It's #MysteryMonth over at Booklist and one of the things I love about that is getting to post a "year's best" list in summer—December and January get all the round-up love.
And if you're thinking, Hold up! There's a reason those round-ups are in December! Are these books from last year? This year? Next year?! Don't you fret, they've cleared that up for us: "As always, both our best crime novel lists draw from crime fiction reviewed in Booklist since the last Mystery Showcase issue"
In Top 10 Crime Fiction:
THE BEAUTIFUL MYSTERY by Louise Penny
"Roiling human passion set against the sublime serenity of the chants produces a melody of uncommon complexity and beauty."
In Best Crime Fiction Debuts:
A GOOD DEATH by Christopher R. Cox
"[Cox] channels Conrad, Kipling, and Francis Ford Coppola. An insightful, transcendent adventure."
See Booklist's full list on "The Year’s Best Crime Novels: 2013."
THE BEAUTIFUL MYSTERY and A GOOD DEATH are both now available from Minotaur Books.