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The Best Books of 2023

58ranked

20five-star

4.0avg rating

8genres

Every book I finished in 2023, ranked best to worst — final order, closed out at the end of 2023.

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The top ten at a glance

BEST OF 2023#1

Chain-Gang All-Stars

Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

BEST OF 2023#4

Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance

Angela Duckworth

58 of 58 Updated Jul 26

Rank

Book

Rating

Genre

All the Sinners Bleed

S.A. CosbyBEST OF2023

★★★★★BEST OF2023

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

★★★★★

Mystery and Thriller

The Covenant of Water

Abraham VergheseBEST OF2023

★★★★★BEST OF2023

It's long, but it's also a brilliant tour de force, presenting a multi-generational character study spanning nearly 80 years in India.

★★★★★

Literature & Fiction

Chain-Gang All-Stars

Nana Kwame Adjei-BrenyahBEST OF2023

★★★★★BEST OF2023

Set in a near-future society that feels all too possible, prisoners fight in gladiatorial death matches for a chance at freedom.

★★★★★

Science Fiction

Small Mercies

Dennis LehaneBEST OF2023

★★★★★BEST OF2023

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

★★★★★

Mystery and Thriller Literature & Fiction

Still Life

Sarah WinmanBEST OF2023

★★★★★BEST OF2023

A beautifully written character study of a cast of memorable souls that spans 30 years from the end of World War II until the mid-70s.

★★★★★

Literature & Fiction

Fourth Wing

Rebecca YarrosBEST OF2023

★★★★★BEST OF2023

Perhaps the most-hyped book of 2023 lives up to it, as we follow the journey of a young girl as she attempts to become a dragon rider.

★★★★★

Romantasy Fantasy Romance

Rubicon

J.S. DewesBEST OF2023

★★★★★BEST OF2023

A stand-alone novel unrelated to her "Divide" series, author Dewes elegantly explores immortality, AI, and what it means to be human.

★★★★★

Science Fiction

Starling House

Alix E. HarrowBEST OF2023

★★★★★BEST OF2023

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.

★★★★★

Fantasy Literature & Fiction Mystery and Thriller

Exiles

Jane HarperBEST OF2023

★★★★★BEST OF2023

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

★★★★★

Mystery and Thriller

#10

Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance

Angela DuckworthBEST OF2023

★★★★★BEST OF2023

Both entertaining and helpful, Duckworth systematically lays out a plethora of evidence for why passion + perseverance = success.

A 1961 coming-of-age story about a boy in rural Minnesota, who is forced to deal with tragedy as he navigates his path to manhood.

★★★★★

Mystery and Thriller Literature & Fiction

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.

An exploration of relationships and friendships in Henry's most mature offering yet, centered on a week-long vacation in Maine.

El-Arifi builds on her stellar debut The Final Strife (my #3 book of 2022), and does so both ambitiously and successfully.

Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan

★★★★★

It's a love story and a legal thriller, but its authors' deft handling of many tough subjects is what elevates this novel even more.

★★★★★

Mystery and Thriller

#16

Wrong Place, Wrong Time

Gillian McAllister

★★★★★

A mother sees her son commit a murder, and must find out why while stuck in a backwards time loop. Sounds weird, but it works well!

When a young woman goes missing, kidnapped by a Mexican drug cartel, her mother makes it her life's mission to bring them to justice.

★★★★★

Nonfiction

#18

Being Henry: The Fonz...and Beyond

Henry Winkler

★★★★★

An honest autobiographical account of a showbiz life, infused with humor, self-deprecation and a joie de vivre oozing from every page.

A thoroughly researched examination of the exploits of Stéphane Breitwieser, the most prolific art thief the world has ever known.

Thinking this is going to be the "Indian Godfather" is setting your expectations way too high, but it's an intriguing character study.

★★★★★

Mystery and Thriller Literature & Fiction

A fitting and satisfying conclusion to what author Sanderson refers to as "Era Two" of his outstanding Mistborn series.

★★★★★

Fantasy

#22

The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store

James McBride

★★★★★

Set in the 1930s, an expansive cast from the Black and Jewish section of Pottstown, PA come together to rally around a common cause.

★★★★★

Literature & Fiction

#23

In the Lives of Puppets

TJ Klune

★★★★★

A sometimes dark exploration of a world where humans and sentient machines coexist, balanced by Klune's trademark humor and heart.

★★★★★

Fantasy

#24

Killers of a Certain Age

Deanna Raybourn

★★★★★

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

Following up her excellent debut Group, Tate returns with another memoir, this time focusing on her struggles with female friendship.

Filled as much with philosophy and social commentary as with plot, Alderman envisions a near-future society rocketing toward disaster.

Napolitano once again tugs at heartstrings by creating memorable characters who share moments of happiness amid plenty of tragedy.

★★★★★

Literature & Fiction

#28

All the Dangerous Things

Stacy Willingham

★★★★★

A distraught mother tries to solve the disappearance of her son a year later, only to realize the most likely suspect might be her.

Societal commentary abounds in this story of a white author stealing the final manuscript of an Asian American author after her death.

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

The sequel to Mickey7 finds our hero once again trying to find a way to save the colony while somehow avoiding yet another death.

★★★★★

Science Fiction

#32

The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder

David Grann

★★★★★

The author of Killers of the Flower Moon returns with an account of a shipwreck in the 1740s and the tale of survival that follows.

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

The book that launched Emily Henry's romance writing career! Despite a few clunky moments, Beach Read checks all of the romance boxes.

A decent but unremarkable debut about a young girl's disappearance, its impact on her family, and ultimately their path to reuniting.

Zamora's memoir of immigrating from El Salvador to the U.S. as a 9-year-old is compelling but lacks some deeper emotional connections.

Hart's tale of women finding their power through witchcraft is diluted by her one-dimensional portrayal of universally horrible men.

★★★★★

Literature & Fiction

#38

All That Is Mine I Carry With Me

William Landay

★★★★★

11 long years after Defending Jacob, Landay returns with another family-based mystery focused on the disappearance of a woman in 1975.

When a prominent businessman is murdered, all clues point to the father of the story's protagonist, who has to prove his innocence.

A difficult (but important) read about one of the first Jews to escape from Auschwitz and alert the world to the atrocities there.

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

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.

★★★★★

Literature & Fiction Mystery and Thriller

#43

Strange Sally Diamond

Liz Nugent

★★★★★

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 memoir of a life lived in the public eye, but it fails to add enough depth to those public moments that we already know so well.

A mostly tragic decades-spanning debut about a young woman dealing with adversity while growing up in rural Colorado circa 1950.

★★★★★

Literature & Fiction

#46

Mother-Daughter Murder Night

Nina Simon

★★★★★

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

Inflated expectations probably diminished my enjoyment of this river odyssey tale. It's an okay story, but Ordinary Grace it is not.

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

★★★★★

Mystery and Thriller

#49

Warrior Girl Unearthed

Angeline Boulley

★★★★★

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

★★★★★

Mystery and Thriller Literature & Fiction

#50

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Sherman Alexie

★★★★★

The semi-autobiographical account of the author's childhood, focused on him leaving the reservation to attend a white high school.

★★★★★

Memoir Literature & Fiction

It's not especially romantic or comedic, and it lacks any type of misdirection. Weirdly, I still sort of enjoyed it, but I wanted more

A character study of two neighboring families on the outskirts of New York City. I hoped for spellbinding; what I got was milquetoast.

Audrain once again examines the trials of parenting, but this time fails to balance character flaws with anything remotely redeemable.

★★★★★

Mystery and Thriller Literature & Fiction

Another thriller from Alex North, whose previous novels I enjoyed. This one was decent, but ultimately missed the mark a bit for me.

Perhaps it was inflated expectations, but this novel about a town whose residents mysteriously disappeared missed the mark for me.

It's primarily a character study, but for all the time spent developing the characters, I unfortunately didn't especially like them.

A disjointed mess of a novel about a young woman growing up during Prohibition in rural Virginia. I wanted this to be so much better.

★★★★★

Literature & Fiction

#58

A Tale for the Time Being

Ruth Ozeki

★★★★★

Welcome to A Tale for the Time Being, or as it may alternatively be known, “the most depressing book I've read in years".

★★★★★

Literature & Fiction

How the ranking works

One list, every book, no ties. When I finish something it goes in against everything else I've read this year, which means the order shifts constantly — a book that sat at 12 in March can be at 20 by August without having gotten any worse. Star ratings and rank are related but not the same thing: among fourteen five-star books, someone still has to be fourteenth.

The next one, in your inbox.

One email on the first of every month with a summary and rating of each book reviewed over the past 30 days, and a look at where the year's ranking stands.