Best new-to-me authors in 2012 #2

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Kerrie at Mysteries in Paradise has started a meme in which bloggers are asked to write about their favourite “new to them” authors whose books they have read in each quarter of 2012. If you would like to join the meme, here is the April-June post for your link.

If I’ve counted right, I’ve reviewed 47 books during these three months, of which 18 were by new-to-me authors. The listing is below, including whether or not the book is a debut (to the best of my knowledge). M J McGrath has written non-fiction but White Heat is her first work of fiction. Just over half the books are debuts.

I enjoyed almost all these books; there are only one or two by authors I don’t feel inclined to try again. In fact, in two cases I have already read other books by the author (Gail Bowen and Julia Spencer-Fleming).

Picking out a winner from this list is very hard indeed as I’ve enjoyed almost all of them, and they are a varied bunch of books. I am going to have to go for a tie between Julia Spencer-Fleming, Gail Bowen and Ridley Pearson. Wendy James and Allison Leotta come a very close second. But others are really good, too!

As usual, click on the title of the book to read by review to get a more “nuanced view”, as they say, of each.

Track of the Cat by Nevada Barr (debut, USA)
Amuse Bouche by Anthony Bidulka (debut, Canada)
Deadly Appearances by Gail Bowen (debut, Canada)
The Gingerbread House by Carin Gerhardsen (debut, Sweden)
In Her Blood by Annie Hauxwell (debut, Australia, London setting)
The Loyal Servant by Eva Hudson (debut, UK)
The Mistake by Wendy James (Australia)
Defending Jacob by William Landay (USA)
Law of Attraction by Allison Leotta (debut, USA)
The Other Child by Charlotte Link (Germany, England setting)
White Heat by M J McGrath (debut, UK, Canada setting)
The Pied Piper by Ridley Pearson (USA)
Broken Silence by Danielle Ramsay (debut, UK)
Crossbones Yard by Kate Rhodes (debut, UK)
Killer Instinct by Zoe Sharp (debut, UK)
A Dark Redemption by Stav Sherez (UK)
In The Bleak Midwinter by Julia Spencer-Fleming (debut, USA)
The Suspect by L R Wright (Canada)

I would like to thank Bernadette, Bill, Karen, Keishon and Sarah, who between them were responsible for my discovery of about half of these authors and their books!

My choice of best new-to-me authors in 2012 #1

9 thoughts on “Best new-to-me authors in 2012 #2”

  1. You have done some serious reading Maxine over the last quarter. I am very impressed. Some of these authors are on my to read list now and I’m looking forward to getting cracking on them. My ‘discovery’ off that list thanks to your recommendation is LR Wright who I enjoyed very much.

  2. Maxine – I’m very much impressed too with the amount of reading you’ve done! I’m so glad you like Bowen’s work, too. I think she really does have a great deal of talent. And I like Julia Spencer-Fleming’s characters very much, so I’m not surprised you chose her. Your post is also reminding me that I must read The Mistake.

  3. Thanks, Margot and Sarah. I don’t do much else except work or read, so I guess that is why there are so many books on the list 😉

  4. Maxine,
    Oh, this is an excellent idea for a post on your blog!
    I agree that Julia Spencer-Fleming’s In the Bleak Midwinter is prize-worthy.
    And Nevada Barr is wonderful. I especially loved her novel related to wolves on an island in Lake Superior. And here I am, unable to recall the title. But I do think it the best of her series.

    Judith (Reader in the Wilderness)

  5. Maxine: I am always impressed by the breadth of your reading. For Gail Bowen to among your top 3 puts in her elite company.

    • Thank you, Bill – and thank you again for introducing me to this excellent author – and other very good Canadian authors on this list, L R Wright and Anthony Bidulka.

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