--as our gang face an impossible search, and their most deadly opponents yet.

With the clock ticking down and a killer heading to Cooper’s Chase, has their…


Don‘t forget about my book 😀

The Aftermath

By Paul Gitsham,

Book cover of The Aftermath

What is my book about?

The Fire. The Fallout. The Aftermath.

Seamus Monaghan is still haunted by the unexplained fire that killed his vibrant but troubled wife, Carole, three years ago. Why was she taken from him in such a horrific way?

Dominic has protected his brother, Seamus, since they were orphaned as young boys. But is that bond strong enough to survive the fallout from the fire?

Andrea loves her fiancé Seamus, but will the fire's aftermath destroy their future together?

Time moves on, but can the embers of the past ever be truly extinguished?

Read the stunning new standalone thriller from Paul Gitsham, creator of the DCI Warren Jones series.