Year in Review: Our reviewers pick their top 5 historical fiction, graphic novel and horror books of 2022

All through the year our genre columnists keep us updated on the best of the latest new books in their field. We had Crime Fiction last week, Science Fiction in a new column this week and, below the top 5 picks from our Graphic Novel, Genre and Horror writers.

Top 5 Graphic Novels

Follow Me Down: A Reckless Book, by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips (Image Comics, $33.50) Investigations and violent revelations in this 1970s beach bum noir from the best writer/artist team currently working in comics.

Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands, by Kate Beaton (Drawn & Quarterly, $39.95) An incredible piece of human storytelling and it’s as Canadian as stories can be. Beaton’s voice is unparalleled.

Nice House on the Lake, by James Tynion IV and Alvaro Martinez Bueno (DC Comics, $25.99) There’s mystery and conflict in an impossible paradise as the apocalypse churns outside the window. This is a properly disturbing horror comic.

6 Sidekicks of Trigger Keaton, by Kyle Starks and Chris Schweizer (Image comics, $22.99) Read on to find out, amid car chases, bewilderingly massive kung fu battles and emotional character arcs all round. Plus it is enormously funny.

Artist, by Yeong-shin Ma and Janet Hong (Drawn and Quarterly, $44.95) “Artist” shows a hidden strength typical of well-made Korean graphic novels: it’s quick-paced and short on page details but, long on page count, the story’s gradual buildup leaves space for subtleties.

-Mike Donachie

Top 5 Historical Fiction

Belle Greene, by Alexandra LaPierre (Europa Editions, $37.95) This convincingly-drawn portrait of trail-blazing librarian Belle Marion Greener, daughter of the first Black student to graduate Harvard is impeccably researched and richly imagined, you will believe every word..

Mother Daughter Traitor Spy, by Susan Elia MacNeal (Bantam books, $37.99) Inspired by a real-life mother-daughter spy duo, the rise of fascism at home resonates today in this riveting account that is a sobering reminder that the past is never past and that a healthy democracy depends on the active participation of its citizens.

Jacqueline in Paris, by Ann Mah (Mariner Books, $24.99) In beautiful prose with loving attention to detail Mah expertly evokes Jacqueline Bouvier’s (later Kennedy) heady year abroad, one that she later considered the happiest of her life.

Looking for Jane, by Heather Marshall (Simon & Schuster, $24.99) A galvanizing, important book, one that humanizes through credible characters the enduring stigma and shame of abortion. The fight for women’s reproductive rights continues; it’s simply changed its form.

The Circus Train, by Amita Parikh (HarperCollins, $24.99) In 1929 Greece, renowned illusionist Theo Papadopoulos, is hired by Europe’s World of Wonders travelling circus and his daughter Lena grows up unconventionally as WWII escalates around them. Many secrets drive the narrative to its pitch-perfect redemptive ending.

-Janet Somerville

Top 5 Horror

Helpmeet, by Naben Ruthnum (Undertow, $12.99) A moving testament to the underappreciated power of marital duty, of love that endures indescribable sickness and ill health. Just read the damn thing.

Sundial, by Catriona Ward (Nightfire, $24.99) Artfully blends elements of the psychological thriller with the traditional Gothic horror tale, especially the latter’s fixation on oppressive family dynamics. Leads to a satisfying confrontation with the ghosts of the lead character’s violent past.

Echo, by Thomas Olde Heuvelt (Nightfire, $39.99) Chronicles the aftermath of a mountaineering accident that leaves one man dead and his climbing partner hospitalized with horrific facial injuries. Olde Heuvelt weaves into the story a rich and often clever web of allusions to the literary and cinematic horror traditions.

The Witch in the Well, by Camilla Bruce (Tor, $35.95) A superb folk horror tale that delivers an imaginative feminist take on the historical persecution of witches through the conflicting viewpoints of three complex and at times believably unlikeable female protagonists.

The Children on the Hill, by Jennifer McMahon (Simon & Schuster, $24.99) Resurrects the great-grandmother of the modern horror novel, Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein.” McMahon adroitly maps out several intersecting narratives that culminate in a surprising twist while expanding upon Mary Shelley’s critique of scientific materialism and the perils of playing God.

-James Grainger

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