I’m always so happy to share one of our reader’s lists of favorite books of the past year. Today, Margie Bunting is talking about her Favorites of 2021. Margie is in her seventh year as editor of the newsletter for Sisters in Crime of Northern California. Her reviews are evidence of her writing skill. Sisters in Crime is lucky to have her, and so are we. Thank you, Margie!

MARGIE’S FAVORITE READS OF 2021

Happy New Year to Lesa and my friends at Lesa’s Book Critiques! Our Thursdays together have given me so many reading recommendations. I finished 217 books in 2021, a record for me. Maybe it was all of that free time at home, and the 47 books I scored from NetGalley didn’t hurt, although the library remained my primary resource. With great difficulty, I limited my favorites to a dozen, of which half are debuts, but I couldn’t help adding some “honorable mentions.”

TOP FOUR READS (in no particular order):

Coming in March, The Match by Harlan Coben, picks up the story of 2020’s The Boy from the Woods and allows Wilde, rescued as a feral boy 35 years earlier, to get some answers about his biological family. The quest, of course, is not without its complications and dangers. I enjoyed the development of the Wilde character—brilliant, fearless, and happiest when self-isolating, but committed to three special people in his life. The intricately plotted story, which includes such diverse elements as reality shows, online trolling, vigilantes, and a religious cult, kept me turning pages quickly.

Pamela Terry’s debut novel, The Sweet Taste of Muscadines, features two siblings who return to their childhood home when their mother dies suddenly. They butt heads with their sister, who has stayed close to home and considered her mother her best friend, but who has strange quirks and clearly knows family secrets. Much of what makes the book a top pick for me are the gorgeous descriptions of Georgia and of a remote Scottish Island, as well as the satisfying and life-affirming conclusion.

I’m glad I picked up Deacon King Kong by James McBride for a book club. Genial, elderly “Sportcoat,” a former youth baseball coach and Sunday school teacher, shoots a young drug dealer in public and can’t explain why. Getting to know Sportcoat as the plot progressed was fascinating. I particularly enjoyed how the author describes 1969 Brooklyn. Richly detailed are the black, white, Hispanic, Irish, and Italian communities, the impoverished and wealthy, gangsters and police, con men and church deacons. McBride skillfully alternates among poetic description, insight into each part of the diverse neighborhood, romantic longing, and dialogue that can break your heart or make you laugh out loud.

Coming in April, Lessons in Chemistry by debut author Bonnie Garmus is my #1 recommendation. It has everything—a stunningly original plot, extraordinary characters, wry dialogue, and a compelling storytelling style. Elizabeth is a brilliant chemist who is poorly treated by her employer by virtue of her gender. She meets wunderkind Calvin—already nominated for a Nobel Prize in his 20s– at work and endears herself to him as the only coworker he can’t intimidate. Their futures intersect and expand to include a dog named Six-Thirty and a precocious young daughter. Set in the 1950s and 1960s, the book tackles what Elizabeth calls a patriarchal society, but instead of being a dry diatribe against sexual inequality and discrimination, it uses droll humor to highlight Elizabeth’s journey. She ultimately finds herself the host of an afternoon TV cooking show, where she treats cooking as chemistry, encouraging her homemaker audience to go for their dreams. The characters are memorable and unpredictable, and the plot moves in unexpected and enthralling directions. And there will be a miniseries!

FAVORITE SCIENCE FICTION: 

Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune is a worthy successor to The House in the Cerulean Sea, though impressive in a different way. Wallace, a hard-hearted attorney, is shocked at the indifference of his business partners and a vicious “eulogy” by his ex-wife at his own funeral. A young female “reaper” escorts him to a crooked 4-story teahouse and introduces him to a man who will help him transition to the next phase of existence. At first hostile and unbelieving, Wallace spends weeks adjusting to his non-corporeal status and coming to terms with the life he has lived. What he decides to do before moving on and how it affects those around him is the crux of the story, which I found quite moving.

FAVORITE TIME TRAVEL:

Feeling unsettled when her husband decides to change careers in Faye, Faraway by debut author Helen Fisher, Faye finds herself traveling back to 1997 twice. Faye is able to inhabit her own 8-year-old self while remembering everything that has happened since, affording her the ability to strike up a relationship with her mother, who would be taken away from her soon thereafter. Faye doesn’t reveal her identity to her mother, nor does she tell her husband and daughters that she has risked life and limb for this precious time, especially since it kept her away from them for only 3 hours. She finally confides in a coworker, who tries to dissuade her from any future time travel. I couldn’t tell where this story was going at any time, and I was enraptured by it.

I can’t stop thinking about She Wouldn’t Change a Thing by another debut author, Sarah Adlakha. Shortly after a patient tells her he is from the future, psychiatrist Maria wakes up one day to find herself back in her 17-year-old body, with full memory of her future life. She struggles to understand whether this happened so she can prevent a couple of tragic family events, and she doesn’t know how—or if—she can get back to her husband and children. Her stunned parents don’t know how to help her, and no one believes her story . . . until three strangers enter her life, all with their own agenda.

FAVORITE ROMANCE: 

Abby Jimenez is one of my favorite contemporary romance authors, and Part of Your World (coming in April) is as entertaining as her first three. Alexis is an ER doctor expected to carry on her wealthy family’s legacy at a prestigious hospital. Daniel is a small-town carpenter who lives with farm animals and is proprietor of his absent mother’s B&B. They “meet cute” when he hauls her car out of a ditch and forge a casual relationship (with benefits). But Daniel is almost 10 years younger, and their lifestyles don’t mesh. Both are also struggling to overcome personal issues. The author has a knack for creating fascinating characters, fleshing out their worlds with color and interesting details and a dash of magical realism. Daniel is one of the most endearing heroes I have encountered.

Honorable Mention: If the Shoe Fits by Julie Murphy (plus-sized shoe designer becomes reality dating show contestant).

FAVORITE MYSTERY SERIES: 

The Art of Betrayal and the upcoming The Shadow of Memory (May) are the third and fourth entries into the stellar Kate Hamilton Mystery series by Connie Berry. Kate is an American antiques dealer who can sense when she handles an artifact that there is trouble related to the piece. Therefore, she and her police detective beau often find themselves involved in investigating crimes related to antiques. In both of these books, the action takes place in England, where Kate is subbing for a dealer on medical leave. The author knows how to set the scene so you can see and feel the characters and venues but doesn’t go overboard with description. There is no grisly violence, and the convoluted plots are somehow believable.

Honorable Mention: The Cure for What Ales You by Ellie Alexander, 5th Sloane Krause Mystery (WA state craft brew designer). A Rogue’s Company by Allison Montclair, 2nd Sparks and Bainbridge Mystery (two women recovering from WWII form The Right Sort Marriage Bureau). Runner by Tracy Clark, 4th Cass Raines Mystery (dynamic but damaged Chicago PI). A Distant Grave by Sarah Stewart Taylor, 2nd Maggie D’Arcy Mystery (female police detective). Last Seen Alive by Joanna Schaffhausen, 5th Ellery Hathaway Mystery (serial killer survivor turned detective).

FAVORITE THRILLER: 

The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave. Hannah and her 16-year-old stepdaughter, Bailey, are thrown into turmoil when husband/father Owen suddenly disappears. Where Owen has gone after his employer has been raided is a mystery, but Hannah knows her first priority is to protect Bailey after receiving a cryptic message. Both a Texas Marshal and the FBI contact Hannah about the investigation, but she can’t help getting involved when it appears Owen has a past life he hasn’t revealed to anyone. A fast-moving story with characters to root for and an unexpected ending.

FAVORITE “FOUND FAMILY”:

The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams follows the creation of the first Oxford English Dictionary from the perspective of young Esme, whose father was an OED editor. From under a table at the Scriptorium (OED HQ), Esme realizes that some words are considered inappropriate for the dictionary, typically those referring to the daily lives of women. She starts her own collection of such words and hopes to publish them someday. She ultimately takes on official project roles and has fascinating interactions with an “aunt” who is her godmother, a local stage actress, the suffragette movement, and a typesetter who shares her feelings and beliefs.

In Sara Nisha Adams’ poignant debut novel, The Reading List several people at a London library successively find a mysterious reading list, and their lives are forever changed. Mukesh, 80, feels closer to his recently deceased wife when he reads, and he gains a closer relationship with his young granddaughter. Aleisha, a teenage library worker, has to care for her mother, whose debilitating ailment will not allow her to live alone, and she needs to start reading so she can recommend books to library patrons. The author captures the right mood to encourage us to read and to reach out to others to improve the world around us. And yes, we do find out who originated the list—the perfect ending!

Honorable mentions: Eileen Garvin’s debut novel, The Music of Bees (3 misfits coming together around beekeeping). The Guncle by Steven Rowley (former TV star learns to face his new life with the help of his motherless 6- and 9-year-old nephews, with a heartfelt story and amusing banter).