Tom Mayer: Book review: 23 for the end of '23 (with a nip at '24)

Dec. 11—By the end of 2023 there will have been about 1 million new books published this year alone, the vast majority by authors we've never heard of and never will. The big names — King, Grisham, Hoover, even Pilkey with "Dog Man's" loyal legion — grab the bulk of the attention ... and why not? Dependable storylines, top-notch editing and deep discounts make for predictably good-reading weekends.

But what about the others similarly worthy of recognition and, more importantly, a place in your online cart? While I can't diligently discuss the other 999,997 books that could paper your winter evenings, I can offer 23 for '23 ... with a bit of a cheat.

First, this isn't a "best-of 2023," and the books I've already reviewed throughout the year won't be found here.

Second, there are a couple of headline-catching names in the list because of their late publication date.

And third, since it's the end of the year, I'm going to reveal a few titles that you'll want to mull over now, but won't be available until the turn of the new year.

Oh, and fourth, I'm going to end with a few older titles by a couple of literary giants that one praiseworthy publishing house, Blackstone Publishing, has seen fit to resurrect.

But that's it for the caveats. Your 23 for '23, picked, plucked and promoted by our editors follows, and in no particular order, though that in itself does seem to be a bit of a caveat. The list ...

In review (books available now)

1. "The Sandbox" (The Sandbox Series Book 1) (Blackstone Publishing) by Brian Andrews and Jeff Wilson originally debuted on July 25 as a techno-thriller that "redefines the meaning of murder in the 21st century" which, of course, is code for a story delving deep into the world of artificial intelligence. Because it's from Andrews and Wilson, we'll throw in the Pentagon, a Green Beret, a female protagonist homicide detective with a gift for reading people and a story that'll have you reading into the night. Watch a video from the Navy vet-authors on the publisher's website at https://www.blackstonepublishing.com/the-sandbox-ebvs.html#541=1900683.

2. "The Caretaker" (Doubleday) by Ron Rash. Simply, North Carolina Ron Rash's work is not only worthy of a Pulitzer Prize, it would be a miscarriage of literary justice were he not to obtain that distinction before he puts down his pen for good. Case in point, 2023's "The Caretaker," a deceptively simple story set in 1951 Blowing Rock about a 16-year-old outcast, among others, who people this amazingly accurate, if fictional, place in the mountains of the Old North State.

3. "The Life and Times of Hanna Crafts: The True Story of The Bondwoman's Narrative" (Ecco) by Gregg Hemcimvich. There's a reason this story was named a "most anticipated title" by myriad news outlets, the Associated Press, Lost Angeles Times and Washington Post among those. Like Rash's novel, "The Life and Times of Hannah Crafts" is set in North Carolina, but here it's in 1857 and about a woman who escapes from a plantation. "The Bondwoman's Narrative" was a success when published in 2002 by an unknown author. Professor Hemcimvich unravels the secret of that author's identity more than a decade later.

4. "American Girl" (Blackstone Publishing) by Wendy Walker. In this well-drawn thriller, an autistic 17-year-old is involved in murder and small-town secrets that lead to a complexity of suspects and a dangerous denouement.

5. "Let Us Descend" (Scirbner) by Jesmyn Ward. An Oprah's Book Club pick for 2023, the two-time National Book Winner Ward gifts us with a reimagining tale about American slavery and a journey from the rice fields of the Carolinas to the heart of a Louisiana sugar plantation.

6. "The Last Applicant" (Lake Union Publishing) by Rebecca Hanover. Hanover has won her own share of literary prizes and this contemporary novel about an admissions director of an exclusive Manhattan private school whose every boundary is tested by a woman determined to get her son into the city's most prestigious class of ... kindergarteners, shows us why. Secrets not only abound, they unravel in this tautly told story.

7, 8. "The Aeronaut's Windlass (The Cinder Spires) (Ace) by Jim Butcher is not a new book, but available again now in paperback to complement the next chapter of this steam-powered series with "The Olympian Affair (The Cinder Spires) (Ace). Excellent and magical world building is on display from this veteran author.

9. "Resurrection Walk" (Little, Brown and Company) by Michael Connelly. The author's seventh Mickey Haller novel begins with Haller's half-brother, Harry Bosch — himself the central character in a separate but connected Connelly series — acting as driver for The Lincoln Lawyer. Those who know both characters will not only find this ... unusual ... but downright disturbing. The surprises keep coming as Haller and Bosch take on the case of a woman on death row who was convicted of killing her husband, but just might be innocent.

10. "Good Girls Don't Die" (Berkley) by Christina Henry. While I have a (sort of) rule against reviewing dystopian literature, it was bent here because, one, Henry lulled me into the story that is only part dystopia and two, I really, really wanted to know how this story of total misdirection — where nothing is as it seems — would come out. Well done, Ms. Henry.

11. "Silent Calvary" (Crown) by Howell Raines. As if the pedigree of the author — Raines is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist — wasn't enough, the subtitle would have brought me to this compellingly told, "submerged historical" tome: "How Union Soldiers from Alabama Helped Sherman Burn Atlanta — And Then Got Written Out of History." A riveting tale about an unsung regiment of 2,066 Alabamian yeoman farmers includes one of those men from Raines' own lineage.

The Reveal (books to consider now with selected reviews to come upon publication in 2024)

12. "Unbound" (Blackstone Publishing) by Christy Healy. A gender-bent reimagining of Beauty and the Beast with a double dose of Irish mythology and folklore. Destined to be a new classic.

13. "The Devil's Daughter" (Blackstone Publishing) by Gordon Greisman. The author writes with screenwriter credentials in a tale that roams from vice-riddled Manhattan to tonier climes where lies and secrets cloud every aspect of a murder.

14. "Almost Surely Dead" (Mindy's Book Studio) by Amina Akhtar. Part stalker, part ghost story, this fresh psychological thriller comes from the author of "Kismet" in a story about an extraordinarily ordinary life that turns into a true crime podcast.

15. "The Chaos Agent" (Berkley) by Mark Greaney. Testing the Gray Man in this 13th installment of the series is the possibility of a tech company using artificial intelligence with real-world ambitions. Start here, or quickly tear through the first 12 books, because you've got a few weeks. "The Chaos Agent" (Gray Man 13) publishes in late February.

16. "The Lady in Glass and Other Stories" (Ace) by Anne Bishop. If you know anything at all about this master of fantasy, you know how privileged I was to get a glimpse of this collection of Bishop's shorter works long before its Feb. 27, 2024, debut. Including two new stories written for the volume, and one with ties to earlier work, this book spans the author's most cherished, fantastical worlds.

Vintage books with a fresh look

17-23ish. You might have noticed that several of the reviews in 1-16 skew heavily in favor of Blackstone Publishing. That's for a good reason. Not only is Blackstone extremely selective in its literary repertoire, it produces extremely well-crafted hardcover books. Indeed, though I prefer e-books for reading, it is with this and a few other publishing houses (Lividian Publications is another example) that I suggest purchasing only the hard cover. To wit: the selected back works of two authors that Blackstone has given the royal treatment. All of the following books are beautifully bound with textured and foiled hard covers, homage jacket art and superior sewing. True treasures. Oh, and then there are the stories. ...

... Including Don Winslow's Neal Carey Mysteries. Blackstone began rolling out in August, books 1-5 of Winslow's early works portraying a private eye filled with contradictions. Neal Carey hones his street smarts and owes his education to the Bank, an institution with a reputation for keeping its wealthy clients out of the messes they manage to work themselves into. A glimpse into this master writer's early work is a perfect setup for what he has loudly hinted may be his last novel, and one set to publish in April. But more on that later and in another review. All five of the Neal Carey books noted here are available now: "A Cool Breeze on the Underground," "The Trail to Buddha's Mirror," "Way Down on the High Lonely," "A Long Walk Up the Waterslide" and "While Drowning in the Desert."

... And also including several stories from the late Michael Crichton (2008) writing as John Lange. Similarly and superiorly produced, Blackstone can claim the credit for reissuing these classic tales from the creator of "Jurassic Park" and "ER." Beginning in July and running through early December 2023, the publishing house released "Zero Cool," "Easy Go," "The Venom Business," "Drug of Choice," "Odds On" and "Scratch One" in a timely tribute to the author. A new introduction by Sherri Crichton enhances the offerings.

And for those of you keeping score, yes, with Crichton's listings, my tally actually reaches 27, not 23. But since I was only able to get my hands on the five Winslow, but only two of the Crichton-Lange novels by press time, I'm sticking with 23. I told you I was going to cheat.