Patrick’s Picks 2022 Fiction
Honorable Mention
The Maid - Nita Prose - Patrick’s Top Beach Read
I finished this novel in about two days while sitting by the pool in Hawaii with a mai tai in one hand and a bottle of sunscreen in the other. I 1,000% recommend you following my lead. Recommended by a friend (hey Roni!), I fell in love with this book’s protagonist, as well as the twists and turns throughout the mystery. The character is written in such a way that you begin to see the mystery through her eyes, she is written with such a clear and unique worldview. If you’ve ever wondered what’s going on behind the closed hotel doors this then this is a perfect book for you. I can’t wait for this to be turned into a miniseries or movie, it created such a vivid story in my mind. For the person who sees the world a bit differently.
Second Runner-Up
Mustique Island - Sarah McCoy
Speaking of books read this year that I can’t wait to see on the screen, Mustique Island was at the top of that list! I was instantly transported to the Carribbean of the 1970’s. Glamorous, beautiful, and with a shadow of mystery and darkness Mustique Island is the private vacation playground of the rich and famous. You’re introduced to Willie May, escaping a buttoned up life of English and marital strife who builds a home on Mustique and entwines herself in to the fabric of the island. Her daughters join her and the secrets of the island slowly reveal themselves. A story about familial ebbs and flows and the ultimate bonds that tie families together, this book really shows the resilience of these bonds and builds a beautiful story that grows over the course of the years chronicled. PLUS there are some fun royal cameos that play a fun part in the story, what’s not to love? For everyone who loves a juicy bit of gossip.
First Runner-Up
The Cartographers - Peng Shepherd
What do maps, discovering your parent’s secrets, and a touch of magic have in common? They’re all essential to the plot of The Cartographers! I loved this winding mystery, where the protagonist Nell Young works to uncover the truth behind her father’s mysterious murder and the rare map that she finds in his possession. Nell goes on to untangle the web of events that take her back to her own childhood as her parents completed their graduate cartography work with their friends that ultimately led to both her parents death. With just a touch of absurd magic this story kept me entertained and constantly guessing what was around the next corner. If you don’t think maps and mysteries are a good time, one you’re wrong and two let this book change your mind. For the person who refuses to ask for directions.
Patrick’s Pick 2022 Best Fiction
Olga Dies Dreaming - Xochitl Gonzalez
My favorite fiction of 2022 was this debut novel by Xochitl Gonzalez following Olga, a Puerto Rican wedding planner living in New York City and her dynamics with her family as she tries to find love and also deal with her absent mother’s return to hers and her brother’s lives. The shiny veneer of her life betrays the truth that hers and her brothers relationship is fractured but they can always come back together. All this is set against the backdrop of Hurricane Maria, Olga’s closeted brother’s secrets coming to life, and her meeting a man that makes her think love could be possible if she can not mess it up. Heartwarming and pensive, this novel explores the lengths to which we will go to protect those we love and the secrets we think will hurt them. For the sibling with secrets.