The Critics’ Best Crime Novels of 2011

I love scouring through the critics’ “Best of” lists at the end of the year for gems – books that speak to me and are most likely going to be worth reading.  Thanks to the compiled lists from The Spinetingler Magazine and January Magazine’s The Rap Sheet, I was able to calculate the most mentioned and favorite books of 2011.  Here are the results:

#1 – The End of Everything by Megan Abbott (12 mentions)

#2 – A Drop of the Hard Stuff by Lawrence Block (9 mentions)

The Cut by George Pelecanos (9 mentions)

#3 – Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson (6 mentions)

A Trick of Light by Louise Penny (6 mentions)

#4 – Field Gray by Philip Kerr (5 mentions)

The Fifth Witness by Michael Connelly (5 mentions)

#5 – Started Early, Took My Dog by Kate Atkinson (4 mentions)

Falling Glass by Adrian McKinty (4 mentions)

Thick as Thieves by Peter Spiegelman (4 mentions)

Fun & Games by Duane Swierczynski (4 mentions)

The list draws from the following critics and more:
January Magazine
Spinetingler Magazine
Amazon.com
The Boston Globe
The New York Times
The Seattle Times
The Wall Street Journal
Publisher’s Weekly
Crime Always Pays
Grift Magazine
Kirkus Reviews
Library Journal
Bookreporter.com
Murder, Mystery, and Mayhem
Jen’s Book Thoughts
Kittling Books
The Drowning Machine