Books Read in 2020

Books are listed in the chronological order I read them. The links in this list are to my reviews – some ‘reviews’ are mini reviews/notes or as parts of composite posts (not all books will be reviewed).

Key:

  • F = Fiction
  • K = Kindle
  • CF = Crime Fiction
  • HF = Historical Fiction
  • LB = library book
  • TBR = book acquired before 1 Jan 2020
  • RB = a review book from author/publisher/NetGalley
  • B = book borrowed from family/friends
  • NF = non-fiction

January

  1. Searching for Sylvie Lee by Jean Kwok 4* F, K, RB, TBR
  2. The Lady of the Ravens by Joan Hickson 4* F, HF, K, RB, TBR
  3. Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens 5* CF, F, TBR
  4. Hitler’s Secret by Rory Clements 4* CF, F, HF, K, RB, TBR
  5. Death Has Deep Roots by Michael Gilbert 4.5* CF, F, K, RB, TBR
  6. The Last Day by Andrew Hunter Murray 5* F, K, RB, TBR

February

  1. Remain Silent by Susie Steiner (5 Feb) 4* CF, F, K,RB, TBR
  2. The Winker by Andrew Martin 4* CF, F, K, RB, TBR
  3. Happy Old Me by Hunter Davies 5* LB, NF
  4. A Killing Kindness by Reginald Hill 5* CF, F, TBR
  5. Saving Missy by Beth Morrey 5* F, K, RB, TBR
  6. The Year Without Summer by Guinevere Glasfurd 5* F, HF, K, RB, TBR
  7. The Pale Horse by Agatha Christie 5* CF, F, K (a re-read – linked to my original review post)

March

  1. The Sleepwalker by Joseph Knox 5* CF, F, K, RB
  2. Sweet Little Lies by Caz Frear 3* CF, F, K, TBR
  3. Writing Wild by Kathryn Aalto 3.5* K, NF, RB
  4. Stone Cold Heart by Caz Frear 2* CF, F, K, RB, TBR
  5. The Animals at Lockwood Manor by Jane Healey 3* HF, F, K, RB, TBR
  6. Fresh Water for Flowers by Valérie Perrin 5* F, HF, K, RB, TBR

April

  1. Becoming Mrs Lewis by Patti Callahan 3* HR, F, K, RB, TBR
  2. The Dutch House by Ann Patchett 3* F, K
  3. Queen Lucia by E F Benson 3* F, K, TBR
  4. The Mystery of Princess Louise by Lucinda Hawksley 4* LB, NF
  5. The Last Protector by Andrew Taylor 4* F, HF, K, RB

May

  1. Blue Tits in My Nest Box by David Gains 5* K, NF
  2. An Air That Kills by Andrew Taylor 4* CF, F, K
  3. Looking Good Dead by Peter James 3.5* CF, F, K, TBR
  4. The Lost Lights of St Kilda by Elisabeth Gifford 3* F, HF, K, RB
  5. The Guardians by John Grisham 4* CF, F, TBR
  6. Sword by Bogdan Teodorescu 4* CF, F, K

June

  1. The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy 5* F, K, TBR
  2. The Deep by Alma Katsu 3* F, HF, K, RB
  3. Yesterday’s Papers by Martin Edwards 4*, CF, F, TBR
  4. The Mist by Ragnar Jonasson 4* CF, F, K, RB
  5. Deadheads by Reginald Hill 5* CF, F, TBR
  6. The Second Sleep by Robert Harris 4* F, K

July

  1. Moonflower Murders by Anthony Horowitz 5* CF, F, RB
  2. How to Disappear by Gillian McAllister 2* CF, F, K, RB
  3. Maigret’s Holiday by Georges Simenon 5* CF, F, TBR
  4. The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton CF, F, HF, K, TBR
  5. Smallbone Deceased by Michael Gilbert 4* CF, F, K, TBR
  6. Mortmain Hall by Martin Edwards 4* CF, F, K, RB
  7. Thin Air by Michelle Paver 4* F, HF, TBR

August

  1. The Power-House by John Buchan 5* F, K, TBR
  2. The Birdwatcher by William Shaw 5* CF, C, K
  3. His and Hers by Alice Feeney 4*, CF, F, K, RB
  4. A Thousand Moons by Sebastian Barry 5* F, HF, K. RB
  5. The Killings at Kingfisher Hill by Sophie Hannah CF, CF, F, K, RB
  6. Still Life by Val McDermid 5* CF, F, K
  7. Wycliffe and How To Kill a Cat by W J Burley 4* CF, F, TRB

September

  1. Dead Man’s Footsteps by Peter James 4* CF, F, K, TBR
  2. The Search Party by Simon Lelic 4.5* CF, F, K, RB
  3. Somebody at the Door by Raymond Postgate 4*, CF, F, K, TBR
  4. The Dry by Jane Harper 4.5* CF, F, TBR
  5. The Secret of High Eldersham by Miles Burton 4* CF, F, K, TBR
  6. The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

October

  1. A Song for the Dark Times by Ian Rankin 5* CF, F, K
  2. Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell 3* F, HF, K
  3. And Now For the Good News by Ruby Wax 3* K, NF, RB
  4. The Virus in an Age of Madness by Bernard-Henri Levy
  5. The Searcher by Tana French 5* CF, F, K, RB
  6. A Journal of the Plague Year by Daniel Defoe 3* F, K, TBR
  7. Last Bus to Woodstock by Colin Dexter 4* CF, F, K, TBR
  8. Maigret and the Reluctant Witnesses by Georges Simenon 4* CF, F, K, TBR

November

  1. The Guest Cat by Takashi Hiraide 4* F, K, TBR
  2. The Pandemic Century by Mark Honigsbaum 3.5* NF, K, RB
  3. The Man behind Narnia by A N Wilson 4* NF, K
  4. The Postscript Murders by Elly Griffiths 4* CF, F, K, RB
  5. V2 by Robert Harris 5* F, HF, K, RB,
  6. Animal Farm by George Orwell 4* F, K
  7. Private Moscow by James Patterson 4* F, K, RB

December

  1. The Darkest Evening by Ann Cleeves 5* CF, F, K
  2. The Survivors by Jane Harper 4* CF, F, K, RB
  3. Sherlock Holmes and the Yule-Tide Mystery by Val Andrews 2* CF, F, K, TBR
  4. The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler 3* CF, F, K, TBR
  5. The Stone Circle by Elly Griffiths 4.5* CF, F, K
  6. The Shortest Day by Colm Toibin 5* F, K
  7. The Diabolical Bones by Bella Ellis 4* F, K, HF, RB
  8. Jeeves and the Yule-tide Spirit by P G Wodehouse 3* F, K, TBR
  9. Theo: a Novella by Paul Torday 4* F, K
  10. Movalwar by Benjamin Cornelius 5* F, K
  11. Maigret Enjoys Himself by Georges Simenon 3.5* CF, F, K, TBR
  12. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens – a re-read 5* F