Imaginary Friends

In the Beforetimes, I used to diligently log every book I read on Goodreads, setting a goal every year and giving each one a star rating from 1 to 5. Then Covid happened, I was no longer commuting into work every day and everything changed.

In many ways, those days feel like a bad dream. I am back working in the office every day and have been now for two and a half years; people are hacking and spluttering and spreading their germs around on the train every day, and no one cares any more about wearing masks and social distancing.

However, as I now have my commuting time back, I once more have time to read every day. This post is about the best books I read in 2024, based on the star rating I gave them.

I read a total of 65 books last year, and I gave seven of them five star ratings. Summaries are below, but for those I’ve written reviews on Goodreads for, the link is included.

Now You See Me – Sharon Bolton: I reviewed this one for Shots and I thought it was brilliant. The first in the Lacey Flint series, Lacey is a young London policewoman whose first murder case involves trying to catch a contemporary murderer who seems to be recreating the infamous murders of Jack the Ripper.

The Anarchists’ Club – Alex Reeves: I found this one in the charity book shop near work – the first in a historical crime series about a transgender man in 1880s London. Leo Stanhope works as a mortuary assistant who is shocked and saddened when the body of the prostitute he is in love with ends up on his mortuary table. He is driven to solve her murder. The author, Alex Reeves, says he got the idea for the character when he read an article about transgender people in Victorian England, and realised they don’t get treated much better now than they did back then.

The Bone Hacker – Kathy Reichs: I’ve been following the Temperance Brennan series since the first book. Kathy Reichs hasn’t lost her touch. I don’t give them all five stars, but this one I really enjoyed.

Daisy Darker – Alice Feeney: I read so many psychological thrillers that I usually get a bit wary of those that promise: ‘a devastating ending you’ll never see coming’. Well I did not see this ending coming, and Alice Feeney has been added to my list of favourite thriller authors.

Snap – Belinda Bauer: Somewhere between a crime novel and psychological thriller, this one had me turning the pages and feeling desperately sorry for all the characters involved. Can’t really say much more without giving away spoilers.

Frankenstein – May Shelley: I read it again for my horror book club last year, and this is always gets a solid five-star review from me simply because of it being a trailblazer – arguably the first modern horror novel published, and written by a woman who was only seventeen years old at the time. Who says girls don’t write horror?

Fairy Tale – Stephen King: The most recent Stephen King I’ve read, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. King doing what he does best – writing about ordinary people in extraordinary situations. Charlie is a modern seventeen-year-old high school student who gets sucked into an alternative fantasy world when he comes to the aid of an old man in the neighbourhood who has fallen and injured himself. More fantasy than horror, but it being Stephen King, it’s very dark. And I loved it.

We’re already four months down into 2025, and I’ve read 19 books of my 68-book target. No five-star ratings yet, but the year is still young. You’ll have to wait until next year to get a lowdown of my 2025 reading. But hopefully I’ll get the post up a bit earlier than May next year.