★★★★☆ 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?

★★★☆☆ Strange is an understated descriptor for the protagonist of this novel, which follows a woman as she tries to find her way to normalcy

★★★☆☆ A so-so debut that follows the exploits of a grandmother, mother, and daughter as they work to solve a mystery on the California coast

★★★★☆ A father goes missing, and his son knows what happened but cannot tell anyone due to a disability. Mostly satisfying, but with flaws.

★★★★★ A story of a four tight knit girls at a small college turns dark when it seems they might have been involved with a frat boy's death.

★★★☆☆ Book 3 in the Maggie D'Arcy mystery series fizzles compared to prior books; fully set in Ireland, the story feels muddled and forced.

★★★☆☆ A rushed sophomore slump of a novel that fails to live up to Boulley's first book, Firekeeper's Daughter, in almost every way.

★★★★☆ The 2nd book in the Danny Ryan Trilogy fails to live up to the 1st, but it's a quick read if you want more time with the Dogtown crew.

★★★★★ A well-executed (pun intended) novel about 4 female assassins in their 60s who must unretire when they are targeted by their agency.