Jason Ramstad

01

The Woman In the Window - A.J. Finn

For the first time in 3 years, Stephen King is knocked off the top of the list. Finn's atmospheric pyscho-thriller is the best of the year.  Hell of a thriller!

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02

The Outsider - Stephen King

An unspeakable crime, and a man caught in the wrong place at the wrong time - is he guilty, or is the real murderer an Outsider? This felt like a King novel from the early parts of his career, and for that reason, takes a nice spot near the top of the list.

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03

The Dry - Jane Harper

Feel the Dry.  Really...you can feel how dry and hot this novel is when you're reading it.  Harper nails writing about atmosphere, and her main character is one of my recent favourite crime novel protagonists to come along.

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04

Half-Blood Blues - Esi Edugyan

I'm late to the scene, but this book was a stunning novel, well-deserving of its many accolades.  Canadian author Esi Edugyan taps into that nostalgia chord running through us all.  Graceful, poignant, all that stuff.  Made me cry - what else can I say but, go read it!

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05

The Last Time I Lied - Riley Sager

Top 10 returnee (but higher up in the list this year).  Sager does it again, perhaps even better this time.  This book was not only a thrilling page turner, but beautiful written, with scenery which, even a year later, still stands out strongly in my memory.

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06

Washington Black - Esi Edugyan

Here we are again with Edugyan! But what can I say, Washington Black was a hell of a journey, and a great novel.  My only complaint is that she didn't make this novel about 200 pages longer. 

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07

Elevation - Stephen King

I know, I have a hard-on for Stephen King.  Whatever.  This year, with The Outsider and Elevation, King seems to have really done something special with his writing.  Elevation is one of the more beautiful, poignant novels of his I've ever read.  Grab the tissues. 

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08

Duma Key - Stephen King

I deliberately delayed reading this, worrying it would a tough, long slog of a read.  What I got instead was a stunning story about a man just trying to survive through life's hardships.  It's an ode to the power of art.

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09

Katerina - James Frey

Picked this one up and had it signed it by Frey himself.  But that's not what makes it special - it's the story itself.  Another tear-jerker, written in Frey's signature unique prose.  Take a trip to Paris.

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10

Lethal White - Robert Galbraith (aka J.K. Rowling)

Fourth in the Cormoran Strike crime series, and the longest.  This one was good for its deeper exploration into the main characters' lives.  A good novel if you enjoy reading about politics and crime meshed together.