Best Genre Fiction Books of 2009

There are many lists created for best books of the year. Here are some highlights of Library Journal's annual list.

Mystery:

Server Down: A Mad Dog & Englishman Mystery by J.M. Hayes
Half-Cheyenne shaman Mad Dog attends Yaqui tribal Easter ceremonies in Tucson, Arizona, where he is framed for the murder of a local policeman, while back in Kansas, Sheriff English investigates the bombing of Mad Dog's home.

The Shanghai Moon: A Lydia Chin/Bill Smith Mystery by S.J. Rozan
Estranged for months from fellow P.I. Smith, Chinese-American private investigator Chin is brought in by former mentor Joel Pilarsky to help with a case that involves tracking down a valuable brooch, the Shanghai Moon, which disappeared during WWII.

Romance:

Running Hot by Jayne Ann Krentz
Reluctantly paired for a murder investigation by the paranormal Arcane Society, former cop Luther Malone and aura-reading librarian Grace Renquist find their mutual disgust dissolving into a powerful attraction, during a case that is further complicated by operatives for a ruthless underground psychic group.

What I Did for Love by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
When actress Georgie York's film career hits rock bottom along with her marriage, the paparazzi has a field day with her misfortune, which is only complicated by the reappearance of her sexy, unscrupulous former costar, Bramwell Shepard.

Science Ficton/Fantasy:

Flood by Stephen Baxter
Four hostages are finally released, but they face a world suddenly inundated as vast amounts of water is released from the earth's mantle. As the world's cities and countries disappear under the rising seas, humanity faces unimaginable global disaster.

Galileo's Dream by Kim Stanley Robinson
In a tale that stretches from Renaissance Italy to the future colonization of the moons of Jupiter, a renegade colonist named Ganymede brings Galileo into the future to alter the history of the human race.

Thrillers:

The Scarecrow by Michael Connelly
Pursuing a big story in anticipation of his imminent layoff, Los Angeles reporter Jack McEvoy investigates the murder confession of a teen drug dealer and realizes that the youth may be innocent, a discovery that pits him against a killer operating belowpolice radar.

The Doomsday Key by James Rollins
The Sigma Force must solve a centuries-old secret involving coded prophecies about dark events leading to a future apocalypse.

The full article can be read online at Library Journal's website.

Other best of 2009 lists:

New York Times 100 Notable Books of 2009
Publishers Weekly Best Books of 2009
NPR's Best Books of 2009
Goodreads Best Books of 2009 (User voted)
-CG