I’m going to let Glen Davis’ choices of Favorite Books of 2022 speak for themselves. I do look forward to his weekly reviews on Thursday. Glen always has some interesting comments. And, I’m going to say that I agree with his summary of the books from last year. I didn’t see as many interesting books as I had in previous years. A couple of us commented that the books that came out in 2022 were authors’ COVID books, not quite up to their previous standards, and written at a time when we all felt down. Despite his opening comments, Glen did find some books for his list. Thank you, Glen.

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This year I read about the same number of books I would read before the Pandemic, a good sign things are slowly getting back to normal, I think. On the other hand, the quality of reading still seemed pretty low. I didn’t read any good Westerns. Maybe that’s my fault for the books I chose to read this year. It feels to me like we’re going through some sort of change in the literature, just due to the events of the last few years.

COZIES

Hot and Sour Suspects by Vivien Chien

While the premise seems a little dated; isn’t speed dating totally nineties? Chiens scribes another superior cozy. When her friend is the prime suspect, said friend doesn’t want the sleuth’s help. That NEVER happens, as usually the suspect begs the sleuth to intervene as their only hope. That makes this book stand out from other cozies. The Lana Lee series is one of the best cozy series going today.

Murder At The Christmas Cookie Bake-Off  by Darci Hannah

Lindsey Baekwell runs a bakery out of a lighthouse In Beacon Harbor Michigan, a tourist trap town. Christmas is coming, and the owner of the year-round Christmas store convinces the shopping center owners to have a Christmas cookie bake-off, judged by a celebrity chef. Of course, the chef is murdered soon after arriving. Lindsey has to solve the murder to keep the sterling reputation of Beacon Harbor. Lindsey is one of the few cozy sleuths who actually seem to work!

MEN’S ADVENTURE

Quarry’s Blood by Max Allan Collins

Quarry is now around 70 years old, and out of the killing game for years, when a True Crime writer shows up at his doorstep, with a lot of questions about a murder years ago. Then other hit men start showing up, and Quarry has to rely on his old reflexes one last time. Old man action done very, very well. 

Espionage

Sierra Six by Mark Greaney

Court Gentry is performing easy duty, bugging a Turkish embassy, when he sees a man he killed twelve years ago. The Gray Man doesn’t let things lilke that lie. A lot of books were set in India this year, for some reason. This is one of the best, and remembers that this ain’t Bollywood.

The Scorned by David Putnam

Bruno Johnson is a former cop, pulled into a constant vendetta against human trafficking. When the daughter of one of his neighbors disappears, he gets on the case, almost burning down Los Angeles in the process. It took me a while to get the vibe of the series, but now I read them as they come out. 

Marital Arts Thriller

Frost Giant by Scott Harrington

Ninja master Trace Connor is hired as a bodyguard for a lovely female scientist. Norse mercenaries, led by a stunt double for Chris Hemsworth, is out to kill the scientist, and take her invention. The cold blooded nature of ninjutsu made this one stand out from the pack (such as it is).

Fantasy

The Mark by Ino Lee

Demons mark The Chosen One so he can be located by other demons, where ever he may roam. The only safe place for him is the Shaolin Temple. The Weapons Master, who was once mistaken for The Chosen One as a child is the boy’s only hope. Set in The Martial World, only with demons and monsters. The magic used actually makes sense, always a plus for a fantasy novel.

Anthology

Reflection by Aakanksha Jain

Slim, like a volume of poetry, only this book is 40 micro fictions, short stories of around 50 words. Some of these are surprisingly deep, and all of them have something to offer. They seem to be about everyday problems, except for the ones that aren’t…

NonFiction

All of the following have a little bit of biography and a little bit of history, so I lumped them together, even though they are about wildly different subjects.

Long Train Runnin’: Our Story of The Doobie Brothers by Tom Johnston, Pat Simmons, and Chris Epting

The history of the long running music group, one of the most successful touring bands of all time. They had a lot of personnel changes, and a lot drama. This book really goes into what it takes to make it on the road, while also recording hit albums. I’m surprised any of these guys are still alive.

Eating to Extinction: The World’s Rarest Foods and How to Save Them by Dan Saladino; While I’ve never been described as a foodie, this book that goes into the history of foods that have all but disappeared today is informative, but still tantalizing. The author travels the world looking for artisanal farmers keeping ancient foods alive. such as wild honey, perry, and many, many more. To be honest, before I picked the book up, I thought it might mention Like Cola.

Novelist as a Vocation by Haruki Murakami

Murakami writes a series of essays about his writing process and his career. Not really a how to book, although I’d recommend it to wanna be writers. I found Murakami’s prose to be warm, with a total lack of the prententious. It’s not surprising that Murakami garners so much respect.

Raccoon Gangs, Pigeons Gone Bad, and Other Animal Adventures by Trish Ann Konieczny 

When a pastor’s wife finds the brood of a dead raccoon, she can’t bear to see them die. After learning there are no shelters for them, she decides to raise them herself. This leads to a new career as a wild animal raiser, raising just about every wild animal in North America you can name, from geese to porcupines. Wonderfully inspiring, but definitely not a career choice for everybody!

On reflection after writing this, maybe the reading year was better than I thought!