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.
Lovely list! I really enjoyed Hammett the first time I read him, too – I was surprised how much. Thanks for sharing!
I really need to read something by Bill Bryson, and soon! I’ve been meaning to for the past few years, and in 2013 I will change that. Great list!
I’ve read only about four of these authors. It’s a good feeling to find new writers that you like.
I haven’t read any of those :/
I really want to read Dorothy L. Sayers! Would you recommend Whose Body? as a good starting point?
It’s the only one I’ve read and I just started at the beginning of the series. I’ve heard it’s not the best of the lot though.
What a great list. Some of these I want to read in 2013: The Dashiell Hammett book and the Jerome Charyn book. I like the S. J. Rozan series a lot, have read almost all of them. And both Amanda Flower and Alex Grecian sound very interesting.
I can’t believe I haven’t read anything by Bill Bryson yet, either! Maybe 2013 is the year.
Great list! I read Jerome Charyn this year too. I have to say that Tracey Garvis-Graves and Diane Chamberlain are among my fav new authors for 2012.
I love The Maltese Falcon. That whole era, with that and the Big Sleep were so important for the mystery genre.
I’ve only read Hammett from your list. I need to go to the library and sample the others. Someone recently suggested Sayers to me.
I love Dorothy Sayers! I admit to a book crush on Lord Peter Whimsy!
So glad to see so much interest in these great books. For more about Jerome Charyn’s crime series, we’d love to see you on the Isaac Sidel Facebook community: http://www.facebook.com/IsaacSidel
The only one I’ve read is Parker. Jason and I used to listen to the Spencer series on car trips way back when.