This year’s best fiction introduced us to a wide range of characters and their stories. These are stories about friendship and love, growing up and getting older, loss and living, murder and mystery, and there is certain to be one you want to read soon. So, these are the must-read fiction books of 2022.
Canadian author Nita Prose, a writer and veteran editor wrote the 2022 murder mystery novel The Maid. Her first book, The Maid, reached the top of the New York Times bestseller list, was chosen for the Good Morning America Book Club, and became a worldwide bestseller.
The story revolves around Molly, a 25-year-old maid in a posh hotel in an undisclosed city, most likely in North America. Molly has a somewhat different perspective. She pays attention to details that others would overlook, but she also finds it difficult to adhere to social conventions that others take for granted. One day, she discovers the body of a wealthy businessman in one of the rooms she is assigned to clean, which completely changes the course of her life. However, since Molly was the one who discovered the body and there are no other fingerprints in the room but her own on the tycoon’s neck, she is now considered a suspect in the case.
Xochitl Gonzalez is a writer, screenwriter, and producer from the U.S. In 2022, she released her debut novel, Olga Dies Dreaming, which became a New York Times Best Seller and was named Time and Kirkus’s Most Anticipated Book of 2022.
Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez is a story that follows Olga, a Latina wedding planner for Manhattan’s power broker, as she struggles with her own less-than-fairytale love story, the return of a long-lost mother, and Prieto, a well-liked congressman representing their gentrifying Latinx neighbourhood in Brooklyn. It is set against the backdrop of New York City in the months leading up to the most devastating hurricane in Puerto Rico. It explores issues such as family conflict, governmental corruption, and the very idea of the American dream while also posing the question of what it means to survive a storm.
To Paradise is a 2022 novel by Hanya Yanagihara, an American author, editor, and travel writer. The third novel by Yanagihara is divided into three portions that are set in 1893, 1993, and 2093, respectively, and is set in an alternative version of New York City. Despite being a bestseller, the book’s reviews from critics were controversial.
New York is a territory of the Free States in a different interpretation of 1893 America, where individuals are free to live and love as they desire (or so it seems). The frail young scion of a wealthy family refuses to get married to a deserving suitor because she is lured by an attractive music instructor with little income.
In an AIDS-stricken Manhattan in 1993, a young Hawaiian guy is living with his much older, wealthier companion, concealing his traumatic background and the fate of his father.
In 2093, a prominent scientist’s traumatised granddaughter struggles to cope with life without him and unravels the mystery of her husband’s disappearances in a world where diseases are rampant and dictatorial authority is the norm.
Isabel Allende, who was born in Peru and reared in Chile, is the author of several bestselling and acclaimed books, including Violeta, which shot to the top of the New York Times bestseller list. She has penned stories that are partially based on her personal experiences, frequently highlighting the hardships of women and fusing myth with realism.
Violeta is the first daughter in a family of five rambunctious sons. Her life is characterised by remarkable incidents from the beginning. Even as the Spanish flu virus nearly reached the coastlines of her South American country at the same time as her birth, the effects of the First World War are still being felt. This is the story of a hundred-year existence, told in the form of a letter to the person Violeta loves above all others. It includes agonizing heartbreak, passionate affairs, poverty, fortune, horrible loss and incredible delight. It is a life that has witnessed a century of history and has been influenced by the struggle for women’s rights.
Once again, Isabel Allende gives us an epic that is both fiercely motivating and intensely emotional through the eyes of a woman whose unmistakable passion, perseverance, and sense of humour will get her through a lifetime of turmoil.
Fiona Davis is the New York Times bestselling author of The Dollhouse, The Address, The Masterpiece, The Chelsea Girls, The Lions of Fifth Avenue, and The Magnolia Palace, among others. Her novels have been selected as “One Book, One Community” readings, and her articles have been featured on platforms such as The Wall Street Journal and Oprah magazine.
The Magnolia Palace imagines what would have happened if the aloof Helen Frick, the daughter and heiress of the famed Henry Clay Frick, had met the model for the artist posing in front of the famous Frick Collection. The Frick home gives The Magnolia Palace a vivid background for the upheaval that results when two strong-willed women come into conflict with one another, as well as a strong feeling of location. The Magnolia Palace has everything you could want: mystery, history, wealthy personalities, abundant information about old-school high society, art, and money.
The Fields by Erin Young is a brilliant debut and a fast-paced procedural that is wonderfully written and expertly crafted. It is a crime fiction at its best. It was motivated by an article on the terrifying influence of Big Agriculture.
A young woman’s body was discovered in a cornfield in Iowa on one of the few family farms that are still able to compete with the Big Agriculture companies. When Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office Sergeant Riley Fisher, who has just been promoted to chief of investigations, arrives on the scene, the already awful crime takes on a personal dimension when she learns the victim was a childhood friend, linking the crime to a troubled history she had believed she had left behind.
As additional victims are discovered, the investigation becomes more challenging. As she digs further, Riley quickly learns that the repercussions extend well beyond her little Midwest community. The best part? Prepare yourself for the upcoming instalment since The Fields is the first of a planned series.
Brendan Nicholaus Slocumb was born in Yuba City, California, and raised in Fayetteville, North Carolina. He has a music education degree (with concentrations in violin and viola)
It’s the story of Ray, a black violinist whose passion for music blooms after realising that his great-great-ancient grandfather’s fiddle is a world-renowned violin. Nothing will stop him from pursuing his musical passion. Not his mother, who wants him to stop making such a fuss; not his inability to acquire a violin fit for his abilities; and not even the racism present in the world of classical music.
All of Ray’s goals suddenly appear achievable when he learns that his family’s worn-out fiddle is a magnificent Stradivarius. Ray and his violin go on to conquer the globe. However, the valuable heirloom is stolen from him moments before a significant performance, and in its place is a ransom note demanding $5 million. Ray feels as though he has lost a part of himself without it. As the competition draws near, Ray must not only regain his priceless violin but also prove to himself and the rest of the world that, regardless of the result, he has always been a genuinely brilliant musician.
Before becoming a full-time author, Anna Pitoniakis worked as a fiction and nonfiction editor at Random House in New York. Anna is a Yale graduate who resides in New York City and East Hampton. Her debut novel is The Futures.
Stir up international espionage, political intrigue, and possibly tyrannical female friendships. What do you get? The latest novel by Anna Pitoniak. You may meet cynical journalist Sofie Morse and First Lady Lara Caine in the story Our American Friend. The two forges an odd connection after Lara asks Sofie to write her biography. But why is Lara doing this? And what does Sofie’s involvement in a significant international political strategy game mean? This is a new novel you won’t be able to put down, whether you enjoy mysteries, books about interpersonal conflict, or books about friendship.
Alex Finlay is the author of the 2021 blockbuster novel, Every Last Fear and The Night Shift, one of Goodreads’ most popular novels of 2022. His work has been named an Indie Next pick, a LibraryReads selection, an Amazon Editor’s Best Thriller, and has appeared on CNN, Newsweek, and other publications. Alex’s works have been translated into eighteen languages, and Every Last Fear is being developed into a big television series.
Two victims of attempted murder are followed in Alex Finlay’s twisting new thriller as their lives cross. One nearly escaped a disastrous night shift at a Blockbuster on the eve of Y2K. 15 years later, the other endures a terrifying night shift in an ice cream shop in the same town. Are the attempted murders related in any way? What do the cops lack? And is it worthwhile to relive the painful tales to find out? including the thriller, mystery, and horror genres. The Night Shift is a tale about the impact of tragedy and how the shattered might recover, and it establishes Finlay as one of the new main figures in the field of thrillers.
The apparent suicide of Val Chesterfield’s twin brother and the discovery by Wyatt of a little girl trapped in ice are the two mysteries she must solve in this outstanding thriller in Ferencik’s novel. She opens her mouth as the ice melts. As a result, the main character, Valerie “Val” Chesterfield, a linguist who specialises in lost Nordic languages, is called. Val is ready to assist, but going back into the cold seas brings up memories of her twin brother’s tragic death from the cold.
Since the girl is ill and could be dying, learning the truth about Wyatt’s study is essential to saving her. Can we trust his data? Does it have anything to do with Val’s brother’s death—how and why did it happen? As the clock ticks down, Val sets off on an unbelievable icy expedition, guided by the unlikeliest of guides, to save the new family she has discovered in the most unlikely of locations.
The queen of country music herself, Dolly Parton, co-authored one of the year’s most eagerly awaited fiction novels. The story of a teenage singer-songwriter escaping to Nashville, told by the strong literary pair, will appeal to both young readers and veteran bibliophiles and Dolly aficionados.
The protagonist of the novel is a budding country music star named Annie Lee, who is on the run, desperate to survive, and on the rise. A tale is told in every song. She is a rising talent who sings about her difficult past.
Kellye Garrett is the author of Hollywood Homicide, which was designated one of BookBub’s Top 100 Crime Novels of All Time and received the Agatha, Anthony, Lefty, and Independent Publisher “IPPY” awards for an outstanding debut novel.
The life story of reality TV personality Desiree Pierce is witty, intelligent, and tragic. The day after her 25th birthday, she is discovered dead from what appears to be an overdose. But Desiree never went to that neighbourhood. In addition, the police acted hastily in closing the investigation into the Black woman’s death even though there were still some unresolved issues. Lena, Desiree’s half-sister, knows that can’t be the case, so she seeks out the facts about what happened. But will her quest for justice and the uncovering of sinister, long-buried family secrets also lead to her demise as well?
Now that you know the best fiction of 2022, which of these will you pick up to read in 2023? Do let us know in the comment box below.