Top Book Picks for 2024: A Reader’s Review

Better late than never, right? The endless cheese fog has lifted and I’m gearing up to returning to work tomorrow – the same day my eldest leaves us to return to university. Normal life will resume, which is depressing enough, and I’m doing dry-ish January.

What the hell is ‘dry-ish’ January? Well, I have set myself the goal of being a little fitter and losing some weight this year and the fastest way to do that is to cut out booze (for a bit). However, I am already signed up for a couple of events: a leaving do for a colleague I’ve worked with for nearly 20 years being one. Also, the 6 Nations starts on 30th Jan, and I can’t face watching Wales without a beer as we are so, so poor at the moment.

Anyway, enough of this, on to the books! Obviously, these are my picks – I’m not Coleridge (allegedly the last person to have read every book available in his lifetime). If you disagree, great – put a rec in the comments or write your own list….

NOVELS

Hummingbird by TC Parker

From its stunning cover, through to the outstanding quality of the prose, this is a superb read. It starts with a demonstration about LGBTQ+ teaching at a school and spirals way beyond what you’d expect or predict. I hope Parker gets a huge amount of success this year – she is superb and is easily the best ‘new to me’ author of 2024.

Night Bleeds Into Dawn – Graeme Reynolds

Full disclosure here – I have known Graeme for a number of years and he has published me in the past (Leaders of The Pack anthology), but that in no way colours my opinion of his writing – if I didn’t like it, I wouldn’t mention it!

This is a fantastic romp through demon-infested London, with a hard-boiled noir edge, and is possibly Reynolds’ best book. It definitely has the most original use of a guinea pig I’ve ever read.

Superb stuff, and there is a sequel coming. Can’t wait!

Last Night Of Freedom by Dan Howarth

Dan Howarth is a superb writer. He has a great short story collection (Dark Missives), an excellent novella (Territory) and this is better than both.

A stag do goes horribly, horribly wrong in this fast-paced thriller. Howarth’s strengths are how he makes you root for characters who are fairly despicable human beings.

Probably my favourite read of last year.

Howarth is also a really cool guy. Handsome too, if you like that sort of thing. Bastard.

Boys In The Valley by Philip Fracassi

Excellent novel by Fracassi which has garnered a lot of hype over the last year. It more than lives up to it, with superb characters and creeping dread until it all erupts in violence. My notes say ‘like The Exorcist and Lord Of the Flies had a baby’. I’ll stand by that.

NOVELLAS

In the tall trees by Angel Van Atta

A look at domestic abuse told through the eyes of a child.

Absolutely harrowing.

Shadow Of The Hidden by Kev Harrison

Probably the ‘quietest’ horror on this list, but still brilliant. A Turkish man gets cursed and his friend Seb tries to help him remove the curse. Harrison’s experience of living in the countries they visit makes the novella all the richer. A superb read.

GRAPHIC NOVELS

The Nice House On The Lake by James Tynion IV, Alvaro Martino Bueno et al

Tynion IV is probably better known for Something is Killing The Children, but I think this is better. The less you know going in, the better, so I won’t spoil anything here other than to say the story follows a group of old friends who meet up for a weekend.

It’s way, way better and darker than that makes it sound.

HONOURABLE MENTIONS

In no particular order, here’s some other books that nearly made the list…

Among the Living – Tim Lebbon
King Blood – Simon Clark
Devil’s Creek – Todd Keisling
Old Man’s War – John Scalzi
Dark Matter – Blake Crouch
Nevernight – Jay Kristoff
That Which Stands Outside – Mark Morris
Ten Low -Stark Holborn
Tradwife – TC Parker (yes, she’s here twice)
Head Like A Hole – Andrew Van Wey
Millionaire’s Day – Kit Power (I beta read this, and its superb. Hugely entertaining launch too – apologies for anyone who got worried when I shouted at Kit!)
To Coventry – TC Parker (this is just silly now)
All Systems Red – Martha Wells
Invincible – Robert Kirkman et al
Blacktop Wasteland – SA Cosby
Uzumaki – Junji Ito
The Boys, Volume 5 and 6 – Garth Ennis et al
All The Fabulous Beasts – Priya Sharma
Deathtrap Dungeon – Ian Livingstone (nostalgia alert!)

So there you go – my list of what entertained me the most last year. How about you? What did you enjoy?