I finished off last year with...
Book 4 of the Amelia Peabody series,
Lion in the Valley by Elizabeth Peters (Barbara Mertz). It was amusing but not much new or interesting. 3/5. My least favourite of the series so far.
A short story
The Story of Kau Yu by Peter S. Beagle. Excellent ... but would have liked more. I need to chase down some more of his work.
The Disappeared by Kristine Kathryn Rusch. Very good, 4/5. It put me in mind of Asimov's
The Caves of Steel a little bit - the detective in a sci-fi setting thing. The story moved along at a good pace and the characters and setting are interesting. Not sure the aliens are that convincing, but they worked well enough for this first story, and I'll see how things go in the next books, because this first book of the series was good enough fun that I've bought more.
And the first book of the new year is...
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin. 4/5 - I'll reserve other comments for discussion in the New Leaf Book Club where this is
coming up soon.