It’s that time of year again… the time when the staff of The Mystery Bookstore chooses our favorites of the past year. Some of these books may still be available as signed first editions from us, but all of them are worth tracking down – if not as first editions, then as paperbacks, when they become available next year.

Craig Johnson, THE COLD DISH. Viking, $23.95. This first-time author really got our attention, delivering both a well-crafted whodunit and a strong, character-driven Wyoming novel with great humor and humanity.


Jeff Shelby, KILLER SWELL. Dutton, $23.95. The fastest-paced book of the year, and a textbook of what to deliver in a private eye novel.


Peter Craig, BLOOD FATHER. A dark, brutal, and surprisingly moving book about a reformed outlaw biker trying to save his daughter from the drug world.


Martin Limón, THE DOOR TO BITTERNESS. Soho Crime, $23.00. A great look at a culture clash between Korea and the U.S.


Rick Riordan, MISSION ROAD. Bantam, $24.00. Texas P.I. Tres Navarre involved in a plot so intricate it shouldn't be this easy to read.


Harry Hunsicker, STILL RIVER. St. Martin’s Minotaur, $23.95. A great throwback to the tough guy PIs in the Mike Shayne and Shell Scott vein, with some added dimensions.


Stuart M. Kaminsky, DENIAL. Forge, $23.95. A Lew Fonesca story of two cases that delivers the solid read you get only from a master craftsman of the genre.


Max Allan Collins, THE WAR OF THE WORLDS MURDERS. Berkley paperback, $7.99. The creator of The Shadow has to solve a murder Orson Wells is framed for before his infamous broadcast is finished. A great look at the Mercury Theater.


Clyde W. Frost, THE LONG MILE. Midnight Ink trade paperback, $13.95. A great mix of noir, post 9-11 thriller, and modern mythology.


Richard Brewer & Jessica Kaye (editors), MEETING ACROSS THE RIVER. Bloomsbury trade paperback, $14.95. More than a dozen authors offer divergent and creative takes on the Springsteen song.