Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that currently resides at The Artsy Reader Girl and features bloggers sharing lists on various book topics. The official topic for this week’s Top Ten Tuesday required participants to list books that they hope Santa brings them. While this is a fun topic, I decided to abstain and instead continue with my annual end-of-year lists that I have been working on the last few weeks. I have already covered my favourite new-to-me authors I read in 2023, as well as the best pre-2023 novels I read this year, but in this week’s list I am going to cover a new end-of-year topic and highlight the best sequels I read in 2023.
Everyone loves a good sequel, and nearly every novelist and author has written some form of sequel in their career. I’m sure we can all name some awesome books that requires some form of continuation and each year the talented authors we follow produce interesting sequel novels that cleverly expand from outstanding first novels. I read a ton of sequels every year and I felt that it was about time that I highlighted the very best sequels of the year in a specific post.
To complete this list, I pulled together the best sequels released in 2023 that I had the pleasure of reading. I primarily focused on second novels in a series that were released this year, especially those that I felt were outstanding follow ups to an impressive first novel and which followed the same characters or storylines. For my top ten list, I prioritised those books I considered to be the best sequel, so while I might have enjoyed a specific novel more overall, if a book was a better sequel, it made the cut instead. I think the resulting top ten list turned out pretty well as a result, and definitely highlights my favourite sequels released in 2023.
Honourable Mentions:
He Who Drowned the World by Shelley Parker-Chan
An intriguing and elaborate historical fiction/fantasy novel that serves as a wonderful sequel to the awesome She Who Became the Sun.
The Mystery Guest by Nita Prose
Nita Prose brings back her atypical protagonist from her exciting debut, The Maid, for another fun adventure.
Ripper by Shelley Burr
A brilliant and addictive sequel to Burr’s outstanding first book, Wake, Ripper is an outstanding piece of Australian crime fiction that comes highly recommended.
Her Sweet Revenge by Sarah Bonner
A brilliant and elaborate thriller that sees a woman do everything she can to get revenge for her best friend, no matter the cost. An outstanding book that falls within the same universe as Bonner’s debut novel, Her Perfect Twin.
Top Ten List:
House of Open Wounds by Adrian Tchaikovsky
The first sequel I want to highlight on this list is the outstandingly clever and wildly entertaining House of Open Wounds by the always impressive Adrian Tchaikovsky. House of Open Wounds was an incredible follow-up to Tchaikovsky’s exceptional City of Last Chances, which is one of the best books and audiobooks I enjoyed in the first half of 2023. Set in the same world and featuring the best protagonist from the first book, House of Open Wounds was an awesome sequel that continued some key storylines while also introducing the readers to a bold new cast of characters who staff an unconventional military hospital. Funny and dramatic in equal measures, this was an amazing book and a truly great sequel.
Everyone on this Train is a Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson
One of the funniest sequels of 2023 had to be Everyone on this Train is a Suspect by Australian author Benjamin Stevenson. A follow-up to Everyone in my Family has Killed Someone (one of my favourite Australian books of 2022), Everyone on this Train is a Suspect was a great piece of Australian crime fiction that saw Stevenson’s plucky protagonist attempt to solve another murder aboard a train loaded with suspicious mystery authors. Not only was this a great read, but it proved to be an excellent sequel that built on the story and writing elements of the previous release.
Dead of Night by Simon Scarrow
One of my favourite historical fiction authors Simon Scarrow had an excellent sequel out this year with Dead of Night. Scarrow’s second Berlin Wartime Thriller, Dead of Night was the follow up to Blackout, and presented the reader with another dark crime fiction read in Nazi controlled Berlin. This time examining a mysterious murder tied into the darkest secrets of the Nazi reign, Dead of Night was an amazing book that threw Scarrow’s protagonists into another moral quandary. An outstanding novel, I hope we get additional entries in this series soon.
Son of the Poison Rose by Jonathan Maberry
Another outstanding fantasy novel that got a sequel in 2023 was Jonathan Maberry’s Kagen the Damned, which was one of my favourite books and audiobooks from 2022. This sequel, Son of the Poison Rose, saw the series’ titular damned protagonist continue his struggle to get revenge after the destruction of everything he loved, while also facing all manner of eldritch horrors. A sharp, brutal and addictive read loaded with so much action, Son of the Poison Rose proved to be an exceptional continuance of a great series and I had such an epic time with this book.
Kill Your Husbands by Jack Heath
I was very happy when I found out that Australian author Jack Heath was releasing a sequel to his exceptional novel, Kill Your Brother (one of my favourite Australian novels of 2021), this year, with the awesome and outrageous Kill Your Husbands. Kill Your Husbands was a great book that saw the protagonists from the first novel try and solve a complex murder of three couples who were experimenting in a remote bushland location. An extremely complex and clever read, Kill Your Husbands had a powerful mystery behind it, and I loved how Heath brought back two outstanding protagonists.
The Last True Templar by Boyd and Beth Morrison
I had a lot of fun this year reading the second Tales of the Lawless Land novel by the team of Boyd and Beth Morrison, with The Last True Templar. A fantastic historical thriller, The Last True Templar is a sequel to the Morrison’s first novel, The Lawless Land. Set in 14th century Europe, The Last True Templar was another bold adventure that saw the authors’ protagonists get dragged into a race to recover the lost Templar treasures. An amazing, action-packed novel, The Last True Templar did a great job continuing from The Lawless Land and I loved the awesome story it contained.
Never a Hero by Vanessa Len
Australian author Vanessa Len did an outstanding job of following up her debut novel, Only a Monster (one of my favourite debuts of 2022) with the emotionally charged sequel, Never a Hero. A gripping young adult fantasy novel that sees a time travelling monster being hunted by dark forces bent on changing the world alongside her monster hunter love interest. A powerful read that cleverly reimagined elements from the first book and threw its characters into new and impossible situations, Never a Hero is a very clever sequel that really showcased Len’s writing ability.
The Defector by Chris Hadfield
Astronaut Chris Hadfield did a wonderful job of following up his amazing debut novel, The Apollo Murders (one of my favourite debuts of 2021), with The Defector. An exciting and awesome thriller novel, The Defector followed a Cold War Soviet pilot who defects to the United States for his own nefarious purposes. An outstanding book that really showed Hadfield’s growth as an author, The Defector was a great sequel that is worth checking out.
The Shadow Casket by Chris Wooding
One of my most anticipated sequels for 2023 was The Shadow Casket by Chris Wooding. The long-awaited follow-up to his epic fantasy novel, The Ember Blade, The Shadow Casket was an exceptional novel that deepened the complex lore of the series and took his existing protagonists on another dark ride. A powerful, addictive and massive read, The Shadow Casket is one of my top books of the year and I am so glad we finally got a sequel to the first book.
One of my favourite Australian authors provides an intriguing follow up to her powerful novel, The Night Swim, with Dark Corners, a clever read that examines the world of influencers and social media stars. Dark, compelling, and bringing back Goldin’s first recurring protagonist, Dark Corners was an excellent sequel from a talented author.
Well, that’s it for this list. As you can see, I have read several outstanding sequels this year and had a wonderful time doing so. Every entry above was an epic novel, and I loved how they each successfully continued impressive story threads started in the previous novel. All these books come highly recommended, and I cannot wait to see how these talented authors add to their already awesome series in the future.
The Unseen Library 