Best Books I read in 2020, 12 to 7

 I usually like to count down my top 12 books of the year in the days leading up to Christmas. Since that didn't happen this year, here are my top 12 reads just in time for the new year.

12. Cut to the Bone by Ellison Cooper is fantastic! FBI agent Sayer Altair is on the hunt for a deranged killer. As one dead girl leads to 24 missing high school students, the stakes couldn't be any higher. The scope of the crime and the pathology of the killer will evoke Thomas Harris. Sayer's research into psychopaths make her uniquely qualified to lead the hunt and also squarely in the path of personal danger. Perfect for fans of serial killers and well-paced thrillers.

11. Andrea Vernon and The Corporation for Ultrahuman Protection by Alexander C. Kane, read by Banni Turpin. I listened to a lot of audiobooks this year and this book with the title that's a mouthful was one of the best. Andrea Vernon is out of work when she sees an opening for an administrative assistant. Soon she is whisked off to the offices of an Ultrahuman Corporation. A for profit, heroes for hire business. Before you know it she's in the midst of a battle to prevent the destruction of earth, managing the likes of heroes like The Big Axe and my personal favorite, Professor Well Actually, who can tell the future but only in the form of correcting someone else's misstatements. The book is hilarious but only works so well because of the amazing voice talent of Bahni Turpin. She juggles dozens of voices with dexterity and infuses the entire work with incredible energy.

10. Firefly: The Ghost Machine by James Lovegrove. Titan Books has done an outstanding job of continuing the Firefly series in novel form. Lovegrove is particularly adept with the characters which is essential when dealing with a well-known property. In this story, the crew winds up with a cargo that invades their dreams. First letting them live out their fondest desires before turning those desires into nightmares. Only River is unaffected, which leaves it up to her to rescue them before Serenity crashes straight into a moon. This book is a lot of fun and a must-read for Firefly fans.

9. The Falcon Always Wings Twice and The Gift of the Magpie by Donna Andrews. How can you pick just one of Donna Andrews's books? Opening a Donna Andrews book is an invitation to let the world slip away and disappear into the idyllic Caerphilly setting. It's like a Norman Rockwell painting, with a dead body or three.

In Falcon, we get to spend time at Meg Langslow's grandmother Cordelia's Renaissance Faire where a particularly irritating actor ends up dead and there are no shortage of suspects. In Magpie, we get to spend Christmas in Caerphilly as Meg and her army of volunteers are doing good deeds including trying to help Harvey the Hoarder. Unfortunately, someone thinks there is treasure in Harvey's trash and tries to kill him. Solving the murder alongside Meg is only part of the fun. The rest of the fun is spending time with Meg's delightful family, friends and townsfolk. You will have a smile plastered on your face from the first page to the last.

8. The Silent Wife by Karin Slaughter. Slaughter is the best in the business. Her ability to make you care for both the protagonists and the victims is unparalleled. In this Will Trent and Sarah Linton story, a murder in a state prison leads to a tip that will open an old case, as well as an old wound for Sarah. Not only that, but it may lead to a series of crimes that have continued into the present day. The crimes are gruesome and vivid, both physically and psychologically. Her characters are so vivid and sympathetic you feel like the events are happening to you. Slaughter is in a class by herself.

7. A Dangerous Man by Robert Crais. Crais's Elvis Cole and Joe Pike are great on their own but put them together and you've got dynamite! Joe Pike is minding his own business when he witnesses an abduction. He rescues the young woman, Isabel Roland, but before long, her two abductors are murdered and Joe decides that if he and Izzy are going to be safe, he's going to have to unravel the mystery of her abduction. A little help from Elvis Cole goes a long way. You don't want to be in the crosshairs of either of these two. This is a propulsive read that will have you flipping pages and not noticing the time flying by.

Up next, the countdown of my top six reads of 2020.