FAVORITE FICTION OF 2021

 

Courtesy of Enclave Publishing

In yesterday's blog, I mentioned that this was a strange year, and it is reflected in my novel reading. I'll be listing my ten favorites in alphabetic order (as usual). What's not usual is that I'm limiting it to ten, and not moving it up to twelve or fifteen. Sometimes, I keep it down by reading two or more in a series and counting them together. Not this year.

I usually keep track of three things in my novel reading - comparing male authors to female (the latter usually dominating), the number of new-to-me authors compared to ones I've previously read, and the division of genres. The first division is 20 female authors (24 books) to 3 male authors (3 books) - a few less men than normal. For the first time, previously read novelists overwhelmed the new ones - 19 to 4 (normally they have a narrow lead). 

Genres? Normally, it is balanced between mystery, suspense, and speculative (sci-fi, fantasy, horror). This year, out of 28 books, one was speculative, four were mysteries, and three were none-of-the-above. With the other 20 falling in the realm of suspense, 18 of those were Harlequin's Love-Inspired Suspense.

So here's my list, in alphabetic order:

1. Arctic Christmas Ambush by Sherri Shackleford. A young lady in the Witness Protection program has just witnessed another murder - related? Or not? That's in the mind of her and her Alaska State Trooper ex-boyfriend as they're stranded in a lodge by storm and avalanche with the killer (and a batch of sled dogs with an adorable runt of a puppy).
2. The Dog That Whispered by Jim Kraus. What do you do when you feel you need to adopt a Labrador Retriever but you're in a nursing home that won't let her keep him? Why, of course, you call up your middle aged bachelor son and have him take care of the dog. By the way, the dog told the lady he agreed with that set up. And naturally the son knows it's impossible for the dog to communicate with humans, even though the dog seems to be whispering things to him.
3. Explosive Situation by Terri Reed. Henry Roarke is being investigated for excessive youth of force by Internal Affairs officer Olivia Vance, when he is notified about a bomb threat, right where his teenage (and orphaned) sister is. On the plus side, he has an adorable bomb-sniffing Beagle partner. But how does he catch the bomber while being investigated and taking care of his sister who thinks he's overbearing? This part four of the eight part series "True Blue K-9 Unit: Brooklyn; it's a collection of novels which have their own story but also have a trio of threads overarching the series; each book is written by a different author.
   
4. Fatal Identity by Jodie Bailey. This is the sixth book I've read by Bailey (though I'll be honest and admit that one is a combination of two novellas, with Valerie Hansen writing the other). In this story, Alex "Rich" Richardson prevents the abduction of friend Dana Santiago. But why does her boss question if she's working with an infamous drug cartel? And why are her would-be kidnappers calling her "Danna", a name that she's called only in her nightmares? NOTE: This is the third of a series. I read the first a couple of years ago (Mistaken Twin, which was in my 2019 favorites list) and missed part 2 (Hidden Twin), but you can enjoy this without reading the other two.
   
5. Fugitive Trail by Elizabeth Goddard. How can you not love Samson the mastiff in this exciting story? Deputy Sierra Young and Samson go up to see if there's survivors in a helicopter crash. It turns out that the occupants were escaped killers, who have a vendetta against Sierra. One dies in the crash, but the other is at large. Technically, this is the third of the three part series "K-9 Mountain Guardians." This "trilogy," written by different authors, have different settings (except they're all in mountains) and no characters in common. 
   
6. The Keeper of the Stone: Of Saints and Chieftains by Donna Fletcher Crow. Most of what I read by Crow (who is currently #2 on my most read novelist behind only Agatha Christie, though that won't last long) are mysteries. This book is definitely historical. It starts looking at a trio of contemporary 20 somethings and an older storyteller, but the bulk of the book is on St. Columba in the 500's, establishing a monastery in Scotland. First in her ten volume Celtic Cross series, with part 1 (volumes 1-4) taking place in Scotland and part 2 in Ireland.
   
7. Mountain Survival by Christy Barritt. Derek Peterson is seeking help on the mountain for his injured brother when he meets ranger Autumn Mercer and her Australian Shpeherd partner Sherlock. But when they return to the site, they found blood, no brother, and someone shooting at them. If that's not enough, they have storms, floods, and wildcats to deal with. This is part of another series-in-name-only.
   
8. Night Fall by Nancy Mehl. Part one of the Quantico files. Behavioral Analyst (aka profiler) Alex Donavan is called in to a series of murders by a serial killer calling himself "The Train" man, and spraying quotes from a cult group her aunt belonged to. Can Alex and the rest of her team stop "The Train Man" from unleashing a virus that would make COVID seem like the common cold? NOTES - first novel I've read to mention COVID. Also, the book I mentioned that I'm reading is part 2 of this series, which will put Nancy Mehl in a tie for second with Donna Crow.
9. Scene of the Crime by Sharon Dunn. Forensic specialist Darcy Fields is scheduled to testify in a murder case. So of course someone's trying to discredit her and kill her, and the stalker is ready to take out her protector Jackson Davison and his trust K-9 partner Smokey. Very exciting story. Like Explosive Situation, above, this is part of the eight part series "True Blue K-9 Unit: Brooklyn; it's a collection of novels which have their own story but also have a trio of threads overarching the series; each book is written by a different author. Scene of the Crime is part six.
   
10. Through Chaos by Joshua A. Johnston. The thrilling conclusion to the epic trilogy "The Sarco Chronicles". Yes, the term "epic" is often overused, but have you ever heard me use it before? This series fits the description, looking at a federation of five planets ...well, until recently. The threat is Dar, who has faced some defeats but holds that while their bodies are free for the moment, their souls belong to him.  NOTE: Another item on my list, like this was the end of a trilogy. While you don't need to read that other one (Fatal Identity) in order, you. Need. To. Read. This. Trilogy. In. Order.

I had thought of asking if you could figure out which of these are Love Inspired Suspense stories (which six of the ten are), but I have a hunch it's fairly easy. 

Do you have any favorite novels you've read this year? Any of you read any on my list? What do you think of them?