It’s time to share my favourite books I read in 2024! In total, I read 302 books in 2024 and vastly enjoyed many of them. This made this list a series of incredibly difficult decisions, but I managed to whittle it down to twenty titles. There are a couple of honourable mentions towards the end of this post.

All of these are listed in no particular order, moving through four groups of five books from my top 20 overall.

---

Private Rites by Julia Armfield

It has been pitched as a queer King Lear at the end of the world and that rings true in this bleak, blistering and brilliant book. It combines an intimate unravelling of grief and relationships from fractured characters with a ecological disaster looming on the horizon. 

Some Like It Cold by Elle McNicoll  

It is achingly honest, wholeheartedly wonderful and resplendent in its joy – truly warming my heart. It is a wonderful romantic story full of love, particularly with learning to love yourself and believing you can be the main character of your own story. Just exceptional.

Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Sutanto

This was an excellent cosy crime read that cemented Sutatno as a must-read author for me. Her writing just hooks its teeth into me and her use of narrative voice is just fantastic – creating these voices that just stick with you and these lovable, three-dimensional characters at the forefront of it all.

The Examiner by Janice Hallett

This was another barnstormer of a mystery from a modern queen of mysteries. Hallett delivers her distinctive style with a fiendish and tricksy story that has plenty of secrets up its sleeves.  It certainly delivers top marks for murder.

Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintera

This was a riveting, brilliantly written and compulsively readable thriller with a central character you will not forget any time soon. This book made full use of the podcast element, playing on the form ingeniously and existing as a form of media within the book and adding this textural layer that was so meta and fun to read. 

Nightwatching by Tracy Sierra

This was one of the scariest thrillers I have read for quite some time. Right from the start, I could not look away from this book. It was a fight or flight extreme situation that only seemed to get darker as the pages went on. Sierra has crafted lightning in a bottle here.

Guilty by Definition by Susie Dent

This was simply a marvel and fiendishly clever – balancing a tightly plotted and thrilling mystery with a poignant investment in its characters. It is a phenomenal fiction debut from Dent and revels in its intricate wordplay as much as it does in its impeccable storyline.

The Blonde Dies First by Joelle Wellington

This was a gorily good time. It was an incredibly insidious and original horror thriller, that also pays homage to classic slashers. For me, it cemented Wellington as a tour de force. Whatever she decides to turn her pen towards next, you can bet it’ll be brilliant. 

Let’s Split Up by Bill Wood

This was a killer of a YA horror-thriller – delivering plenty of heart along with the blood and the screams. It exceeded every expectation I had and is such an impressive debut novel, with excellent characterisation, twists and writing that sends chills down your spine.

Death at Morning House by Maureen Johnson

Johnson just always hits it out of the park for me.  This was another phenomenal mystery from a maestro in the genre. As I would expect, it was incredibly well paced, with stellar characterisation and terrifyingly good twists.

The End Crowns All by Bea Fitzgerald

This was an incredible sapphic reimagining of Helen and Cassandra. It completely redefines your expectations of these characters and creates a bold and beautiful new tale that tackles rape culture, the patriarchal myth of beauty and weaving your own narrative.

Four Eids and a Funeral by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé and Adiba Jaigirdar  

My expectations were in the stratosphere as two of my favourite authors teamed up for a YA rom-com, but they were easily surpassed. This was everything I could have dreamed of and so much more. For me, it was the YA rom-com of the year with Some Like It Cold.

The Night in Question by Susan Fletcher

I adored every second of reading this. It has excellent characterisation, plotting and reveals that utterly throw you off guard. Fletcher is a star in the making.

Immortal Dark by Tigest Girma

This was a dark, suspenseful and seductive Dark Academia vampiric fantasy mystery with more than a touch of romance. I loved its mediation on revenge and the lengths we may go to in order to right the injustices in our lives. It will be your new obsession and trust me, you’ll be left craving more. 

Moth to a Flame by Finn Longman

This is a brave, brilliant and blistering conclusion to an exceptional YA trilogy. If you’ve not picked up these books by now, you’re missing out on amazing stories and unforgettable characters.

The Angel of Indian Lake by Stephen Graham Jones

This brings an excellent horror trilogy to an explosive close with plenty of blood, death and meticulously crafted character development arcs.  This trilogy has been so meta in its celebration of the horror genre, particularly giving nods to cinematic giants, but also showing them as a form of escapism from the horror within our own lives.

The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley

This pulled me into its entrancing embrace and refused to let me go. Lucy Foley simply is a master of the genre. It is a chilling, character focused and carnivorous beast that will tear everything in its path apart. At once it is pulse-pounding and slowly builds its dread to a conclusion that I will not forget any time soon.

She’s Always Hungry by Eliza Clark

This was such a twisted treat. Clark wields her pen with lethal precision, mastering horror’s ability to get under your skin and interrogate social topics in an entirely different light. Simply put, it was absolutely sublime and you will be left ravenous for more.

Our Infinite Fates by Laura Steven

This delivers superb characterisation that builds on an ingenious premise and spins it into a story that you will never forget. It was absolutely phenomenal, moving and bound to be the book on everyone’s mind in 2025.

‘Til Death by Busayo Matuluko

This is an astoundingly strong debut novel that immerses you in the messy drama surrounding the wedding of the season in Nigeria. It has a cracking mystery, wonderful characterisation and an unexpectedly touching final reveal. Do not miss it.

Honourable Mentions:

I couldn’t help wanting to mention these four books which narrowly missed out on a place in the above list.

• I Was a Teenage Slasher by Stephen Graham Jones
• The Reappearance of Rachel Price by Holly Jackson
• Mondays Are Murder by Ravena Guron
• How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin