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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Of more than 120 novels read during 2013, these are my favorites

The best crime fiction offers equal parts entertainment and social commentary

Oline H. Cogdill Mcclatchy-Tribune

1. “The Gods of Guilt” by Michael Connelly. Little, Brown: This fifth outing with attorney Mickey Haller stretches the legal thriller’s boundaries. A character study about a very flawed man haunted by the fact that doing his job well can have fatal reverberations, and a novel about unbridled ambition and the greed for recognition.

2. “Visitation Street” by Ivy Pochoda. Ecco: This exquisitely written novel is a poignant and forceful look at the strong and fragile bonds that link a Red Hook neighborhood when a teenage girl disappears following an accident on the water.

3. “Criminal Enterprise” by Owen Laukkanen. Putnam: An in-depth police procedural also is a vivid look at amorality, entitlement and consequences. Laukkanen shows how a person who defines himself by his possessions, job and place in society might turn to crime to protect his status.

4. “The One I Left Behind” by Jennifer McMahon. Morrow: Mesmerizing psychological thriller explores how childhood trauma can forever scar an adult, and serves as well as a testament to the power of the past and how people can hold sway over another. And just for good measure, McMahon throws in a bit of small-town angst and a touch of the gothic.

5. “The Broken Places” by Ace Atkins. Putnam: Religion, forgiveness and redemption of the earthly kind swirl to an unpredictable finale when a man returns to his hometown to set up a makeshift church, after being pardoned for murder.

6. “Crime of Privilege” by Walter Walker. Ballantine Books: A young DA finds his moral compass when he investigates a young woman’s murder that may be connected to a wealthy family. Walker delves into the moral issues of politics, power and wealth but never succumbs to stereotypes.

7. “The Edge of Normal” by Carla Norton. Minotaur: Tale of a young woman fighting to rebuild her life after being held by a kidnapper for years offers more than a ripped-from-the-headlines pastiche. An emotional story of a woman who doesn’t want people to see her only as a victim but as a survivor.

8. “Once Upon a Lie” by Maggie Barbieri. Minotaur: Barbieri’s first stand-alone quickly morphs from a quiet suburban tale into an incisive look at unconditional love and the cruelty that families can inflict on each other.

9. “Bitter River” by Julia Keller. Minotaur: A river as both a life force and a dead end makes a superb background in this story of a woman coming to terms with her hometown, which is sinking under the weight of economic realities.

10. “Mortal Bonds” by Michael Sears. Putnam: Sears’ intriguing second novel proves he has a lock on complex financial plots without overwhelming the story with the intricacies of the stock market. Sears finds new ways to explore with aplomb the familiar themes of greed, mismanaged money and cheating.

11. “Save Yourself” by Kelly Braffet. Crown: A sharp portrait of five people, each damaged by their childhood, as they struggle against alienation, manipulation and bullying.

12. “If You Were Here” by Alafair Burke. Harper: Loyalty, friendship and faith add context to this tale about a once promising West Point grad whose disappearance more than a decade ago continues to haunt her family and friends.

13. “The Highway” by C.J. Box. Minotaur: The summer’s most terrifying novel as a newly fired sheriff’s deputy trails a murderer working as a long-haul trucker.

14. “The Bones of Paris” by Laurie R. King. Bantam: The heady era of 1929 Paris – along with real artists and authors – provide the backdrop as an American private detective tries to find a missing heiress in the City of Light’s avenues, alleys and Jazz Age nightclubs.

15. “Our Picnics in the Sun” by Morag Joss. Delacorte Press: A sense of desperation, of opportunities missed, and of pent-up resentment swirl in the compelling psychological thriller about a husband and wife isolated by each other and from the world at large. Violence never rears its head, but a sense of menace lurks at the edges, ready to spring without warning, in her elegant prose.