Best Books by Genre of 2023

December is such a fun month for me because a plethora of best-book lists are released – I love comparing my lists with others and discovering some titles I missed along the way. 

I recently wrote a feature entitled Best Books of the Year: Reflecting on 2023 highlighting my favorite books that published in 2023 in the historical fiction, fiction, and mystery/thriller genres. These are the three genres I read the most. It was incredibly hard to narrow down my list, so I am listing all of my standouts in those three genres here. Next week, I will highlight some outstanding nonfiction from 2023.

Within each genre, I list the books alphabetically. 

Mysteries and thrillers:

• Adrift by Lisa Brideau
• Better the Blood by Michael Bennett
• The Bitter Past by Bruce Borgos
• Broadway Butterfly by Sara DiVello
• The Dark That Doesn’t Sleep by Simon Mockler
• A Death in Denmark by Amulya Malladi
• The Golden Spoon by Jessa Maxwell
• Inside Threat by Matthew Quirk
• Kill Show by Daniel Sweren-Becker
• The Last Ranger by Peter Heller
• Murder in the Family by Cara Hunter
• Night Will Find You by Julia Heaberlin
• The Spy Coast by Tess Gerritsen
• Time’s Undoing by Cheryl A. Head
• Drowning by T.J. Newman
• Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto
• The White Lady by Jacqueline Winspear

Historical fiction:

• A Beautiful Rival by Gill Paul
• The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters
• Beyond That, the Sea by Laura Spence-Ash
• The Bookbinder by Pip Williams
• Dust Child by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai
• The General and Julia by Jon Clinch
• Go As a River by Shelley Read 
• Homecoming by Kate Morton
• The House Is on Fire by Rachel Beanland
• The House of Eve by Sadeqa Johnson
• The Madstone by Elizabeth Crook
• A Right Worthy Woman by Ruth P. Watson
• The River We Remember by William Kent Krueger
• Silent Came the Monster: A Novel of the 1916 Jersey Shore Shark Attacks by Ann Hill Hearth
• The Spectacular by Fiona Davis

Billed as Pride and Prejudice meets the Kardashians, Meet the Benedettos by Katie Cotugno is an ultra-modern retelling of Jane Austen’s most enduring novel. 

Fiction:

• Charm City Rocks by Matthew Norman
• The Connellys of County Down by Tracey Lange
• The Daydreams by Laura Hankin
• The Great Transition by Nick Fuller Googins
• Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano
• The Keeper of Stories by Sally Page
• The Last Beekeeper by Julie Carrick Dalton
• Lucky Girl by Irene Muchemi-Ndiritu
• Meet the Benedettos by Katie Cotugno
• The Mostly True Story of Tanner and Louise by Colleen Oakley
• On Fire Island by Jane L. Rosen
• The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston
• Starter Villain by John Scalzi
• The True Love Experiment by Christina Lauren

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.