Top Nine for 2023

In the end, my favourite books of the year are chosen from the heart, not the head. These are the ones I loved the most or left a proper mark.

Clockwise, but randomly ordered.

Yellowface by R.F. Kuang: Deliciously ghastly.

Clarice Bean: Don’t Look Now - Exceptionordinarily excellent and quite good too.

A Woman in the Polar Night by Christiane Ritter: Enchanting. High adventure in understated prose. Have now read it twice - and see belatedly that it was also in my highlights of 2021.

PK Pinkerton: The Case of the Good-looking Corpse: Fabulous hero. Cracking pace. Immersive world-building. Sometimes shocking! Loved it, and went on to read the next two.

Poison in not Polite - A charming and fiendish whodunnit. Called Arsenic for Tea in the UK edition. I’ve read more than a few in the series, and this is probably my favourite. The portrayal of Daisy’s mother, in particular, has stayed with me.

The Notorious Scarlett & Browne by Jonathan Stroud: Exhilerating. Exceptional world-building and descriptive prose.

Kick the Latch by Kathryn Scanlan: A rodeo-ride of a book.

The Extraordinary Voyage of Katy Willacott by Sharon Gosling: Fantastic sea-storm scene. Loved it.

Elizabeth & Zenobia by Jessica Miller: Read the whole book with a smile. Gothic vibes. Wish I had my own Zenobia. Loved it.