Liz French

Family stories, trailblazing actors and activists, a wedding crasher, and more populate these engaging novels.

Moving memoirs, historical accounts, lively performing arts books, and scientific inquiries number among these real-world reads.

Best Books is almost here! On December 2 we announce our winning titles. To celebrate we are counting down to our big reveal by highlighting some of our 2023 picks, titles we still treasure, reread, and suggest widely. This week, in advance of Thanksgiving, we offer two choices, a van life adventure and a cozy-adjacent crime fiction debut.

Notaro’s historical crime novel The Murderess fictionalizes the notorious case of Winnie Ruth Judd, who in 1931 murdered her two best friends and placed their bodies in trunks. The grisly crime was discovered when Judd attempted to ship the trunks via train from Phoenix to Los Angeles. Notaro tells LJ about Phoenix’s “boogeyman,” her research work, and how it feels to get inside a murderess’s head. 

The Hunter by Tana French is the top holds title of the week. LibraryReads and Library Journal offer read-alikes for patrons waiting to read this buzziest book.

She is my secret weapon for those “OMG how did we miss that book?” last-minute reviews.

The best pop fiction novels of 2023 journey to self-realization and survival, untangle family ties, slay social shibboleths, and uncover hidden histories.

This year’s best crime fiction novels contain simmering secrets, rage and revenge, dogged detectives, and plenty of murder and mayhem. Dig in!