A running ranking of the books that I have reviewed this year, updated and reranked after each book that I finish.

★★★★★ Jaw-dropping dialogue and moral judgement set the tone for this dark exploration of five neurodiverse characters, one of which we're told will die by the end of the book.

★★★★☆ Set in a dying Australian mining town, Harper's latest centers around a couple trying to solve the mystery of their son's disappearance five years prior.

★★★★☆ A grisly dive into the dark underbelly of Los Angeles that blends the hunt for a serial killer with commentary on the corrupt world of the ultra-wealthy.

★★★★★ One half of a famous podcasting duo goes missing in this unique debut that artfully blends mystery with a will-they-or-won't-they romance.

★★★★☆ After a flight to a remote island goes missing, a dual-timeline thriller follows two sisters—one who was on the flight and one who missed it.

★★★★★ Two teenage girls are abducted in a small Georgia town in this mystery filled with twists and family dynamics that will keep readers guessing.

★★☆☆☆ Two young girls try to catch the Yorkshire Ripper in 1979, but their "list of suspicious things" is just a vehicle to clumsily comment on prejudice.

★★★★★ A "tradwife" and Instagram influencer has cultivated a seemingly idyllic life for herself and family, but it's all upended when she wakes up one day in 1805.

★★★★☆ A heist/hostage situation at an elite restaurant is the vehicle for this novel to explore marriage and parenting as much as the heist.

★★★★☆ A short story collection masquerading as a novel, it follows the exploits of a family who consistently find themselves on the fringe of honest society.

★★★★☆ A two-tiered whodunit focused on the murder of a prominent Baton Rouge lawyer and its potential connection to a hit-and-run from a decade prior.

A running tally of the books that I have reviewed this year, updated and reranked after each book that I finish. Explore the latest reviews and discover hidden gems with insights from BarlinsBooks, your literary companion for top new releases.

★★★★★ A small town, a love triangle, a murder, and a trial form the foundation of this twisty, emotional novel set in mid-1900s England.

★★★★★ Edgy, violent, and dark, Cosby's latest sees a successful money manager sucked into working for a sadistic gang in order to save his brother.

★★★★★ Kerr's mature and tightly-plotted debut follows the murder investigation of the founder of a fictitious tech company in San Francisco.

★★☆☆☆ Mostly character study plus social commentary, it follows a fictional female journalist in Japan as she interviews a convicted serial killer.

★★★★☆ As a major storm approaches, a woman living alone in the woods finds a girl hiding in her toolshed, covered in blood and clutching a knife.

★★★★★ The daughter of a convicted serial killer has kept her identity a secret for 20 years, but someone has found out and is determined to expose her.

★★★☆☆ A woman returns to her hometown in South Carolina, only to be confronted with clues that help her unravel her sister's disappearance twenty years prior.