Readers of MYSTERIES in PARADISE were invited to submit their best 10 crime fiction reads in 2009.The rules were simple - the books could be published in any year, they just had to be crime fiction.
In the long run 56 contributors suggested 541 titles.
Of course there were many duplicates both in titles and in authors.
The resultant lists read like a reading syllabus - you might like to check how many of the following you have read.
So the list below gives you the top 26 titles
This is topped by #2 in Stieg Larsson's Millenium series which was listed a staggering 12 times, that is, it appeared in about one list in 4.
| THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE | Stieg Larsson | 12 |
| THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO | Stieg Larsson | 5 |
| A BEAUTIFUL PLACE TO DIE | Malla Nunn | 4 |
| ARCTIC CHILL | Arnaldur Indridason | 4 |
| BURY ME DEEP | Megan Abbott | 4 |
| ECHOES FROM THE DEAD | Johann Theorin | 4 |
| HYPOTHERMIA | Arnaldur Indridason | 4 |
| SILENT IN THE GRAVE | Deanna Raybourn | 4 |
| SKELETON HILL | Peter Lovesey | 4 |
| ALONE IN BERLIN | Hans Fallada | 3 |
| AMONG THE MAD | Jacqueline Winspear | 3 |
| CHILD 44 | Tom Rob Smith | 3 |
| DOG ON IT | Spencer Quinn | 3 |
| FIFTY GRAND | Adrian McKinty | 3 |
| IN THE WOODS | Tana French | 3 |
| NEMESIS | Jo Nesbo | 3 |
| SHADOW | Karin Alvtegen | 3 |
| SLAMMER | Allan Guthrie | 3 |
| STILL LIFE | Louise Penny | 3 |
| THE BRASS VERDICT | Michael Connelly | 3 |
| THE CITY AND THE CITY | China Mieville | 3 |
| THE COMPLAINTS | Ian Rankin | 3 |
| THE CRUELLEST MONTH | Louise Penny | 3 |
| THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNETS' NEST | Stieg Larsson | 3 |
| THE REDEEMER | Jo Nesbo | 3 |
| THE SWEETNESS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PIE | Alan Bradley | 3 |
Next week I will list the authors who were mentioned multiple times together with the titles. And then later in the week I'll give you the whole list (all 420+ of them).
I'm very grateful to the following contributors: without you the lists would not be possible.
AmandaB, AmandaG, Arthur, Barbara, Bernadette, BooksPlease, Bullwinkle, Chris, Corey, Cynthia, Deb, Donna, Doreen, Felicity, Gavin, Geoff, Janet, John, Jose Ignacio, Joyfully Retired, Karen, Kay, Kerrie, Laura, Lesa, Linda, Literary Feline, Mack, Margot, Maria, Martin, Maxine, Meg, Michael, Michelle, Miss Lemon, Nan, Nicole, Norman, Pattinase, Paul Beech, Paul D. Brazill, PeterBB, raidergirl3, Rik, Rob, Roberta, Sally, Sarah, Sunnie, Susan, Terry, Trish, Vicki, Wendy, Xavier.
Kerrie - Thanks for doing this work and sharing it with us. Nice to know that at least a couple of my top choices were here : ).
ReplyDeleteExcellent work Kerrie. There are 4 of my top reads for last year in that list...and only one of the list is in my 'books I wish they hadn't wasted trees for' list :)
ReplyDeleteSeveral of these are already in my TBR pile and a few more are on the wishlist.
It's nice to see transplanted Aussie Malla Nunn on a list with such an international flavour
It's a long way to go from my side.
ReplyDeleteI've only read 4 out of 26. Altough 5 more are on my TBR list.
Good job Kerrie. Thank you for your blog and excellent ideas.
Have fun.
I have read nine of them, and a handful of them are on my TBR or my list.
ReplyDeleteI've read eleven of these, so plenty to aim for among the rest.
ReplyDeleteDoes this list include all the Euro Crime reviewers' choices? If not, my own list is now up on my blog here:
http://petrona.typepad.com/petrona/2010/01/my_review_highlights_2009.html
Karen sent me the Euro crime complete listing thanks Maxine. I've added your link to the Mr Linky back on the original post though.
ReplyDelete