My Favorite Books of 2020 So Far

Recently, Lesa Holstine did a piece on her favorite books of the year so far. We talked about it a little bit and I quickly realized with the way my mind works—or more accurately does not work—these days, it would take some effort on my part to go back and try to figure out what my top five or six books would be. I had planned to do so, but then things here went whacky as folks know and I did not get around to do it.

With the month of July nearly over, it seemed to be a good time to come up with my favorite books read/reviewed from January 2020 thru June 2020. Therefore, the resulting list is below.

“Set in Mason Falls, Georgia, The Good Detective by John McMahon is a complicated novel of family history, legacy, southern tradition, and in one major way, redemption. In this intense police procedural, deals are made with the devils you know to get not just what you want, but what you need.” The rest of my review from last February can be found here. The sequel, The Evil Men Do, is also very good and my review from March can be found here.

“Among the Shadows: A Detective Bryon Mystery by Bruce Robert Coffin is the first book in a police procedural series. Set in Portland, Maine, and the surrounding area, it features Detective Sergeant John Bryon and his team of detectives. Internal politics and rivalries play a role in this complicated police procedural where former officers are dying a variety of ways.” The rest of my review from April can be found here. My review of the second book in the series, Beneath The Depths ran in May and can be found here.

“It is 1982 as The Off-Islander: An Andy Roark Mystery by Peter Colt begins. Andy Roark came home from Vietnam with more than a trace of post-traumatic stress disorder and an inability to easily fit back into the normal chaos of everyday society. He tried college, the police force, and these days works as a private investigator in Boston.” The rest of my  review in April can be found here.

“Imagine, if you will, the possibility of crossing from this plane of existence into another one built on a role playing game. Where the decisions you made in setting up your character and your abilities, as well as ones made by all of the players in your group, could have life and death consequences within moments of your arrival. That magic, vampires, goblins, and more are totally real as is your ability to fight as a warrior and maybe heal yourself and others depending on the severity of the injury and what you chose moments before here in this world. That is the world as it exists for the characters in Outpost: Monsters, Maces and Magic Book One by Terry W. Ervin II.” April was a good reading month and the rest of my review can be found here.

“Sordid: Five Crime Stories by Harry Hunsicker is a collection of five previously published tales. As made clear early on, these are “Five Crime Stories about Amputee Strippers, Drifters, Meth Heads, and Other Lost Souls.” The read is exactly as advertised. This is not a cozy style read. This is graphic, often violent, and is a very good read.” The rest of  my May review can be found here.

“Throwing Off Sparks: A Riley Reeves Mystery by Michael Pool is the first book in what promises to be a highly entertaining series. There are numerous references to an earlier case which was the focus of the story, “Weathering The Storm,” in The Eyes of Texas: Private Eyes From The Panhandle To The Piney Woods anthology edited by Michael Bracken that came out last year.  While it is not necessary to have read that short story before reading this novel, it would not hurt as those events still have personal repercussions in this novel set more than a year later.” The rest of my review from last May can be read here.

There you have it. Six of my favorite books of the year so far for the first six months of the year. Eight if you count the sequels. Nine if you count the referenced anthology which is also really good. No matter how you count them, these books are some mighty good reading as I see them.