In addition to highlighting some of the best pre-2024 novels I read in the first half of this year, I am also taking this opportunity to list the best New-to-Me authors I have so far read this year.
Each year I am lucky enough to read a great number of awesome novels and this often includes books written by authors whose work I was previously unfamiliar with. 2024 is so far proving to be a great example of this as there were an incredible collection of amazing novels written by authors who were completely new to me. This included some debuting authors, as well as more established writers whose work I only got around to reading this year. Many of these new-to-me authors produced some truly exceptional novels, including one or two which I consider to be some of the best books released in 2024 so far and I really feel the need to highlight them here.
To appear on this list, the book had to be one I read this year and be written by an author who I was unfamiliar with before 2024. If I had not read anything from this author before last year or if their book was a debut, it was eligible to appear here. After some hard work, I was able to whittle this down to a manageable top ten list, with my usual generous honourable mentions section. I am really surprised at some of the impressive and enjoyable authors I had to exclude from this list, but I think the below entry really highlights the best new-to-me authors I have enjoyed so far in 2024.
Honourable Mentions:
Rich McCormick – Warhammer 40,000: Renegades: Lords of Excess
An excellent debuting author who released the Warhammer 40,000 novel, Lords of Excess. I am still currently in the process of reading Lords of Excess (which is why I’m leaving McCormick as an honourable mention for now), but I love the clever story this new author has come up with.
Mark Wales – Outrider
Former soldier turned media personality Mark Wales produced a very cool debut with the Australian thriller Outrider.
Paul Morgan – The Winter Palace
I had fun with my first Paul Morgan novel, The Winter Palace, which contained a great story about star-crossed lovers in occupied Poland.
Jon Lindstrom – Hollywood Hustle
Actor Jon Lindstrom made a fantastic writing debut this year with the cool thriller Hollywood Hustle.
Top Ten List:
I had an awesome time getting to know science fiction thriller author Douglas Preston this year with his new novel, Extinction. A crazy and over-the-top novel, Extinction followed a compelling murder investigation which takes place in a luxury park loaded with clones of pre-historic animals.
James Logan – The Silverblood Promise
An outstanding and bold fantasy debut from a great new author.
A highly entertaining and exciting thriller from an author I’m glad I checked out.
An excellent murder mystery novel set in a world with complex human and vampire settlements.
Victoria Hayward – Warhammer 40,000: Deathworlder
An outstanding and dark debut with lots of action, adventure and carnage.
James Grippando – Goodbye Girl
I ended up very wowed by the cool legal exploits of author James Grippando with this fantastic novel.
J. D. Barker – Behind a Closed Door
While I have read some of Barker’s collaborations, Behind a Closed Door was the first solo novel from the author I have experienced, and it found it to be an thrilling and clever read.
Steven B. Fischer – Warhammer 40,000: Witchbringer
A talented author with a real flare for complex characters whose first novel, Witchbringer, I should have read much sooner.
James Patterson and Nancy Allen – The No.1 Lawyer
The No.1 Lawyer was a great introduction to the writing style of the Patterson/Allen collaboration, and I loved the impressive and captivating story contained in this book.
C. A. Parker – Song of the Samurai
An excellent debuting historical fiction author who utilised their unique passions in this debut novel.
Well, that’s the end of this latest Top Ten list. I think it turned out rather well and it encapsulates some of the best new authors I have checked out so far in 2024. I look forward to reading more books from these authors in the future and I have no doubt they will produce additional epic and incredible reads. It will be interesting to see what other great New-to-Me authors I will get to experience in the rest of 2024, and I am sure there are going to be some exceptional new books from them.
The Unseen Library 
I need to try James Logan asap!
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I love that you wrote two responses to this topic. 🙂
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