Looking for something good to read? Take a look at my recommended reads from 2023.
As a writer, I read a lot, especially in the genres I write in. There are times, however, when I want to read for escape, something different from what I normally choose.
That variety is reflected in some of the books and stories I read in 2023, listed below. These are things I read, and enjoyed, and recommend you try them as well.
Note: Listed below each book are links to purchase them. You can do an online search to find which retailers carry it, you can check with your local book store, and you can see if your local library carries it.
Some of these links may be affiliate links. That means I may receive compensation if you choose to make a purchase after clicking the link. There is no additional cost to you.
Adventure/Thriller/Mystery
Catacomb by J.F. Penn
Beneath the streets of Edinburgh, an ancient evil waits. Each year, the Grendsluagh—a prehistoric monster of insatiable hunger—demands a human sacrifice in exchange for the city’s continued prosperity. A secret society known only as the Cabal has overseen this sinister ritual for centuries, binding Edinburgh to a grim legacy of terror.
When ex-military search and rescue officer Walker Kane’s estranged daughter Emily is taken to sate the Grendsluagh’s appetite, he plunges into a race against time through a treacherous underworld of danger.
No Good Deed (James Acton Thrillers Book 30) by J. Robert Kennedy
In pre-World War II Austria, nine-year-old Daniel’s innocence is shattered when the Nazis march into his homeland unopposed, forcing his Jewish parents to make an impossible choice to save him from an inevitable fate.
And today, when Archaeology Professors James Acton and Laura Palmer are invited to a charity event in Vienna by the man who bought her late brother’s company years ago, they eagerly accept, for it is the philanthropic event of a lifetime. In a gala to be televised around the world, the billionaire will donate the bulk of his wealth to various causes before he dies.
But when the climactic transfer is about to occur, the unthinkable happens.
And in the chaos that ensues, the professors see something they shouldn’t, and with so much at stake, they decide to take action, once again putting their lives at risk for the sake of others.
The Ark Files (Eden Black Archaeological Thriller Book 1) by Luke Richardson
Professional treasure hunter EDEN BLACK is no stranger to action. After all, the artifacts she spends her life returning to their rightful owners aren’t always easy to access.
When Eden’s father dies in a plane crash, her life’s turned upside down. Grief turns to fear when she learns that it wasn’t an accident. Everyone involved in an archaeological dig twenty years ago has met with a similar untimely end. Everyone that is, but Eden who was ten at the time.
When her father’s house is raided and burned to the ground, Eden’s forced into action. To learn the truth about her father’s death and save herself from sharing his fate, Eden must uncover the manuscript and expose its secrets once and for all.
But this time the world is watching, and not everyone is on her side.
The Vatican Secret (Joe Mason Book 1) by David Leadbeater
When ex-MI5 operative Joe Mason is sent to Rome to guard an elderly professor and his daughter, he thinks he’s in for an easy ride.
But on their first day in the Vatican secret archives, a masked assassin gains entry, shoots Joe’s client in cold blood and steals an ancient manuscript. Giving chase, Joe can’t imagine what could lie within those pages that would make someone willing to kill.
The search for answers leads Joe and his comrades in a race against time, across continents and into treacherous mountains. Only they have a hope of rescuing the Vatican Book of Secrets before a centuries-old enemy can succeed in bringing Rome – and the world as we know it – crashing down…
The Viking Deception by J. Robert Kennedy
In 989 AD, when informed of her impending arranged marriage, Fatima takes drastic action with her forbidden lover, Viking Prince Magnus, actions that not only have immediate consequences for her entire family, but reverberate a millennium later.
When Archaeology Professor James Acton receives an invitation from a friend to visit a new dig site where an unusual artifact has been discovered linking the Vikings to the Islamic Caliphate, he and his wife eagerly accept. But upon arriving in Stockholm, Sweden, their friend is nowhere to be found, last seen entering the Saudi embassy and not heard from since.
Before they can notify the authorities, Acton receives a disturbing phone call, and is forced into action to save his friend. Becoming a criminal in the process.
Historical
A Girl Like You (A Henrietta and Inspector Howard Historical Mystery) by Michelle Cox
Henrietta Von Harmon works as a 26 girl at a corner bar on Chicago’s northwest side. It’s 1935, but things still aren’t looking up since the big crash and her father’s subsequent suicide, leaving Henrietta to care for her antagonistic mother and younger siblings.
Henrietta is eventually persuaded to take a job as a taxi dancer at a local dance hall―and just when she’s beginning to enjoy herself, the floor matron turns up dead. When aloof Inspector Clive Howard appears on the scene, Henrietta agrees to go undercover for him―and is plunged into Chicago’s grittier underworld.
Meanwhile, she’s still busy playing mother hen to her younger siblings, as well as to pesky neighborhood boy Stanley, who believes himself in love with her and keeps popping up in the most unlikely places, determined to keep Henrietta safe―even from the Inspector, if need be. Despite his efforts, however, and his penchant for messing up the Inspector’s investigation, the lovely Henrietta and the impenetrable Inspector find themselves drawn to each other in most unsuitable ways.
A Murder in Mayfield by Celina Grace
It is 1936. Undercook Joan Hart and lady’s maid Verity Hunter are back in London after a long stay in the country. The capital is fraught and unsettled. Protests and riots are taking place regularly, fascism is on the rise and trouble in Europe is brewing, but the girls are still thrilled to be back in the Big Smoke, ready for some fun and frivolity.
That is, until an old friend of Verity’s contacts the servant sleuths, asking for help. Maidservant Theda Samuels was the only one in the house when tycoon Sir Jacob MacMullen was killed, and things are looking very black for her… unless Joan, Verity and their old ally Inspector Marks might be able to help?
The Night Portrait by Laura Morelli
Milan, 1492: When a 16-year old beauty becomes the mistress of the Duke of Milan, she must fight for her place in the palace—and against those who want her out. Soon, she finds herself sitting before Leonardo da Vinci, who wants to ensure his own place in the ducal palace by painting his most ambitious portrait to date.
Munich, World War II: After a modest conservator unwittingly places a priceless Italian Renaissance portrait into the hands of a high-ranking Nazi leader, she risks her life to recover it, working with an American soldier, part of the famed Monuments Men team, to get it back.
Two women, separated by 500 years, are swept up in the tide of history as one painting stands at the center of their quests for their own destinies.
Anthology
Loosed Upon The World: The Saga Anthology of Climate Fiction – various authors including Margaret Atwood, edited by John Joseph Adams
Is it the end of the world as we know it? Climate Fiction, or Cli-Fi, is exploring the world we live in now—and in the very near future—as the effects of global warming become more evident. Join bestselling, award-winning writers like Margaret Atwood, Paolo Bacigalupi, Kim Stanley Robinson, Seanan McGuire, and many others at the brink of tomorrow. Loosed Upon the World is so believable, it’s frightening.
Works by Me
Joy to the World anthology – A Train Set for Christmas, a personal essay
What did it mean when the angel told the shepherds, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people”?
For the Christian it means that when we put our faith and hope in Jesus Christ, we choose joy from God. And that means we no longer depend on material things or what is happening around us to make us happy or content.
Discover what these authors have learned about how to experience joy at Christmas – and beyond – no matter what circumstances they found themselves in.
The House On The Hill – A Short Story
After midnight in a storm, a couple has a flat tire on a deserted road. With no phone signal, their only hope is the house on the hill.
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