Top Ten New-To-Me Authors I Read In 2012

I had a good year of reading in 2012.  I read many of the same beloved authors that I have enjoyed over the years, but I also had the pleasure of discovering amazing reads from authors who I had never read before.  I present to you my Top Ten List of authors whose books I read for the first time in 2012, in no particular order. My list is a little mystery-heavy, but so was my reading this year.

Top Ten Favorite New-To-Me Authors I Read In 2012

Dashiell Hammett

First read in 2012 – The Maltese Falcon

Okay, not really new-to-me, as I’ve known the name forever, I just never got around to reading anything by him until this year.

Dorothy L. Sayers

First book read in 2012- Whose Body?

She’s a Queen of Crime, need I say more?

Lou Berney

First book I read in 2012: Whiplash River

Berney writes the kind of kooky crime novels that I just get a kick out of.

Amanda Flower

First book read in 2012 – A Plain Death

She’s an Ohio author and hers was the first of the current wave of Amish books I’ve read. I really enjoyed it.

Alex Grecian

First read in 2012 – The Yard

I love a good historical mystery and The Yard was enjoyable. I don’t know how historically accurate it was but it sucked me right in.

Andrea Camilleri

First read in 2012 – The Shape of Water

His mysteries are set in Sicily and the place becomes almost a character itself.

Bill Bryson

First read in 2012- Shakespeare: The World as Stage

How could I have not read something by Bryson before? Entertaining and informative.

Robert B. Parker

First read in 2012 – The Godwulf Manuscript

Parker’s Spenser is a classic PI, a smart-mouthed tough guy with a heart of gold. Another one I should have gotten around to reading way before now.

S. J. Rozan

First read in 2012 – China Trade

Great setting, Chinatown, and good characters, Lydia Chin and her sometimes partner Bill Smith, combine for a really interesting series.

Jerome Charyn

First read in 2012 - Blue Eyes

From my review – “But the characters were amazing. They were all nuts…” and “It’s an odd journey, full of twists and turns that I didn’t see coming.”

Who was your favorite new-to-you author this year?

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted at The Broke and the Bookish.