2024 saw me hit a new personal best for books rad in a year: 67! I narrowed down my favorites to my "Top 13", listed below, along with everything else I finished in 2024, in ranked order.
#1 - Lost Man's Lane
by Scott Carson ★★★★★
Lost Man’s Lane is set in Bloomington, Indiana in 1999. The plot centers around a missing girl, who our protagonist, Marshall Miller, saw in the back of a cop car during a traffic stop. However, when the missing posters arrive and Marshall goes to the police with his story, there’s no record of the officer who pulled him over. Despite significant pleas from the girl's parents and effort from the local police, no progress is being made. However, there's a private detective named Noah Storm who is determined to find the young woman, and he enlists Marshall's help for the summer.
There's a bit of everything in Lost Man's Lane -- it's a coming-of-age story centered around a mystery that mixes in the supernatural, family bonds, friendship, teenage romance, and even a smidge (or more) of horror. There's even a good amount of humor to balance some of the intensity, and several truly laugh-out-loud scenes make it one of the funniest books I read this year. There's little I can say by way of critique -- that diverse hodgepodge of components is without a weak link. Carson executes each component with precision and excellence, and he blends them together beautifully.
And the result, ladies and gentlemen, is the one book that rose above all others in 2024.
#2 - James
by Percival Everett ★★★★★
James is Percival Everett's retelling of Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn through the eyes of Jim, an enslaved black man who flees with Huck down the Mississippi River as his companion in that novel. It is indeed a retelling, to an extent, but it is so much more. Like other alternative points-of-view novels, we have the opportunity to experience a story we know through a new lens, and Everett's reimagining of the "true Jim" beneath Twain's mostly stereotypical presentation is masterful.
James was #1 on Amazon's "Best Books of the Year So Far" list, and it surprisingly dropped to #3 in the final list. It can be a difficult read at points; it pulls no punches when exploring the horrors of slavery and the pervasive racism of the time. Like with The Covenant of Water last year, it was challenging to rank this. It is the most impactful book I read this year. It didn't bring me the same level of joy that some of the others among my top books did, but I can't ignore what Everett has accomplished.
It's a truly staggering achievement when you think about it: Everett took the most well-known and frequently taught work in the American literary canon and authored a novel that, quite simply, eclipsed Huck Finn in every way. While I suspect Huck Finn will forever hold a place of some prominence, Everett has given us a superior examination of the same time and themes, and done so in a way that makes it the more deserving of the two books to be taught and studied. It's a pretty incredible accomplishment and a book that I believe every American should read.
#3 - All the Colors of the Dark
by Chris Whitaker ★★★★★
Whitaker wrote what is still my favorite book of the last several years, We Begin at the End, and many of the components that made me love that novel are present here as well. But while some of the archetypal characters are redundant, the plot and personalities deviate quite a bit. This is a novel that explores an entirely new space, and does so in a brilliant way.
The novel is sprawling, spanning 1975 to 2001, and it tackles a ton of difficult topics, including child abduction and abuse, rape, and abortion rights, to name a few. It's a heavier read because of those topics, but Whitaker still sprinkles in levity throughout, a critical element in helping the reader get through the weightiest parts of the book.
I was a bit concerned at one point about where the plot was going; however, the final hundred or so pages pull everything together beautifully. There are a series of coincidences that are just this side of believable, but it all totally worked for me, and those rocketed the novel to a wholly satisfying conclusion. Bravo to Chris Whitaker for once again creating characters I'll remember forever. It’s a well-plotted novel that tackles a number of difficult topics, but from the darkness emerges a story that is ultimately uplifting, even if the path to get there is difficult. Very highly recommended, and in a different year this could have taken the top spot.
#4 - The Mayor of Maxwell Street
by Avery Cunningham ★★★★★
One of the more polarizing novels on my list! This one definitely divides the room, and I may have it a bit too high. It’s a debut novel that suffers from some debut novel things—a few plot issues, and a couple of choppy transitions, mostly—and it’s not all hugs and rainbows, so I think some people were turned off by that. Those things bothered some…but not me! I loved the prose and the dialogue—perhaps the best of any book I read this year— and I was able to set aside the book’s challenges and appreciate the writing.
The novel combines a coming-of-age love story with the search for a mysterious gangster in 1920s Chicago. Our main character, Nelly, is there for the summer, and is reluctantly thrust into the summer’s Cotillion—a presentation of the eligible bachelorettes from "hundreds of the most prominent Colored families and peoples from New Orleans to Boston". However, she’s also a closeted journalist, and agrees to search for and expose “The Mayor of Maxwell Street”, in exchange for getting a byline in The Chicago Defender, a Black-run newspaper.
Read it for turns of phrase like "(she) hummed and swiveled her head, eyes touching everything and everyone like the Angel of Death searching for firstborns to slaughter", or "(she) walked through the gossip and the sneers like tall grass. It brushed against clothes, tickled her hands, and left its seeds embedded in her skin." I’m willing to bet Cunningham’s second novel smoothes out the rough edges and becomes a bona fide hit, and you can say you were reading her before she was a household name.
#5 - The Will of the Many
by James Islington ★★★★★
We head to the world of fantasy with a truly excellent start to a trilogy about an orphan who infiltrates an academy for societal elites in order to uncover a conspiracy. There's so much good here! Multi-faceted characters, multiple plots and mysteries, well-rendered action sequences, and some significant surprises along the way. The majority of the novel takes place at the Academy, a cutthroat school for the children of high society that produces the next crop of senators and leaders for the government, and so there are some similarities to schools in other fantasy novels, like Basquiat War College in Fourth Wing (albeit without the steamy romance). Some reviewers have drawn parallels with Red Rising, and I can see that, especially when it gets to the "Iudicium", the finishing test at the Academy for the top students to determine their final class ranking. The characters have believable motivations, and there is nuance and growth among most of them. A great start to a new fantasy series that I will absolutely be continuing.
#6 - Open
by Andre Agassi ★★★★★
This one was published back in 2009, but I read it for the first time this past year, and it’s tremendous. There's a bit of everything in the book—the pinnacle of success, the depth of failure, deep friendships, intense competition, internal and external conflict, a bit of romance, and even a healthy dose of Agassi's wry sense of humor sprinkled throughout. Despite clocking in at nearly 600 pages, it doesn't feel unnecessarily long, and it never dragged for me. It's a thorough recounting of a unique life, and it's among the best autobiographies I have read.
#7 - Iron Flame
by Rebecca Yarros ★★★★★
Yarros gives us a rarity -- a sequel to a force-of-nature debut (Fourth Wing, my #4 book of 2023) that's just as good as the original, and in some ways possibly better. There’s not much I can comment on without spoiling the series, so I’ll just say this: go read it! If you’re hesitating on continuing after Fourth Wing, fear not — Iron Flame does not disappoint, and it seems as though this series is on track to become a must-read for fans of fantasy, romance, and everything in between. Plus, book 3 (Onyx Storm) comes out in January 2025!
#8 - The God of the Woods
by Liz Moore ★★★★★
Set in 1975, the novel is set at a wilderness camp for children in the Adirondack Mountains in upstate New York. The camp is held on the "Van Laar Preserve", a stretch of land that a wealthy family purchased at the turn of the 20th century. The Van Laars live on the property, but they keep a determined distance from anything going on at the camp, never choosing to descend from their home to intermingle with the campers. They make a rare exception this year, though, when they allow their 13-year-old daughter Barbara to attend the camp. Things are running smoothly at camp until one of the campers turns up missing at morning roll call. A missing camper is bad, but in this case the bad just got worse: the missing camper is Barbara Van Laar.
Beyond the central mysteries, Moore uses the novel to explore a number of themes, including class and wealth gaps, the always-complicated dynamics of family and inter-family expectations, as well as the slowly changing (in 1975) role of women in society and the workplace. She writes strong and independent female characters, working in male-dominated professions, who are struggling to find their independence in a world that is not fully ready to give it to them. Moore's tactful exploration of societal themes of the time adds an extra layer to a finely crafted mystery.
#9 - 60 Songs That Explain the '90s
by Rob Harvilla ★★★★★
A nostalgia-inducing romp through the most impactful songs of the '90s, focusing on their meaning to the decade and to music overall.
The book is fun and funny, poignant and nostalgic, and I found myself finding excuses to drive long distances or go for long walks so that I could listen to another chapter or two. It's a delightful romp through a bunch of songs you know -- and a few you almost certainly don't -- that will have you regularly taking breaks from Harvilla rhapsodizing about a song so you can go listen to it, remember where you were when you first heard it, and appreciate it even more given the additional insights you now have. Highly recommended, both in print and audiobook form.
#10 - Listen for the Lie
by Amy Tintera ★★★★★
A woman, Lucy Chase, returns to the small town where she grew up, despite being the prime suspect in the 5-year-old unsolved murder of her best friend. The visit also coincides with a nationwide podcast that is currently airing and attempting to solve the murder. Lucy has no memory of the night of the murder, and part of her wonders if maybe she actually did it—the townspeople all seem to think she was the culprit, so why not embrace it? Lucy is the perfect blend of sympathetic and sarcastic badass...even if she might be a murderer, and Tintera’s use of podcast transcripts to add other points of view combined with the gradual return of Lucy’s memories makes for a compelling slow reveal. Among the mystery and thriller novels that I read in 2024, this stands with the best of them.
#11 - The Wedding People
by Alison Espach ★★★★★
A woman, Phoebe, travels to a luxury hotel with plans to kill herself but instead gets wrapped up in the wedding festivities happening on site. It's an unexpected turn of events, to say the least, but one that surprisingly feels natural despite the absurdity of the situation. As the week goes on, Phoebe gradually starts to embrace her second chance on life, approaching her interactions with "the wedding people" with an openness that is freeing and a new zero-fucks-given approach to her life.
I had middling expectations—this is not really the type of novel that I'm generally keen on—but I found myself fully enjoying the story and characters. It steps to the edge of tragedy, takes a brief glance, but then pulls back and focuses its energy on the pathways to finding happiness and moving forward. I was impressed with its thoughtfulness and completeness paired with its believable dialogue and well-rendered characters, and as a result, it is perhaps the most unexpected 5-star book of 2024 for me.
#12 - The Year of the Locust
by Terry Hayes ★★★★★
Another polarizing book that worked for me but not for everyone. Given how excited I was for this book and how long I had to wait—Hayes’ last book, I Am Pilgrim, was narrowly edged out by The Martian for my Best Book of 2014 (!)—it would have been easy for me to fall into the camp of people frustrated by this book. And there are plenty of frustrating things.
The novel plays out in several acts, and for the first several sections it mirrors I Am Pilgrim, with al-Tundra (a terrorist) doggedly pursued by Kane (a CIA agent). It's fairly well grounded in reality, with a decent dose of cutting-edge technology and spycraft that one could believably accept is available to the CIA. But then things take a few very bizarre turns. Without giving any of the plot away, suffice it to say that cutting-edge tech gives way to space viruses, time travel, and at one point a section of story that could be an episode of The Walking Dead or The Last Of Us. That turned off a lot of readers, and you'll find plenty of reviews online that suggest this is "two separate books".
I don't fully agree with the "two separate books" assessment, but the shift from grounded-in-reality (mostly) to supernatural is jarring. However, if you can make peace with the bending of reality, I thought it was a pretty great story and one that I'm appreciating as I've had time to digest it. All the pieces fit conveniently together, but I still liked it despite the coincidences, and it thoroughly entertained me for the time I was reading it. Relax, approach it like you would a trip to the theater to see a summer blockbuster, and allow Hayes to entertain you for almost 800 pages. It's fun and worth the read.
#13 - Pony Confidential
by Christina Lynch ★★★★★
Part mystery, part odyssey, the story follows a sardonic pony as he seeks to reunite with his human, Penny, on trial for a 25-year-old murder. It’s such a bizarre concept, but trust me, it works. The chapters told from Pony’s point-of-view are especially enjoyable, particularly early in the book when he’s filled with anger at his abandonment by Penny. "I make a mental list of my favorite things,” he says at one point. “Carrots, peppermints, grass, oats, anger. I reorder the list, putting oats and anger higher." Eventually the novelty wears off a bit, and the plotting / mystery is so-so, but this was the funniest book I read this year, and Pony is one of my favorite characters of the year, so it sneaks its way onto the list.
#14 - First Lie Wins
by Ashley Elston ★★★★★
A twisty plot-driven novel about a woman who manufactures a relationship, only to find she might be the one being played.
#15 - The Storyteller
by Dave Grohl ★★★★★
Dave Grohl -- former drummer for Nirvana, and founding member of the Foo Fighters -- shares stories of his life in rock in this memoir.
#16 - The Relentless Legion
by J. S. Dewes ★★★★★
A satisfying conclusion to one of the better sci-fi trilogies I have read, the Sentinels once again try to defy odds to save humanity.
#17 - The Boys of Riverside
by Thomas Fuller ★★★★☆
The account of the California School for the Deaf, Riverside, and their football team's pursuit of a championship across two seasons.
#18 - The Frozen River
by Ariel Lawhon ★★★★☆
Inspired by historical events, a midwife in 1789 finds herself in the middle of both a murder and a rape investigation in her small town.
#19 - Devil's Kitchen
by Candice Fox ★★★★☆
Reminiscent of "The Shield", it's a split between a missing persons mystery and a dirty firefighting crew committing thefts in NYC.
#20 - Assassins Anonymous
by Rob Hart ★★★★☆
A fresh take on the assassin genre, balancing globetrotting action with a main character truly trying to change via a 12-step program.
#21 - The Return of Ellie Black
by Emiko Jean ★★★★☆
A borderlined-5-star thriller that unveils what happened to Ellie Black, who went missing for more than two years but has now returned.
#22 - The Hunter
by Tana French ★★★★☆
French's sequel to The Searcher again slowly builds up the plot -- and the tension -- until a murder mystery dominates the second half.
#23 - The True Love Experiment
by Christina Lauren ★★★★☆
A funny and heartwarming romance novel in the style of Emily Henry about a woman who is cast as the lead on a reality dating show.
#24 - A Court of Thorns and Roses
by Sarah J. Maas ★★★★☆
After a bit of a slow and clunky start, the story of a young human woman imprisoned in faerie lands barrels to an excellent climax.
#25 - The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell
by Robert Dugoni ★★★★☆
A book club darling of a novel about a boy born with ocular albinism (red eyes), whose life I found less extraordinary than expected.
#26 - Lenny Marks Gets Away With Murder
by Kerryn Mayne ★★★★☆
Lenny Marks lives a carefully crafted and ordered life for herself until her stepfather's parole sparks memories of childhood trauma.
#27 - All the Worst Humans
by Phil Elwood ★★★★☆
A memoir that exposes the role of PR firms in our news cycle and the ways they manipulate information to support their wealthy clients.
#28 - Funny Story
by Emily Henry ★★★★☆
Desperate for a place to stay after her fiancé cheats on her, Daphne moves in with the ex of the woman who broke up her engagement.
#29 - Revenge of the Tipping Point
by Malcolm Gladwell ★★★★☆
Gladwell revisits how social epidemics take off with a new set of stories to illustrate variations of concepts from The Tipping Point.
#30 - The River We Remember
by William Kent Krueger ★★★★☆
While a murder mystery is at the heart of this novel, a cast of flawed characters enable the exploration of several weighty topics.
#31 - The Small and the Mighty
by Sharon McMahon ★★★★☆
An entertaining look at a few lesser-known influential people in American history, presented in a conversational and engaging way.
#32 - The Formula
by Joshua Robinson and Jonathan Clegg ★★★★☆
Focused not just on the recent rise of F1 but its entire 75-year history, this is an entertaining look at the evolution of the sport.
#33 - The Boys in the Boat
by Daniel James Brown ★★★★☆
A thoroughly-researched and compelling account of the University of Washington rowing team's quest to win gold at the 1936 Olympics.
#34 - When the World Tips Over
by Jandy Nelson ★★★★☆
A story of love, growth, and second chances, the novel follows a set of siblings as they discover their family's complex history.
#35 - When Among Crows
by Veronica Roth ★★★★☆
A memorable novella, inspired by Polish folklore, that follows a guilt-ridden hero's journey through the magical underbelly of Chicago.
#36 - Be Ready When the Luck Happens
by Ina Garten ★★★★☆
A glimpse into one of the more spontaneous people on the planet, who balances that spontaneity with a fierce determination and will.
#37 - We Solve Murders
by Richard Osman ★★★★☆
A new setting and cast of characters, but the same humor, heart, and layered mystery that readers have come to expect from Osman.
#38 - The Guncle
by Steven Rowley ★★★★☆
Equal parts funny, heartwarming, and sad, the story of a gay uncle pressed into temporary custody of his niece and nephew for a summer.
#39 - Martyr!
by Kaven Akbar ★★★★☆
A young Iranian-American man muddles through life trying to find his purpose before eventually fixating on martyrdom as the answer.
#40 - The Fifth Season
by N.K. Jemisin ★★★★☆
A uniquely creative fantasy novel, it's ultimately a struggle between those in power and those powerful enough to overthrow them.
#41 - Margo's Got Money Troubles
by Rufi Thorpe ★★★★☆
When a 19-year-old finds herself desperate for cash after having a child with her professor, she turns to OnlyFans to make ends meet.
#42 - Assassin Eighteen
by John Brownlow ★★★★☆
In this action-packed and entertaining sequel, the world's greatest assassin must emerge from self-exile to stop a global terrorist.
#43 - The Book of Doors
by Gareth Brown ★★★★☆
An inventive concept suffers a bit when the inevitable potential plot holes that come with time travel emerge. Entertaining but flawed.
#44 - The Six Pack
by Brad Balukjian ★★★★☆
An in-depth look at six of the wrestlers (and the rise of wrestling in the '80s) centered around the Iron Sheik becoming champion in 1983.
#45 - Heir
by Sabaa Tahir ★★★★☆
A mostly average offering from an author I normally enjoy, which follows the next generation of her "An Ember in the Ashes" heroes.
#46 - The Night We Lost Him
by Laura Dave ★★★★☆
When a man falls from the cliffs adjacent to his seaside home, his son and daughter collaborate to uncover the truth behind his death.
#47 - Bright Young Women
by Jessica Knoll ★★★★☆
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.
#48 - Just for the Summer
by Abby Jimenez ★★★★☆
When online banter turns to real-life dating, Emma and Justin must overcome significant obstacles to make their relationship last.
#49 - I Cheerfully Refuse
by Leif Enger ★★★★☆
Richly rendered characters living in a deteriorating society, Enger's novel merges bits of beauty into an overwhelmingly sad world.
#50 - Tidal Creatures
by Seanan McGuire ★★★★☆
McGuire's unparalleled creativity is again on display as she explores Lunar deities working to solve a murder of one of their own.
#51 - The Boyfriend
by Freida McFadden ★★★★☆
A quick bubblegum thriller from the queen of the twist which will keep you guessing even when you know the misdirection is coming.
#52 - Sunderworld, Vol. I: The Extraordinary Disappointments of Leopold Berry
by Ransom Riggs ★★★☆☆
The first book in a series with plenty of potential, it establishes characters and foundation but fails to deliver a full story arc.
#53 - The Eyes and the Impossible
by Dave Eggers ★★★☆☆
The 2024 Newberry Medal winner is the story of Johannes, a free dog who monitors the activities of a large woodland park as "The Eyes".
#54 - Legends & Lattes
by Travis Baldree ★★★☆☆
A sweet little story about friendship and starting over, focused on an orc who tries to leave violence behind and open a coffee shop.
#55 - Don't Let the Devil Ride
by Ace Atkins ★★★☆☆
A slightly-better-than-average southern noir thriller about a wife's search for her missing husband, who might not be who she thought.
#56 - The Last One at the Wedding
by Jason Rekulak ★★★☆☆
An unfortunately average mystery about a father and his growing concerns that his daughter's fiancé could have a dark and sordid past.
#57 - Somewhere Beyond the Sea
by TJ Klune ★★★☆☆
A continuation of the "Cerulean Chronicles", but lacking the sweetness, joy and novelty that made the first book delightful & special.
#58 - The Familiar
by Leigh Bardugo ★★★☆☆
A rare ho-hum effort from an author I enjoy, Bardugo's novel of 16th century Spain struggles to blend history, fantasy, and romance.
#59 - Faebound
by Saara El-Arifi ★★★☆☆
A new set of characters and worlds from El-Arifi, but a book that is far more in the "romantasy" category than her previous novels.
#60 - City in Ruins
by Don Winslow ★★★☆☆
The Danny Ryan trilogy coasts to a conclusion, wrapping up open plot points but mostly just checking the box in this mailed-in effort.
#61 - North Woods
by Daniel Mason ★★★☆☆
A series of loosely-related vignettes spanning 400 years show off Mason's literary prowess but fail to coalesce into something special.
#62 - Hunted
by Abir Mukherjee ★★☆☆☆
A frustrating thriller, packed with unlikable characters and plot holes I could drive a truck through. Significantly disappointing.
#63 - The Ministry of Time
by Kaliane Bradley ★★☆☆☆
An alternative take on Stranger in a Strange Land; social commentary abounds as an 1847 explorer tries to acclimate to modern society.
#64 - The Fury
by Alex Michaelides ★★☆☆☆
A whodunit about a murder on a private Greek island, recounted by a conversational narrator who had me wishing for a second murder.
#65 - Womb City
by Tlotlo Tsamaase ★★☆☆☆
An unfocused debut that combines elements of Minority Report with a grisly ghost story, an all-powerful being, and more. It's a mess.
#66 - Wordhunter
by Stella Sands ★☆☆☆☆
A forensic linguistics student begins helping police solve crimes, while engaging in the most unrealistic dialogue I read all year.
#67 - Fifty Beasts To Break Your Heart
by GennaRose Nethercott ★☆☆☆☆
By the author of the excellent Thistlefoot, a collection of short stories written six years ago that should have remained unpublished.
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