Favorite Reads of 2022 By Genre

December is such a fun month for me because it brings a slew of best book lists put out by magazines, newspapers, TV stations, and more – I love comparing my lists with others and discovering some new titles along the way. 

I recently created a list for The Buzz of my top 15 reads that were published in 2022 in the historical fiction, fiction, and mystery/thriller genres. These are the three genres I read the most. It was hard to narrow down my list, so I am listing all of my favorites in those three genres here. Within each genre, I listed the books alphabetically. 

Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn is about four women who have been employed by an elite network of assassins for many decades when they find themselves being targeted by someone within their company. The book effectively combines humor, reflections on aging, and a clever mystery.

Mysteries and thrillers:
All Good People Here by Ashley Flowers and Alex Kiester
Die Around Sundown by Mark Pryor
Dirt Creek by Hayley Scrivenor
Do No Harm by Robert Pobi
Girl, Forgotten by Karin Slaughter
A Ghost of Caribou by Alice Henderson
Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn
The Last Party by Clare Mackintosh
The Local by Joey Hartstone
Marple: Twelve New Stories by Various Authors
One of the Girls by Lucy Clarke
Racing the Light by Robert Crais
Woman on Fire by Lisa Barr
Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister

Historical fiction:
Angels of the Pacific by Elise Hooper
Bloomsbury Girls by Natalie Jenner
The Codebreaker’s Secret by Sara Ackerman
I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys
Jacqueline in Paris by Ann Mah
The Last Grand Duchess by Bryn Turnbull
The Librarian Spy by Madeline Martin
Love and Saffron by Kim Fay
The Magnolia Palace by Fiona Davis
Marmee by Sarah Miller
The Matchmaker’s Gift by Lynda Cohen Loigman
Sisters of Night and Fog by Erika Robuck
The Storyteller’s Death by Ann Davila Cardinal
Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez
The White Girl by Tony Birch

Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng  is a powerful dystopian tale that shines a light on injustice and racism and demonstrates how art and quiet resistance can bring about change.

Fiction:
Acts of Violet by Margarita Montimore
Any Other Family by Eleanor Brown
The Beach Trap by Ali Brady
Carrie Soto is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid
The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd
Cover Story by Susan Rigetti
The High House by Jessie Greengrass
How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water by Angie Cruz
Iona Iverson’s Rules for Commuting by Clare Pooley
Last Summer on State Street by Toya Wolfe
Mika in Real Life by Emiko Jean
Nora Goes off Script by Annabel Monaghan
Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng
The Unsinkable Greta James by Jennifer E Smith

I hope you enjoy perusing this list and finding some books that you have not yet read but now want to. Feel free to share your favorite lists with me!

For more book recommendations and bookish thoughts, see Cindy’s monthly Buzz Reads column, her Thoughts from a Page Podcast or follow @ThoughtsFromaPage on Instagram. Find upcoming Conversations from a Page events here.