I read right on through to the very end of 2023 and one of my final reads of the year made it onto my best of list, showing that compiling those lists before the end of December is not a good idea for me. Herewith are 20 books that stood out of all the books I looked at this year.

Crime in Corn Weather by Mary Meigs Atwater (1935) – A surprisingly modern piece of crime fiction that addresses how a crime affects everyone around the victim

The Vinyl Detective: The Run-Out Groove by Andrew Cartmel (2017) — full of references to the 1960s English music scene and its personalities; ingeniously plotted

Secret Lives by Mark de Castrique (2022) – A series debut with a fine new senior sleuth

Great Party! Sorry about the Murder by D. B. Elrogg (2018) – A creative spin on the private detective story with a beautifully hidden solution

The Red Pole of Macau by Ian Hamilton (2013) – Slick, relentless action, an absorbing piece of escapism; I loved it

She Talks to Angels by James D. F. Hannah (2021) — A first-rate piece of Southern noir with overtones of Spenser

Pesticide by Kim Hays (2022) – A police procedural set in Switzerland; fascinating insight into the way crimes are investigated there

The Pitch by Kerry Hilton (2023) – Hard-driving insider view of the New York marketing industry with maddening typos

Deadly Waters by Dot Hutchinson (2020) – An eye-opening plot addressing aggressive fraternity men

Dead of Winter by Stephen Mack Jones (2021) – An exceptional private investigator series set in Detroit

Hanging the Devil by Tim Maleeny (2023) — A very good story about Cape Weathers, art theft, Russian gangsters, Interpol, and Chinese mobsters in San Francisco

Other Plans by Caimh McDonnell (2023) – The fourth book in the McGarry Stateside series, beautifully written and sidesplittingly funny

Blood Ties by Brian McGilloway (2021) – The latest in an Irish police procedural series, set at the beginning of shutdown

The Lady from Burma by Allison Montclair (2023) – I absolutely love this series. Pitch-perfect depiction of post-World War II London

My Father’s House by Joseph O’Connor (2023) – A suspense-laden fact-based tale of the Vatican during World War II

Never Pick up Hitchhikers by Ellis Peters (1976) – Completely unexpected caper from the creator of Brother Cadfael

The Mayors of New York by S. J. Rozan (2023) – An excellent entry in the Lydia Chin and Bill Smith series

Second Girl by David Swinson (2016) – A gritty look at the drug scene in Washington, DC from a former DC cop

Bad Debts by Peter Temple (1996) – The first book about Melbourne lawyer and gambler Jack Irish; Ned Kelly Award for Best First Novel

Outback by Patricia Wolf (2022) – An outstanding procedural series debut set in Queensland, Australia