The final list of our 2018 favourites is here! We’re looking at probably the most popular genre in our libraries: crime and thriller fiction. Here are staff and customer picks from 2018.
We’ve made it really easy for you to get your hands on these titles. Head to our library catalogue Best of Year slideshow to click and collect your copy from your local library.
Each of the book titles below also link directly to our catalogue where you’ll find several are available on audiobook too.
Standalone novels
Librarian Vikki, and several of our borrowers, have loved Nine Perfect Strangers by Liane ‘Big Little Lies‘ Moriarty. A witty, suspensful tale about the dark dealings behind the perfect facade of a glamorous spa.
Paul David found two dead bodies in the back of car and has been seeing and hearing things that no-one else does. Is he losing his mind, or is that what someone wants him to think? A Noise Downstairs is another taught, compelling novel from the masterful Linwood Barclay.
Paper Ghosts is a creepy pshychological thriller from Julia Heaberlin. A young woman tries to trigger the memories of an elderly man in an attempt to find out if he really is guilty of the murders of which he was acquitted.
Stephen King‘s The Outsider may have a touch of the supernatural, but it’s a suspenseful and original crime novel at heart that will keep you guessing to the end.
The series continues…
One of the best things about reading fiction is when you find a series that you love. It’s even better to find that series a bit late in the game, because you have a whole world spread out in front of you and you don’t need to wait for the next book to be written! Here’s our staff and customer recommendations:
Ben Aaronvitch: Lies Sleeping (seventh in the London Met-meets magic, Rivers of London series).
John Connolly: The Woman in the Woods. The Charlie Parker series is beautifully written, has a supernatural element and, while dark, has humour and a strong emotional core. This is the 16th book. Chosen by Librarian Lynne.
Janet Evanovich: Look Alive Twenty-Five Number 25 in the witty, pacy Stephanie Plum series. Chosen by Librarian Tanya.
Quintin Jardine: State Secrets. Edinburgh cop, Bob Skinner, is pulled into Westminster intrigue in the 28th book in the series. 28 was released in paperback this year and 29 is already out too!
Stuart McBride: The Blood Road. The 11th book in the Logan McRae series has been widely thought to be his very best yet.
Jeff Noon: The Body Library. If you like your crime a bit different look no further than the hugely imaginative Nyquist Mysteries. This is the second of his detective noir novels sent in an extraordinary alternate world. Nominated by author Kirkland Ciccone following his Book Week Scotland appearance at Grangemouth Library in November (right).
Louise Penny: Kingdom of the Blind. The Chief Inspector Gamache series, set in a small Quebec town is on book 14. Recommended by Libraries’ Team Leader, Anna
Peter Robinson: Careless Love. Few people write a police procedural as well as Peter Robinson. Number 25 in the DCI Banks series is no different and everyone, from Jeffrey Deaver to Stephen King, seems to agree.
ES Thomson: The Blood. Laura from Larbert Library loves ES Thomson’s Jem Flockhart books, so we invited the author herself to join us for Book Week Scotland. The Blood is the latest in the series of vividly-written Victorian gothic fiction, where the character poses as a man to work as an apothecary.
Martin Walker : A Taste for Vengeance. Number 11 in the rural France-set Bruno, Chief of Police mysteries. You’ll wish you were there!
If you’ve any further recommendations, we’d love to hear them! Comment below.