It’s that time of year when the ‘best-of’ lists come out!

This is my very short list of the best non-Science Fiction & Fantasy (SFF) books I read in 2024.

As those who follow my reviews are aware, my TBR consists predominantly of a steady diet of SFF.

That said, when I stray outside the genre / sub-genre, it takes a lot for a non-SFF book to really make an impact on me.

This book certainly did: the book I’m referring to is THE ACCIDENTAL COP by wonderful, multi-award-winning author Eve Koguce.

This book stands head and shoulders above the crowd of the non-SFF books I read this year.

Here is the synopsis of the book taken from Goodreads:

“Youth is supposed to be the best time of your life. But if you Youth is supposed to be the best time of your life. But if you enter adulthood during the savage 90s, it can turn into your personal hell.

Roberts Bergs had to start making difficult choices early in life. With few options to choose from, he settles for available ones. Beggars cannot be choosers, is his motto.

His coursemates at the Police Academy dip their toes into adulthood while still living in the cocoon of their parental homes. For them, life is about parties, new experiences, and searching for their true self. For Roberts, it’s about poverty, hunger, and not being killed by a crazed drunkard with an axe during a patrol shift.

A patrolman of the Public Order Police patrol battalion isn’t Roberts’s dream job. But it is better than not having one. Trudging through the grim slums of the city, his interest in arts, history, and literature is what sustains him.

He believes in human dignity and freedom of choice. He wants to become a lawyer.

To succeed you must play by the rules. Roberts learns the rules quickly. The system run by the Soviet-era ex-militia officers is a good teacher. Who you know counts for more than your abilities, qualifications, and knowledge. The system also doesn’t tolerate disobedience.

Still, Roberts keeps climbing up the career ladder. The contrast between those who play by the rules and those who believe in honesty and justice becomes starker. Luxury and self-indulgence for the first, and dragging out a miserable existence for the latter.

Roberts has to make more difficult choices. Is it worth it to remain true to his principles? Or is succumbing to the corrupted and merciless system the only way to survive?

Set in Latvia at the end of the first post-Soviet decade, The Accidental Cop is a blend of noir crime and police procedural with psychological suspense elements.”

To quote directly from my review of the book:

“Witty, dark, sometimes brutal, extremely compelling, The Accidental Cop is simply outstanding.

If you enjoy Police procedurals, particularly those delving into Police corruption, murder mysteries, and character-driven stories with gutsy heroes amidst a sea of grey morality, this is surely a book for you.

You may also leave this book feeling very much appreciative of what you have. I certainly did, feeling a deep sense of gratitude as both a Law Enforcement Member, and a person. And I believe I am better for it. You don’t have to be in Law Enforcement to experience that feeling of being thankful, and I am confident after reading The Accidental Cop, irrespective of your job, you will.”

See the full review, posted on both Goodreads & Before We Go Blog, here:

http://beforewegoblog.com/review-the-accidental-cop-by-eve-koguce/

As per her Goodreads Author Page, about Eve:

“I’ve been in love with books for as long as I remember myself. The typewriter my first attempts at writing had been made at still sits proudly on its shelf in the basement, and when I go down there, I always have an urge to save it from its exile.

I’ve always been writing something. Diaries, letters, poems, short stories. I’d even attempted to write a novel a couple of times when I was about thirteen. Still, there was always something more important than my writing.

There was always “real life” reminding me of its undeniable claims. “You have to study, you have to work, there is no place for fruitless dreaming,” it whispered. And I moved forward as if running on rails I couldn’t step down from.

I’d spent fifteen years, trying to fit into the office work pattern. Do you remember Kevin Kline in the In & Out movie – “men do not dance”? Well, that used to be my philosophy – real people don’t write books. They work, they build careers, they travel through the corporate jungle. And despite I was feeling miserable and out of place every day of that climbing the ladder process, I managed to build a relatively successful career after an ambitious shift from the private to the public sector. The job I had wasn’t boring. It was actually pretty exciting. I worked with internationally funded projects and met people from all over the world every day. But it failed to ignite a spark in my heart.

After my son was born, I had a unique chance to stop and rethink not only what I’d achieved so far, but what I really want from life. I made a decision to leave my old life behind, and I’ve never regretted it. Changes in the daily routine led naturally to changes in my way of thinking. I finally allowed myself to be who I really was.

Since then, I’ve published six books.

The Neglected Merge fantasy romance/drama trilogy:

Book 1 Neglected Merge(i) Silver Medal in the 2021 Global Book Awards in the Science Fiction / Fantasy category
(ii) Award Finalist in the 2021 Readers’ Favorite International Book Award Contest in the Fantasy General category
(iii) Honorable Mention in the 2021 Royal Dragonfly Book Awards in the Science Fiction/Fantasy category.

Book 2 Tangle of Choices
Honorable Mention in the 2023 Royal Dragonfly Book Awards in the Science Fiction/Fantasy category.

Book 3 Shifting Directions

Books set in Latvia:
Finding Your Way
Honorable Mention in the 2023 Royal Dragonfly Book Awards in the Cultural Diversity category.

The Accidental Cop
(i) Finalist award in the Pacific Book Awards 2023 cntest in the Best Thriller category;
(ii) Honorable Mention in the 2023 Royal Dragonfly Book Awards in the Fiction Novel category.

Women’s Fiction:
Broken Chances

I’d love to connect with my readers and hear your thoughts about my books.

Please visit my website: www.evekoguce.com
You can also find me on social media:
X/Twitter: @EveKoguce
Instagram: @eve_koguce_books
Facebook: Eve Koguce Books ”

Author Photo