Reading List

Since 2015, I have recorded all the books that I have read which are detailed below. The titles in BOLD are my pick for the best read of that year.

2025 READING LIST

1. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
2. A Line to Kill by Anthony Horowitz
3. Hercule Poirot and the Greenshore Folly by Agatha Christie
4. The Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams
5. Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart
6. Close to Death by Anthony Horowitz
7. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
8. XS All Areas: The Status Quo Autobiography by Francis Rossi and Rick Parfitt
9. Marble Hall Murders by Anthony Horowitz
10. When the Needle Drops by Colin Macintyre
11. The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley
12. The Last Passenger by Will Dean
13. High Fidelity by Nick Hornby
14. The Twist of a Knife by Anthony Horowitz
15. The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley
16. We Solve Murders by Richard Osman
17. The Guest List by Lucy Foley
18. The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley
19. A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle
20. Trick of the Dark by Val McDermid
21. Just Ignore Him by Alan Davies
22. Dead Beat by Val McDermid
23. The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker
24. Kick Back by Val McDermid
25. Raising Hare by Chloe Dalton
26. Conviction by Denise Mina
27. Confidence by Denise Mina
28. The Long Shadow by Celia Fremlin

2024 READING LIST

1. With a Mind to Kill by Anthony Horowitz
2. Lord Edgware Dies by Agatha Christie
3. A Heart Full of Headstones by Ian Rankin
4. Paper Cup by Karen Campbell
5. Adrian Mole: The Cappuccino Years by Sue Townsend
6. The Fog by James Herbert
7. Poirot’s Early Cases by Agatha Christie
8. The Sentence is Death by Anthony Horowitz
9. The Binding by Bridget Collins
10. The Last Dance by Mark Billingham
11. Adrian Mole and the Weapons of Mass Destruction by Sue Townsend
12. The Quaker by Liam McIlvanney
13. The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O’Farrell
14. The Good Samaritan by John Marrs
15. Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo
16. Running Up That Hill: 50 Visions of Kate Bush by Tom Doyle
17. The Lost Diaries of Adrian Mole, 1999-2001 by Sue Townsend
18. The Party House by Lin Anderson
19. The Answer Is No by Fredrik Backman
20. Three Act Tragedy by Agatha Christie
21. Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
22. Midnight and Blue by Ian Rankin
23. Hercule Poirot’s Christmas by Agatha Christie
24. Towards Zero by Agatha Christie
25. The Rise by Ian Rankin

2023 READING LIST

1. Marple: Twelve New Stories by Various
2. The Long Drop by Denise Mina
3. 1989 by Val McDermid
4. True Confessions of Adrian Albert Mole etc. by Sue Townsend
5. The Talented Mr Ripley by Patricia Highsmith
6. Shadows of Sounds by Alex Gray
7. Lost Dog: A Love Story by Kate Spicer
8. Peril at End House by Agatha Christie
9. The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths
10. Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
11. The Man in the Brown Suit by Agatha Christie
12. Why Didn’t They Ask Evans? by Agatha Christie
13. Martin Misunderstood by Karen Slaughter
14. The Woman in Black by Susan Hill
15. Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney
16. Yellowface by R F Kuang
17. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie by Muriel Spark
18. Adrian Mole: The Wilderness Years by Sue Townsend
19. Murder is Easy by Agatha Christie
20. Hercule Poirot’s Silent Night by Sophie Hannah

2022 READING LIST

1. Dark Paris by Various
2. Windswept & Interesting: My Autobiography by Billy Connolly
3. Deep Level by Richard E. Rock
4. Second Wind by Jimmy White
5. Saints of the Shadow Bible by Ian Rankin
6. The Magic Cottage by James Herbert
7. Even Dogs in the Wild by Ian Rankin
8. My Word is My Bond by Roger Moore
9. 1979 by Val McDermid
10. Forever and A Day by Anthony Horowitz
11. The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald
12. Rather Be The Devil by Ian Rankin
13. A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
14. The Word is Murder by Anthony Horowitz
15. Dark New Orleans by Various
16. In a House of Lies by Ian Rankin
17. A Song for the Dark Times by Ian Rankin
18. Love is Blind by William Boyd
19. Midwinter Murder by Agatha Christie
20. Dog Day by Walter Emanuel
21. Dark Venice by Various

2021 READING LIST

1. Blood Red Roses by Lin Anderson
2. Sleepyhead by Mark Billingham
3. Fifty-Fifty by Steve Cavanagh
4. Dark Scotland by Various
5. Dark Pines by Will Dean
6. The Black Dahlia by James Ellroy
7. Threat by Hugh Fraser
8. A Small Weeping by Alex Gray
9. Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz
10. Hypothermia by Arnaldur Indridason
11. The Darkness by Ragnar Jonasson
12. A Fine House In Trinity by Lesley Kelly
13. Unto Us A Son Is Given by Donna Leon
14. Whisky From Small Glasses by Denzil Meyrick
15. The Twelve by Stuart Neville
16. The Hangman’s Song by James Oswald
17. Hunter’s Chase by Val Penny
18. The Player On The Other Side by Ellery Queen
19. Standing In Another Man’s Grave by Ian Rankin
20. Whose Body? by Dorothy L Sayers
21. Pine by Francine Toon
22. Sorry For The Dead by Nicola Upson
23. The Bone Keeper by Luca Veste
24. Final Cut by SJ Watson
25. Death Of A Red Heroine by Qiu Xiaolong
26. Safe Custody by Dornford Yates
27. Blinded By The Lights by Jakub Zulczyk
28. Christmas Is Murder by Val McDermid

2020 READING LIST

1. Sidetracked by Henning Mankell
2. I am C-3PO The Inside Story by Anthony Daniels
3. Boys Do Cry by Various (compiled by Michelle Catanach)
4. The Rats by James Herbert
5. The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole aged 13 3/4 by Sue Townsend
6. The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole by Sue Townsend
7. Greenmantle by John Buchan
8. Funny, You Don’t Look Autistic by Michael McCreary
9. Trigger Mortis by Anthony Horowitz
10. How Not To Be A Boy by Robert Webb
11. Sweet Caress by William Boyd
12. The Chain by Adrian McKinty
13. Natural Causes by James Oswald
14. The Mermaids Singing by Val McDermid
15. The Dreams of Bethany Mellmoth by William Boyd
16. Tall Tales & Wee Stories by Billy Connolly
17. The Six by Luca Veste
18. Nat Tate – An American Artist 1928-1960 by William Boyd
19. A Silent Death by Peter May
20. A Very Murderous Christmas by Various

2019 READING LIST

1. This is Going to Hurt by Adam Kay
2. Bird Box by Josh Malerman
3. The Naming of the Dead by Ian Rankin
4. Death in the Clouds by Agatha Christie
5. Maigret’s First Case by Georges Simenon
6. Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death by M.C. Beaton
7. The Commitments by Roddy Doyle
8. The Dream Lover by William Boyd
9. The Snapper by Roddy Doyle
10. I’ll Keep You Safe by Peter May
11. Evil Under the Sun by Agatha Christie
12. A Cat Called Hope – The Complete Saga by Oliver Clarke
13. Exit Music by Ian Rankin
14. The Salt Path by Raynor Winn
15. Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
16. The Pale Horse by Agatha Christie
17. Laidlaw by William McIlvanney
18. The Man Who Smiled by Henning Mankell
19. Cards on the Table by Agatha Christie
20. Maigret’s Memoirs by Georges Simenon
21. Made in Scotland by Billy Connolly
22. Neither Here Nor There by Bill Bryson
23. Twas the Nightshift Before Christmas by Adam Kay
24. A Noise Downstairs by Linwood Barclay
25. The Wild Truth by Carine McCandless

2018 READING LIST

1. Mystery in the Channel by Freeman Wills Crofts
2. Casino Royale by Ian Fleming
3. The ABC Murders by Agatha Christie
4. Challenges – A Short Story Collection by Various
5. Cast Iron by Peter May
6. How to Write & Sell Great Short Stories by Linda M James
7. Harm by Hugh Fraser
8. Live and Let Die by Ian Fleming
9. Carrie by Stephen King
10. Pearl Jam Twenty by Pearl Jam
11. Fleshmarket Close by Ian Rankin
12. Terra Exitus by Scott M Liddell
13. What Does This Button Do – An Autobiography by Bruce Dickinson
14. Faceless Killers by Henning Mankell
15. The Dogs of Riga by Henning Mankell
16. Angels and Demons by Dan Brown
17. An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth by Chris Hadfield
18. The Shining by Stephen King
19. Devil in a Blue Dress by Walter Mosley
20. Maigret and the Old People by Georges Simenon
21. Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote
22. The White Lioness by Henning Mankell
23. A Legacy of Spies by John le Carre
24. Postcards from the Edge by Carrie Fisher
25. Dead Simple by Various
26. A Maigret Christmas and Other Stories by Georges Simenon

2017 READING LIST

1. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey
2. Blow Back by Peter May
3. Raven Black by Ann Cleeves
4. Coffin Road by Peter May
5. A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
6. Miraculous Mysteries by Various (edited by Martin Edwards)
7. A Question of Blood by Ian Rankin
8. Murder on Christmas Eve by Various

2016 READING LIST

1. The Critic by Peter May
2. Stars and Bars by William Boyd
3. Runaway by Peter May
4. The Last 10 Seconds by Simon Kernick
5. Life Class by Pat Barker
6. Lord of the Flies by William Golding
7. S.U.M.O (Shut Up and Move On) by Paul McGee
8. Blacklight Blue by Peter May
9. On Writing by Stephen King
10. Resorting to Murder – Holiday Mysteries by Various (edited by Martin Edwards)
11. The Beatle Man by Scott M Liddell
12. Freeze Frame by Peter May
13. The New Confessions by William Boyd
14. The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding by Agatha Christie
15. Murder at the Old Vicarage by Jill McGown
16. The Vanishing Game by William Boyd

2015 READING LIST

1. Stonemouth by Iain Banks
2. Armadillo by William Boyd
3. The Murder on the Links by Agatha Christie
4. Extraordinary People by Peter May
5. Pietr the Latvian by Georges Simenon
6. Picture Her Dead by Lin Anderson
7. Poirot Investigates by Agatha Christie
8. Fascination by William Boyd
9. The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach
10. Entry Island by Peter May
11. Resurrection Man by Ian Rankin
12. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie
13. Waiting for Sunrise by William Boyd
14. Black Coffee by Agatha Christie