★★★★☆ A borderlined-5-star thriller that unveils what happened to Ellie Black, who went missing for more than two years but has now returned

★★★★☆ A fresh take on the assassin genre, balancing globetrotting action with a main character truly trying to change via a 12-step program.

★★★☆☆ A slightly-better-than-average southern noir thriller about a wife's search for her missing husband, who might not be who she thought.

★★☆☆☆ A frustrating thriller, packed with unlikable characters and plot holes I could drive a truck through. Significantly disappointing.

★★★★☆ Reminiscent of "The Shield", it's a split between a missing persons mystery and a dirty firefighting crew committing thefts in NYC.

★★★★☆ While a murder mystery is at the heart of this novel, a cast of flawed characters enable the exploration of several weighty topics.

★★★★☆ Inspired by historical events, a midwife in 1789 finds herself in the middle of both a murder and a rape investigation in her town.

★★★★☆ French's sequel to The Searcher again slowly builds up the plot -- and the tension -- until a murder mystery dominates the second half

★★★★☆ An inventive concept suffers a bit when the inevitable potential plot holes that come with time travel emerge. Entertaining but flawed

★★★☆☆ The Danny Ryan trilogy coasts to a conclusion, wrapping up open plot points but mostly just checking the box in this mailed-in effort.

★★★★☆ A reimagining of the events leading up to and surrounding the crimes of Ted Bundy, with a focus on the victims rather than the killer.

★★★★★ A twisty plot-driven novel about a woman who manufactures a relationship, only to find she might be the one being played.

★★★☆☆ A whodunit about a murder on a private Greek island, recounted by a conversational narrator who had me wishing for a second murder.

A running tally of my "Best Books of 2023", updated each time I finish a book throughout the year.

★★★★★ Another tightly crafted Southern Noir novel from Cosby packed with social commentary and memorable characters. Possibly his best yet.

★★★★★ A masterful book, Lehane's best since Mystic River, set against the racial tensions of Boston school busing during the summer of '74.

★★★★★ Harrow returns to top form with a genre-blending story of a young woman trying to scrape by in a town haunted by its past and secrets.

★★★★★ A stellar offering from author Harper about a missing woman and a history of complicated relationships among friends in a small town.

★★★★☆ Another story about retirement-age spies? You better believe it! It doesn't quite match up to Killers of a Certain Age, but it's close

★★★★☆ A 105-year-old man shares seemingly true stories of his multiple reincarnations and past lives. But is he making everything up?