Mystery series titles highlight 2009's 'Best Books' lists

As 2009 edges toward its end, the inevitable assessments of the year begin. For mystery fans, this desire to evaluate the past results in an outpouring of lists of what are considered to be the best mystery books published in 2009.

Michael Connelly's The Scarecrow appears on
the Publisher's Weekly, Library Journal and
New York Times lists of the best books of 2009.

"Best," in these evaluations, refers to the quality of the book itself rather than to how well it sells. A number of the titles appearing of these lists are also bestsellers, but lesser known books appear as well.

Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and the New York Times have provided their lists of the year's best mystery fiction. Each of these includes a notable array mystery series titles.

Publishers Weekly, which came out with its "Best Books of 2009" list on November 4, 2009, considers these series titles among 2009's elite:

• Michael Connelly, The Scarecrow (Jack McEvoy series, 2)
• Christopher Fowler, Bryant and May on the Loose  (Bryant and May series, 7)
• Craig Johnson, The Dark Horse (Walt Longmire Mysteries, 5)
• Michael Koryta, The Silent Hour  (Lincoln Perry series, 4)
• Reggie Nadelson, Londongrad (Artie Cohen series, 8)
• Jo Nesbø, Nemesis,  (Harry Hole series, 2)
• Eliot Pattison The Lord of Death (Inspector Shan series, 6)
  
• Laura Joh Rowland, The Cloud Pavilion (Sano Ichiro series, 14)

Library Journal provided its assessments on November 19 in "LJ Best Books 2009." These top mystery series titles appear on that list:

• Michael Connelly, The Scarecrow (Jack McEvoy series, 2)
• Bryan Gruley, Starvation Lake (Starvation Lake series, 1)
• J. M. Hayes, Server Down  (Mad Dog & Englishman Mystery, 5)
• Mike Lawson, House Secrets (Joe De Marco series, 4)
• James Rollins, The Doomsday Key (Sigma Force series, 6)
• S. J. Rozan, The Shanghai Moon (Lydia Chin/Bill Smith Mystery, 9)
• Betty Webb, Desert Lost  (Lena Jones Mystery, 6)

On December 3, 2009 New York Times columnist Marilyn Stasio voiced her choice of the "Notable Crime Books of 2009."  These mystery series titles were among her picks:

• Alan Bradley, The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie (Flavia de Luce Mystery, 1)
• Michael Connelly, The Scarecrow (Jack McEvoy series, 2)
• Jeffery Deaver, Roadside Crosses (Kathryn Dance series, 2)
• Tarquin Hall. The Case of the Missing Servant (Vish Puri, Most Private Investigator series, 1)
• Arnaldur Indridason, Arctic Chill (Reykjavik Murder Mysteries, 5)
• Stieg Larsson, The Girl Who Played with Fire (Millennium series, 2)
• Walter Mosley, The Lone Fall ­(Leonid McGill series, 1)
• Sara Paretsky, Hardball (V. I. Warshawski series, 13)

As the compilers of any "Best Books" list will be quick to admit, their choices are, of course, subjective in that they cannot completely exclude their personal interests from their judgments. But for readers who want to understand what is considered quality work by writers, such catalogs provide a valuable starting point.