I always provide a reminder, these are my favorite books of 2021. For some reason, three of the books involve bookshops. This isn’t a Best Books list, just the ones I enjoyed and remember over the course of the year. I try to limit it to ten books, so I know there are many missing that I enjoyed. It’s in alphabetical order by author, other than the last one. The last one on the list is my favorite book of the year. Thank you to all of the authors for such enjoyable books.

Lizzie & Dante by Mary Bly. It’s a book that takes your heart apart several times, and tries to mend it, a book about love and death, food, music, poetry and Shakespeare, At 32, Lizzie Delford has Stage 3 cancer, and she sees her trip to Elba as her last fling. Lizzie & Dante is a beautiful book filled with joy despite the forecast for the future. Should you give up love and life because you’re dying? Or should you enjoy every moment of love that life offers? 

The Bookshop of Second Chances by Jackie Fraser. The bookshop setting in Scotland is wonderful. But, it’s the characters, especially Thea Hamilton Mottram, who bring life to this novel, Thea with her delightful sense of humor. At the worst point in her life, Thea’s Great-Uncle leaves her a lodge in the far reaches of Scotland. He left it to her because the few times he met her she was “intent on reading rather than talking, which has always been my own preference”. She’s ready to sell some of his vast library, but she didn’t count on the grumpy owner of Fortescue’s Books. I love Thea, Thea, a mature woman moving past her losses and disappointments, a woman with an “Untapped capacity for contentment.”

Lightning Strike by William Kent Krueger. This sensitive, moving book is a prequel to Krueger’s Cork O’Connor story, set in the summer of 1963 when Cork is twelve. In the coming-of-age story, Cork finds the hanging body of Big John Manydeeds, a man he respected. The discovery changes his feelings about his father, the local sheriff, and forces him to examine his feelings about his Irish and Ojibwe ancestry. To understand Cork O’Connor, his relationship with his home and his community, his relationship with his father, his beliefs, his heart, it’s important to read Lightning Strike.

The Last Bookshop in London by Madeline Martin. Martin’s novel of World War II is an homage to books and reading and the power of books. A young woman’s only hope of a job in London prior to the war is at a shabby little bookshop. She’s not a reader, but as beloved people leave for the war, and she lives through the Blitz, she comes to appreciate how books change people lives, and provide an escape. The book starts out lighthearted and anticipatory. It doesn’t take long for the seriousness of the war to settle over the book. The characters and the story will stay with you long after it’s finished. 

The Hiding Place by Paula Munier. The third Mercy Carr mystery is a compelling, emotional story; emotional for both Mercy and the reader. She and her dog, Elvis, answer a dying man’s request for a visit. Pitts, a former deputy, wants Mercy to find a woman who went missing twenty years earlier. She’s sidetracked when she’s told the man who killed her grandfather broke out of prison and might be heading north to find her grandmother, a woman with no patience with protection. Then, Elvis’ original military handler shows up, wanting to claim the dog. Elvis and Mercy helped each other through their PTSD after Martinez, Mercy’s fiance and Elvis’ handler, was killed in Afghanistan. This is a fast-paced action novel, frightening, and emotional at times. It’s going to be difficult for Munier to top this one.

The Killing Hills by Chris Offutt. Chris Offutt’s The Killing Hills takes readers into rural Kentucky with a hero whose story will break your heart. Mick Hardin is a man trapped between his career and his personal life. He’s suffocating, but he’s hanging on. Mick Hardin is a combat veteran with time spent in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria. Now, he’s in the Criminal Investigation Division, specializing in homicide. He’s the right man to help when his sister, Linda, a sheriff, needs assistance. But, he’s struggling with his marriage, and he’s really back home in Kentucky because his wife is pregnant. Voice and language. Chris Offutt has a spare writing style that can create a memorable character, Mick Hardin, while also bringing rural Kentucky to life. It’s a thoughtful story, a vividly portrayed setting, a remarkable man who slips perfectly into his environment.

The Becoming by Nora Roberts. Although Roberts’ The Becoming is one of the best books I read this year, I can’t recommend the second book in her Dragon Heart Legacy trilogy unless you’ve read the first one, The Awakening. Breen Siobhan Kelly’s relationships and life in Ireland and Talamh are complex, and now she adds her best friend, Marco, to the mix by bringing him through a portal. The Becoming is the interlude, the peace before the final storm that occurs in fantasies. Despite hatred directed at Breen, and a battle, this is a relatively peaceful book. It provides Breen the opportunity to grow in strength, while she and Marco discover more about the country and people they’re growing to love. This book provides the reasons; the people, the love, the beautiful lands; the reasons that Breen and Keegan, the taoiseach, the leader of Talamh, will stretch their abilities and skills to fight the final battle.

Christmas by the Book by Anne Marie Ryan. It’s for those of us who love books, independent bookstores, and the spirit of Christmas. Nora and Simon Walden own the Stowford Bookshop in Stowford, England, but Nora is keeping their financial difficulties a secret from Simon. This might be the last Christmas the bookshop is open. Even so, the purchase of the oldest book in the shop inspires Simon to run a contest on the website. “Do you know anyone in Stowford who could use a random act of kindness? We are giving away six books to anyone who needs a bit of hope this festive season.” Looking for a book with a little Christmas magic? How about one about books, a bookshop, a small town in the Cotswolds, and people who become friends. Christmas by the Book is a reminder of hope.

Tricky by Josh Stallings. Stallings’ Tricky was one of the first books I read in 2021, and it remains on my list of favorites. It’s a crime novel that re-examines the role of the police in dealing with people with mental challenges. Stallings puts an interesting twist on a police procedural, and forces Niels Madsen, his protagonist, to look at a criminal from a fresh viewpoint. Is a lifelong criminal able to change? The “bad guys” can’t always be judged by appearance. Tricky is a reflection of today’s society. Forced to ask questions about bias, intellectual disability, police actions, and redemption, Madsen stands in contrast to cops who resort to violence and force. Stallings’ scenario and his characters, especially Madsen and Cisco, a former gang member, are well-developed. Tricky is a challenging must-read for fans of police procedurals.

My favorite book of the year is on a number of lists. S.A. Cosby’s Razorblade Tears deserves to be on “Best of” lists, and I hope to see it on award lists in 2022.

On the surface, this is the story of two ex-cons, one black and one a white Redneck. They have nothing in common, except their sons. They both rejected them when they said they are gay. Then, the sons of Ike Randolph and Buddy Lee Jenkins married and have a daughter. The two men are shot dead on the streets of Richmond, Virginia, in what appears to be a targeted attack, and the fathers set out to avenge their sons’ deaths. Razorblade Tears is a powerful story of revenge, but, even more, of redemption. S.A. Cosby’s book, the story of two fathers seeking their own inner peace while having to seek it violently, is unforgettable.