2023 Books Read

  1. ****Hold Tight (Harlan Coben). Another excellent stand-alone thriller from Coben. This one involves parents trying to monitor their kid’s online activities, and all kinds of things happening. 1/4
  2. ***Apache Justice (Carston McCloud). A good western involving a half-breed Texas marshall fighting Apaches in Arizona with the army. 1/8
  3. ***The Violent Enemy (Jack Higgins). An IRA fighter escapes from prison to pul off a heist. 1/10
  4. ****Deadly Intent (James P. Sumner). The third Adrian Hell books takes place two years after the previous one. He’s “retired” and running a bar in Texas when terrorists come to recruit him. 1/15
  5. ****Renegade Star (JN Chaney). First in a series of 16 sci-fi books. 1/20
  6. ****Renegade Atlas (JN Chaney). Second in the Renegade series. 1/22
  7. ****Renegade Moon (JN Chaney). Third in the Renegade series. 1/26
  8. ****Renegade Lost (JN Chaney). Fourth in the Renegade series. They go to an ice planet with a remnant of the long-ago migrants from Earth. 1/27
  9. ***122 Rules (Deek Rhew). A thriller involving a government assassin who hesitates in killing a mob kingpin. Good. However, I started the sequel and the bad guy was just too evil, and I stopped reading. 4/1
  10. ***The Shimmer (Carsten Stroud). Interesting, different, thriller about a serial killer woman who can ride “the shimmer”–something which happens when a person dies–across the decades. 4/4
  11. ****Wild Outlaw (Tripp Ellis). The 26th Tyson Wild book, a good ride as always. 4/6
  12. ****Wild Revenge (Tripp Ellis). The 27th Tyson Wild book. 4/7
  13. ****Wild Secret (Tripp Ellis). The 28th Tyson Wild book 4/9
  14. ****Wild Envy (Tripp Ellis). The 29th Tyson Wild book. These are so much fun, a sure thing. 4/10
  15. ****Drop Shot (Harlan Coben). The 2nd Myron Bolitar book, further developing the character. 4/14
  16. ****Renegade Fleet (JN Chaney). The 5th Renegade book finds going against a rogue artificial intelligence entity. 4/16
  17. ****Renegade Earth (JN Chaney). They advance toward earth, while battling drone robot ships. 4/18
  18. ***Pigeon Tony’s Last Stand (Lisa Scotoline). A novella involving an immigrant community trying to protect a kid from drug dealers. 4/19
  19. ****The Rhine River Job (Vince Milam). The 11th Case Lee book takes him to Europe on a job, this time teamed with a Gypsy operate. One of his best. 4/20
  20. ****The Bookstore Sisters (Alice Hoffman). A novella involving estranged sisters who come together around their father’s bookstore. 4/22
  21. ****The Pain Hunter (Jeffery Deaver). A novella involving a doctor kidnapped by escaped convicts. Quite good. 4/24
  22. ****Abducted in the Keys (Matthew Rief). The 9th Logan Dodge book. 
  23. ****Showdown in the Keys (Matthew Rief). Logon Dodge #10. 
  24. ****Fade Away (Harlan Coben). The 2nd Myron Bolitar book. Lots of things going on. I don’t know how Coben keeps it all straight, but everything wraps up in the end. 
  25. ***Ride the River (Louis L’Amour). A Sackett book starring Echo Sackett, aunt of Tell and brothers. She goes to Philadelphia and hooks up with some Chantrys.
  26. ****The Daybreakers (Louis L’Amour). A Sackett book with Tyrel and Orin, introducing them and getting them from Tennessee to the West. 
  27. ****Renegade Dawn (JN Chaney). The 7th Renegade book. They are now on Earth.
  28. ****Renegade Children (JN Chaney). Renegade book 8. 
  29. ***Renegade Union (JN Chaney). Renegade #9. Not all that great. 3/18
  30. ****Renegade Empire (JN Chaney). They begin engaging with the Celestials on their turf. 3/19
  31. *****Razorblade Tears (SA Cosby). A truly outstanding book, the first one I’ve read by this author. 3/21
  32. **Ark (Veronica Roth). A short story. 3/24
  33. ****Against the Blighting Curse (Steve Dennie). My book about the UB church during the Civil War. 3/25
  34. ****Wild Surf (Tripp Ellis). The 30th Tyson Wild book involves a murdered surfer, plus a couple other plots, one going back several books, all of which get tied up neatly. 4/28
  35. ***Escort Girl 1 (Stephanie Bond). First novella in a six-novella series. Kind of fun. The lead character works for a talent agency and escorts celebrity clients around when they come to town. 
  36. ***Escort Girl 2 (Stephanie Bond). Second novella in a six-novella series.
  37. ***Escort Girl 3 (Stephanie Bond). Third novella in a six-novella series.
  38. ***Escort Girl 4 (Stephanie Bond). Fourth novella in a six-novella series.
  39. ***Escort Girl 5 (Stephanie Bond). Fifth novella in a six-novella series.
  40. ***Escort Girl 6 (Stephanie Bond). Last novella in a six-novella series.
  41. ***Little Sister (Mark Dawson). A novella in the Department 15 series.
  42. ***Witness X (Mark Dawson). Another novella in the Department 15 series.
  43. *****Tell No One (Harlan Coben). Another wonderful thriller, this one involving a man whose wife supposedly was abducted and killed six years before, but now he’s getting cryptic messages from her. 4/9
  44. ****Buy Back Blues (Ralph Dennis). 12th book in the Hardman series, this one involving a waitress Hardman and Hump got involved with.
  45. ****All Kinds of Ugly (Ralph Dennis). The final Hardman book, this one discovered late and not published until 2019. It brings the series to a close, and in a satisfying way. A much more intricate book than any of the others, which are pretty straightforward. 4/15
  46. ****The Silent Blade (RA Salvatore). The 11th Drizzt book. This one has three story lines going at once, and is quite good. One involves Artemis Entreri, the assassin, making his way in a city. One involves Wulfgar, who goes off by himself and ends up in the city of Tuskan. The other involves Drizzt and others taking a magical device to be destroyed. 4/22
  47. ***Ironing Board Devotions (Gloria Dennie). My Mom’s book, a collection of her writings over her lifetime. 4/18
  48. ***Death’s Door (April White). This novella has Edgar Allen Poe transported to the 21st Century, and into the orbit of an immortal barkeeper who was the child of slaves. Interesting. 4/23
  49. ***All He Has Left (Chad Zunker). A mystery involving a football coach in Austin whose daughter is kidnapped, and he is accused of murder. He’s on the run throughout Austin. 4/27
  50. ****Welcome to Dunder Mifflin (Brian Baumgartner). A delightful oral history of The Office. 4/30
  51. ****The Book Case (Nelson DeMille). A novella involving a murder in a used bookstore. Enjoyable. 5/1
  52. ****Falling (TJ Newman). A wonderful thriller involving terrorists and an airplane. Highly recommended. 5/4
  53. ****Avenged in the Keys (Matthew Reif). The 11th Logan Dodge book. 5/6
  54. ****Broken in the Keys (Matthew Reif). The 12th Logan Dodge book. 6/8
  55. ****Payback in the Keys (Matthew Reif). The 13th Logan Dodge book brings back a former SEAL teammate out for revenge. 5/11
  56. ****Valkyrie (Michael Anderle). First in the series called “Chooser of the Slain.” Enjoyable, good writing. 5/14
  57. ****Into the Battlefield (Michael Anderle). Second in the “Chooser of the Slain” series. 5/19
  58. ****Hollow Beasts (Alisa Lynn Valdes). The first Jodi Luna book, a game warden in New Mexico. Very good. 5/20
  59. ****Shadows Reel (CJ Box). The latest Joe Pickett book. Good story lines, told separately, involving Nate on the west coast, and Joe and Marybeth in Wyoming.  
  60. ****Homecoming (Golden Christie). Begins immediately upon the return of Voyager from the Delta Quadrant. Follows various members of the crew. Requires reading “Farther Shore,” the sequel of this two-parter.
  61. ****Old Man’s War (John Scalzi). Start of an interesting sci-fi series, in which 75-year-olds are recruited as soldiers in an interplanetary war. 
  62. ****Dreyer’s English (Benjamin Dreyer). An excellent book about grammar and editing, from a top guy at Random House. 6/10
  63. ****Dark Horse (Gregg Hurwitz). The 7th orphan book. This one involves the Nowhere Man helping recover the kidnapped daughter of a drug lord. Interesting stuff. 6/10
  64. ****The Last Orphan (Gregg Hurwitz). The 8th orphan book. The Nowhere Man is captured by the government, but escapes and pursues a conspiracy which the government wanted him to take on. 6/15
  65. **Welcome to Gopherwood (Steve Dennie). Wrote this 20 years ago, haven’t read it since…until now. It’s not bad. 
  66. ***Farther Shore (Christie Golden). Sequel to Homecoming, a Voyager novel. 
  67. ***Wild Venom (Tripp Ellis). Another Tyson Wilde book, #31. 
  68. ***Wild Island (Tripp Ellis). Tyson Wilde #32 involves the murder of a cult leader on an island.6/27
  69. ***Renegade Descent (JN Chaney). The 11th book (of 16) in the Renegade series. 7/2
  70. ***Renegade Rising (JN Chaney). The 12th book (of 16) in the Renegade series. 7/4
  71. ***Renegade Alliance (JN Chaney). The 13th book (of 16) in the Renegade series. 7/5
  72. ***Renegade Evolution (JN Chaney). The 14th book (of 16) in the Renegade series. 7/7
  73. ***Renegade War (JN Chaney). The 15th book (of 16) in the Renegade series. 7/8
  74. ***Renegade Descent (JN Chaney). The final book (of 16) in the Renegade series. 7/9
  75. ****The Alaska Job (Vince Milam, 2023). The last Case Lee book takes him to the Far East and Alaska in search of a Chinese treasure. 
  76. ***Tarantula (Mark Dawson). A John Milton book. 
  77. ****Snake Skin (CJ Lyons). the first Lucy Guardino FBI myster, quite good. 
  78. ****Queen of Spades (Kristi Belcamino). The first Queen of Spades book.
  79. ***Blood Feud (Kristi Belcamino). A novella prologue to the Queen of Spades series.
  80. ****One-Eyed Jack (Kristi Belcamino). The 2nd Queen of Spades book. 8/3
  81. ****Garden of Beasts (Jeffrey Deaver). A mafia hitman is sent to  1936 Berlin to kill a Nazi leader. 8/5
  82. ****Doomsday Spiral (Jon Land). A plot against America by Islamic terrorists. The first Jon Land book  I’ve read. 8/9
  83. **Night Calls the Green Falcon (Robert McCammon). An off-beat novella about an aging TV actor who once played a superhero called the Green Falcon. 
  84. ***Endings (Linda L. Richards). Start of a trilogy about a woman who, after the tragic death of her husband and child, becomes a hitwoman. Kind of interesting. Don’t know if I’ll read the other two books. 8/11
  85. ***The Baby Blue Rip-off (Max Allen Collins). Second of five books written early in Collins’ career. Told by Mallory, a 30-something Vietnam vet in California. 8/13
  86. ***No Cure for Death (Max Allen Collins). The first Mallory book. Not as good as the second. 8/16
  87. ****Portals (Douglas R Richards). My first Richards book. There will be many more. In this standalone (though I’ll bet he’s working on a sequel), a million planets have been seeded with humanity and the same terra forming, all 80,000 years ago. And each is connected by a portal to ten other planets. In this book, one planet is trying to take over earth. 8/24
  88. ***A Face in the Crowd *Stephen King and Stewart O’Nan). A short story involving a man who, while watching pro baseball games, keeps seeing people who are dead. 8/25
  89. ***Just Out of Jupiter’s Reach (Nnedi Okorafor). A novella involving living ships cruising around the solar system with one perfectly DNA-matched human. Interesting. 8/25
  90. ****Wild Demon (Tripp Ellis). The 33rd Tyson Wild book involves murders around Halloween time. 8/25
  91. ****Wild Blue (Trip Ellis). The 34th Tyson Wild book. Starts with a woman’s sawed-off foot being found in the mouth of a shark. Goes from there. 8/25
  92. ****Wild Light (Tripp Ellis). The 35th Tyson Wild book.
  93. ****Wild Target (Tripp Ellis). The 36th Tyson Wild book.
  94. ****The Suicide King (Kristi Belcamino). The Eva Santella saga continues.
  95. ****Ace of Spaces (Kristi Belcamino). The Eva Santella saga continues.
  96. ****The Joker (Kristi Belcamino). The Eva Santella saga continues.
  97. ****Back Spin (Harlan Coben). The 4th Myron Bolitar book. 9/3
  98. ****One False Move (Harlan Coben). The 5th Myron Bolitar book involves a young woman basketball star and her long-missing mother. 9/5
  99. **Black Vault (Alma Katsu). An 80-page novella involving a CIA agent who, many years before, reported on an UFO he saw in Mongolia. 9/6
  100. ****Storm Watch (CJ Box). The 24th Joe Picket novel involves a plot by extremists to kidnap the governor and also get at Nate…though it’s a whole lot more complicated than that. Also, there’s a huge blizzard. 9/11
  101. ****Riding the Rap (Elmore Leonard). The 2nd Raylin Givens book takes place in Florida, but it’s the same Raylin as on the TV show justified.
  102. ****The Walk (Lee Goldberg). A fascinating short novel in which a terrible earthquake devastates Lost Angeles, and one man begins the 30-mile walk to his home. 
  103. ****Raylin (Elmore Leonard). The 2nd Raylin Givens book finds him back in Kentucky. There are two stories, both of which were episodes of Justified. One involves human organ traffickers, the other a strike at a coal mine. Very good. 
  104. ****Condemned in the Keys (Matthew Rief). Logan Dodge faces a trial for murder while also chasing down other bad guys.
  105. ****Voyage in the Keys (Matthew Rief). Logan Dodge and his wife travel to a Caribbean island for a lengthy getaway, and end up getting drawn into a situation involving murders and mobsters.
  106. *****Mine (Robert McCammon). The first McCammon book I’ve read. I thought he just did horror, but this is a regular thriller, and an excellent one. Involves members of a 60s era American guerrilla group in the present day. 
  107. ****Hot in December (Joe R. Lansdale). A short Lansdale novel set in east Texas. Involves a man who sees a mobster’s son run down and kill a woman, and agrees to testify against him. For protection, he brings in a couple buddies from Afghanistan. Excellent. 9/26
  108. ***Seeker (Douglas Richards). An alien probe lands on earth in the Amazon, and draws commandoes from 80-some countries to find it.  9/29
  109. ****The Wild Card (Kristi Belcamino). An Eva Santella book with a focus on her niece (or granddaughter?) Rose, who is training with Eva’s girls. Involves human sex trafficking. 9/30
  110. **The Target (Brad Taylor). A novella involving the Israeli couple in a mission in Brazil.
  111. ***Devil’s Dream (Shayne Silvers). First in a trilogy about the true first vampire (who made Dracula), in present-day New York. Interesting take.
  112. *Devil’s Cry (Shayne Silvers). Second in the trilogy, but it turned into a vampire sex romp. Decided I’ll stop here.
  113. ***Comes a Horseman (Paul Lederer). A nice western involving a gunslinger who is passing through a town and gets involved in a range war.
  114. ****Treasure State (CJ Box). The latest Cassie Dewell book, involving several plots, including the hunt for a treasurer hidden somewhere.
  115. ****The 21 (Martin Mosebach). The story of the 21 Coptic martyrs, and a fascinating introduction to the Coptic church. 10/11
  116. ****The Insider Threat (Brad Taylor). A Muslim plot to use Americans in ISIS to go after the Pope. 10/11
  117. ****No Plan B (Lee Child). Jack Reacher finds himself battling bad-guys who run a prison. 10/13
  118. ****Guardian in the Keys (Matthew Rief). Another good Logan Dodge book, this one involving a Hollywood celebrity and a really evil agent.
  119. ****Odin’s Game (Tim Hodkinson). First of 6 about Einar, a young man from Iceland, and his adventures in the Viking world. Very good. 10/17
  120. ****The Raven Banner (Tim Hodkinson). Second book in the Whale Road series. 10/19
  121. ****The Wolf Hunt (Tim Hodkinson). Third in the Whale Road series. The wolf warriors are in Norway, being hunted from several directions. 10/22
  122. ****The Serpent King (Tim Hodkinson). Fourth in the Whale road series. Einar is in the British Isles and Orkney islands, and will finally have it out with his father. 10/23
  123. ****The Bible Jesus Read (Philip Yancey). Yancey focuses on the Old Testament, with chapters on Deuteronomy, the Psalms, Job, Lamentations, and the Propets. 10/23
  124. ****More Better Deals (Joe Lansdale). Well done book set in the early 1960s, with a used car salesman getting connected with a local woman and drawn into murder and kidnapping schemes. 10/26
  125. ****The Khmer Kill (Barry Eisler). A short story set in Cambodia, with Dox hired to assassinate a human trafficking kingpin. 10/26
  126. ****Menace in the Keys (Matt Reiff). Logan Dodge goes after thieves who are stealing outboard motors, and in the process killed a friend. 10/27
  127. *****The Spy Coast (Tess Gerritson). A wonderful spy novel. Four former CIA agents have retired in Purity, a coastal town in Maine. For one of them, a case from 16 years before comes back to threaten her, and they all get involved. 10/29
  128. ****The Final Detail (Harlan Coben). The 6th Myron Bolitar novel involves a baseball client who is found dead by gunshot. 10/30
  129. ***I Travel by Night (Robert McCammon). First of 2 novellas involving a vampire circa 1876. 10/31
  130. ***Last Train from Perdition (Robert McCammon). A sequel to “I Travel by Night.” Not as good as the first one. 11/1
  131. **Living with Your Emotions (Ray Seilhamer). Dr. Seilhamer deal with about 20 different emotions that plague people, including grief, stress, anger, envy, and others. 11/1
  132. ***A Killer’s Game (Isabella Maldonado). First in a new series with a female FBI protagonist. Here, in going after a crooked senator, she finds herself in a twisted game. 11/4
  133. ****Radiant Apples (Joe R. Lansdale). A western about Nat Love. very good, and short. 11/6
  134. **Man’s Search for Meaning (Victor Frankl). Mostly about his time in Nazi concentratin camps, but a lot of psychology stuff. 11/10

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