What I read in December 2016

December 2015

I managed to put a bit of a spurt on in December, despite the increase in social activities.
You will notice a goodly number of Australian authors too.
My pick of the month was a toss up between  THE HANGING GIRL by Jussi Adler Olsen and THE SHUT EYE by Belinda Bauer

1. 4.8, THE HANGING GIRL, Jussi Adler Olsen
2. 4.2, THE ANCIENT CURSE, Valerio Massimo Manfredi
3. 4.5, DAMAGE, Felix Francis
4. 4.2, THE PENGUIN POOL MURDER, Stuart Palmer - audio book 
5. 4.2, TEN STAR CLUES, E.R. Punshon - Vintage mystery 
6. 4.4, DARK CORNERS, Ruth Rendell - her final novel
7. 4.3, MURDER ON THE ISLAND, Brian Kavanagh - Aussie author 
8. 4.8, THE SHUT EYE, Belinda Bauer - British author 
9. 4.7, CRUCIFIXION CREEK, Barry Maitland  - Aussie author
10. 3.9, THE POPEYE MURDER, Sandra Winter-Dewhirst - Aussie author 
11. 4.3, ALL THAT IS LOST BETWEEN US, Sarah Foster - Aussie author 
12. 4.4, RUNNING AGAINST THE TIDE, Amanda Ortlepp - Aussie author
13. 4.4, FALL FROM GRACE, David Ashton 

 Check what others have chosen for their pick of the month.
 

Crime Fiction Pick of the Month December 2015

Crime Fiction Pick of the Month 2015

Many crime fiction bloggers write a summary post at the end of each month listing what they've read, and some, like me, even go as far as naming their pick of the month.

This meme is an attempt to aggregate those summary posts.
It is an invitation to you to write your own summary post for December 2015, identify your crime fiction best read of the month, and add your post's URL to the Mr Linky below.
If Mr Linky does not appear for you, leave the URL in a comment and I will add it myself.

You can list all the books you've read in the past month on your post, even if some of them are not crime fiction, but I'd like you to nominate your crime fiction pick of the month.

That will be what you will list in Mr Linky too -
e.g.
ROSEANNA, Maj Sjowall & Per Wahloo - MiP (or Kerrie)

You are welcome to use the image on your post and it would be great if you could link your post back to this post on MYSTERIES in PARADISE.

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What I have read in November 2015

I have only read 7 books this month, a bit of a slow down for me, but I have been reading the same book for about 10 days now. I think jet lag clicked in a bit last week and my brain has been struggling with the change in hemispheres, as well as the impact of those long flights back to Australia.

• 4.3, EDEN, Candice Fox
• 4.9, THE NATURE OF THE BEAST, Louise Penny
• 4.8, EVIL GAMES, Angela Marsons
• 4.3, FATAL CATCH, Pauline Rowson
• 4.8, BRYANT & MAY: THE BLEEDING HEART, Christopher Fowler  
• 4.1, VINTAGE MURDER, Ngaio Marsh 
• 4.5, ASHES TO DUST, Yrsa Sigurdadottir 

 My pick of the month is a toss up between THE NATURE OF THE BEAST by Louise Penny and EVIL GAMES by Angela Marsons.

Check what others have chosen here.
 

Crime Fiction Pick of the Month November 2015

Crime Fiction Pick of the Month 2015

Many crime fiction bloggers write a summary post at the end of each month listing what they've read, and some, like me, even go as far as naming their pick of the month.

This meme is an attempt to aggregate those summary posts.
It is an invitation to you to write your own summary post for November 2015, identify your crime fiction best read of the month, and add your post's URL to the Mr Linky below.
If Mr Linky does not appear for you, leave the URL in a comment and I will add it myself.

You can list all the books you've read in the past month on your post, even if some of them are not crime fiction, but I'd like you to nominate your crime fiction pick of the month.

That will be what you will list in Mr Linky too -
e.g.
ROSEANNA, Maj Sjowall & Per Wahloo - MiP (or Kerrie)

You are welcome to use the image on your post and it would be great if you could link your post back to this post on MYSTERIES in PARADISE.

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Crime Fiction Pick of the Month October 2015

Crime Fiction Pick of the Month 2015

Many crime fiction bloggers write a summary post at the end of each month listing what they've read, and some, like me, even go as far as naming their pick of the month.

This meme is an attempt to aggregate those summary posts.
It is an invitation to you to write your own summary post for October 2015, identify your crime fiction best read of the month, and add your post's URL to the Mr Linky below.
If Mr Linky does not appear for you, leave the URL in a comment and I will add it myself.

You can list all the books you've read in the past month on your post, even if some of them are not crime fiction, but I'd like you to nominate your crime fiction pick of the month.

That will be what you will list in Mr Linky too -
e.g.
ROSEANNA, Maj Sjowall & Per Wahloo - MiP (or Kerrie)

You are welcome to use the image on your post and it would be great if you could link your post back to this post on MYSTERIES in PARADISE.

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What I read in September 2015

Pick of the Month Sept 2015

A productive month with some really good reads,
It covered quite a range of the crime fiction genre.

1. 4.5, BLOOD REDEMPTION, Alex Palmer - Aussie author
2. 3.8, THREE-CARD MONTE, Marco Malvaldi - translated
3. 4.6, THE SINS OF THE FATHERS, Lawrence Block - first in the Matt Scudder series 
4. 4.6, THE ICE TWINS, S.K. Tremayne
5. 4.5, THE GHOST FIELDS, Elly Griffiths - audio book 
6. 4.8, THE SECRET PLACE, Tana French
7. 4.4, WYCLIFFE AND THE DUNES MYSTERY,  W.J. Burley - from Mt TBR 
8. 4.4, GIVE A CORPSE A BAD NAME, Elizabeth Ferrars - Vintage Golden Age fiction 
9. 4.7, SILENT SCREAM, Angela Marsons - British author 
10. 5.0, THE GHOSTS OF ALTONA, Craig Russell - winner of Scottish crime fiction prize 
11. 4.2, AUNT BESSIE BELIEVES, Diana Xarissa - cozy set on Isle of Man 

My pick of the month was THE GHOSTS OF ALTONA by Craig Russell, but as you can see from my ratings there were a number of titles that were close behind. 

Synopsis 
Jan Fabel is a haunted man.

Head of the Polizei Hamburg's Murder Commission, Fabel has dealt with the dead for nearly two decades, but when a routine enquiry becomes a life-threatening - and life-changing - experience, he finds himself on much closer terms with death than ever before.

Two years later, Fabel's first case at the Murder Commission comes back to haunt him: Monika Krone's body is found at last, fifteen years after she went missing. Monika - ethereally beautiful, intelligent, cruel - was the centre of a group of students obsessed with the gothic. Fabel re-opens the case. What happened that night, when Monika left a party and disappeared into thin air?

When men involved with Monika start turning up dead, Fabel realizes he is looking for a killer with both a hunger for revenge and a taste for the gothic. What he doesn't know is that someone has been aiding and grooming a deranged escapee as his own, personal tool for revenge.

A truly gothic monster to be let loose on the world.

Winner of the Scottish Crime Novel of the Year 2015
Read a free chapter here

I was very pleased to renew my acquaintance with Jan Fabel.

Check what others have chosen for their Pick of the Month.
 

Crime Fiction Pick of the Month September 2015

Crime Fiction Pick of the Month 2015

Many crime fiction bloggers write a summary post at the end of each month listing what they've read, and some, like me, even go as far as naming their pick of the month.

This meme is an attempt to aggregate those summary posts.
It is an invitation to you to write your own summary post for September 2015, identify your crime fiction best read of the month, and add your post's URL to the Mr Linky below.
If Mr Linky does not appear for you, leave the URL in a comment and I will add it myself.

You can list all the books you've read in the past month on your post, even if some of them are not crime fiction, but I'd like you to nominate your crime fiction pick of the month.

That will be what you will list in Mr Linky too -
e.g.
ROSEANNA, Maj Sjowall & Per Wahloo - MiP (or Kerrie)

You are welcome to use the image on your post and it would be great if you could link your post back to this post on MYSTERIES in PARADISE.

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What I read in August 2015

Crime Fiction Pick of the Month August 2015

Another good reading month, including a couple of books that were not crime fiction.

1. 4.7, THE BURNING MAN, Christopher Fowler
2. 4.7, A SIEGE OF BITTERNS, Steve Burrows
3. 1.5, THE NAME OF THE ROSE, Umberto Eco 
4. 4.5, SUMMERTIME, ALL THE CATS ARE BORED, Philippe Georget
5. 4.5, THE SECRET CHORD, Geraldine Brooks - not crime fiction
6. 4.3, THIS HOUSE OF GRIEF, Helen Garner - not crime fiction
7. 4.2, THE SLAUGHTER MAN, Tony Parson - audio book 
8. 4.5, BURIED, Jussi Adler-Olsen - translated 
9. 4.8, CLOSE YOUR EYES, Michael Robotham - Aussie author 

 My Pick of the Month was CLOSE YOUR EYES by long standing favourite Australian author Michael Robotham.

See what others have chosen this month
 

Crime Fiction Pick of the Month August 2015

Crime Fiction Pick of the Month 2015

Many crime fiction bloggers write a summary post at the end of each month listing what they've read, and some, like me, even go as far as naming their pick of the month.

This meme is an attempt to aggregate those summary posts.
It is an invitation to you to write your own summary post for August  2015, identify your crime fiction best read of the month, and add your post's URL to the Mr Linky below.
If Mr Linky does not appear for you, leave the URL in a comment and I will add it myself.

You can list all the books you've read in the past month on your post, even if some of them are not crime fiction, but I'd like you to nominate your crime fiction pick of the month.

That will be what you will list in Mr Linky too -
e.g.
ROSEANNA, Maj Sjowall & Per Wahloo - MiP (or Kerrie)

You are welcome to use the image on your post and it would be great if you could link your post back to this post on MYSTERIES in PARADISE.

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What I read in July

I had a really good reading month, with some excellent titles to recommend.

Crime Fiction Pick of the Month July 2015

1. 4.0, AS CHIMNEY SWEEPERS COME TO DUST, Alan Bradley - Canadian author
2. 4.5, A IS FOR ALIBI, Sue Grafton - debut title in Alphabet series
3. 4.8, THE BANK INSPECTOR, Roger Monk - Aussie author, set in Adelaide 
4. 4.6, THE INSANITY OF MURDER, Felicity Young - Aussie author
5. 4.4, BROKEN PROMISE, Linwood Barclay - Canadian author 
6. 4.0, POIROT'S EARLY CASES, Agatha Christie 
7. 4.0, DOUBLE SIN and Other Stories, Agatha Christie 
8. 4.0, A TRIFLE DEAD, Livia Day - female Aussie author, set in Hobart
9. 4.2, THREE BLIND MICE and other stories, Agatha Christie 
10. 4.2, BELFAST NOIR, Adrian McKinty (ed) and Stuart Neville (ed) - audio book, short stories 
11. 4.5, STRANGER CHILD, Rachel Abbott 
12. 5.0, THE SILENCE OF THE SEA, Yrsa Sigurðardóttir - translated, winner of Petrona Award 2015 

My Pick of the month was THE SILENCE OF THE SEA, Yrsa Sigurðardóttir

See what others have read in July.
 

Crime Fiction Pick of the Month July 2015

Crime Fiction Pick of the Month 2015

Many crime fiction bloggers write a summary post at the end of each month listing what they've read, and some, like me, even go as far as naming their pick of the month.

This meme is an attempt to aggregate those summary posts.
It is an invitation to you to write your own summary post for July  2015, identify your crime fiction best read of the month, and add your post's URL to the Mr Linky below.
If Mr Linky does not appear for you, leave the URL in a comment and I will add it myself.

You can list all the books you've read in the past month on your post, even if some of them are not crime fiction, but I'd like you to nominate your crime fiction pick of the month.

That will be what you will list in Mr Linky too -
e.g.
ROSEANNA, Maj Sjowall & Per Wahloo - MiP (or Kerrie)

You are welcome to use the image on your post and it would be great if you could link your post back to this post on MYSTERIES in PARADISE.

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What I read in June 2015

Pick of the Month June 2015

I've had another good month - a couple of Australian authors, some translated Nordic titles, and of course some more British crime fiction.

1. 4.4, TROUBLED WATERS, Gillian Galbraith - audio book
2. 4.8, SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME, Yrsa Sigurðardóttir- translated
3. 4.4, BLOOD ON SNOW, Jo Nesbo - translated, a novella 
4. 4.2, THE BLUE ROSES OF ORROROO, Margaret Visciglio - Australian, set in 1928/29 
5. 4.4, CRYSTAL NIGHTS, Dorte Hummelshoj Jakobsen - Danish author 
6. 4.6, I LET YOU GO, Clare Mackintosh - British, new to me author
7. 4.9, TELL THE TRUTH, Katherine Howell - Australian
8. 4.4, THE PORT FAIRY MURDERS, Robert Gott - Australian 
9. 4.4, SECOND LIFE, S.S Watson - British 
10. 4.0, CHEF MAURICE AND A SPOT OF A TRUFFLE, J. A. Lang   - cozy, British

My pick of the month was the final book in Katherine Howell's Ella Marconi series, TELL THE TRUTH

Paramedic Stacey Durham has an idyllic life; her dream job, a beautiful house, and a devoted husband. Until her car is found abandoned and covered in her blood.

Detective Ella Marconi knows information is key in the first twenty-four hours, questioning the frantic husband, Marie, the jealous sister, and Rowan, the colleague who keeps turning up in all the wrong places.
Just as Ella starts to piece together the clues, a shocking message arrives for James: You won't see her again if you don't tell the truth.

As she sifts through the lies, Ella's relationship with Dr Callum McLennan is under siege, and she doesn't know if it can survive the overenthusiasm of her family, or the blind hatred of his mother.
With the investigation hitting dead ends and new threats being made, Ella must uncover the truths buried beneath the perfect façade before the case goes from missing person to murder.

See my review

See what others have listed as their Pick of the Month

Crime Fiction Pick of the Month June 2015

Crime Fiction Pick of the Month 2015

Many crime fiction bloggers write a summary post at the end of each month listing what they've read, and some, like me, even go as far as naming their pick of the month.

This meme is an attempt to aggregate those summary posts.
It is an invitation to you to write your own summary post for June  2015, identify your crime fiction best read of the month, and add your post's URL to the Mr Linky below.
If Mr Linky does not appear for you, leave the URL in a comment and I will add it myself.

You can list all the books you've read in the past month on your post, even if some of them are not crime fiction, but I'd like you to nominate your crime fiction pick of the month.

That will be what you will list in Mr Linky too -
e.g.
ROSEANNA, Maj Sjowall & Per Wahloo - MiP (or Kerrie)

You are welcome to use the image on your post and it would be great if you could link your post back to this post on MYSTERIES in PARADISE.

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What I read in May 2015

I didn't read so many books this last month, but did enjoy many of them as you can tell from my ratings.

May 2015

I read many of them on my Kindle, which I find I am using often as an alternative to holding a heavy book.

• 4.3, TAKE MY BREATH AWAY, Martin Edwards
• 5.0, THE DROWNED BOY, Karin Fossum - translated from Norwegian
• 3.8, THE JOURNEYING BOY, Michael Innes - vintage crime fiction
• 4.4, ODDFELLOWS, Nicolas Shakespeare - set in Broken Hill, 1 January 1915, some "Turks" attack a picnic train.
• 4.9, THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN, Paula Hawkins 
• 2.0, THE LAUGHING MONSTERS, Denis Johnson
• 4.8, THOSE WE LEFT BEHIND, Stuart Neville
• 4.5, CROSS FINGERS, Paddy Richardson - New Zealand author 
• 4.4, OBLIVION, Arnaldur Indridason  - translated from Icelandic
• 4.5, FROZEN OUT, Quentin Bates - set in Iceland 

My Pick of the Month was  THE DROWNED BOY by Karin Fossum

Synopsis (NetGalley)

‘He'd just learnt to walk,’ she said. ‘He was sitting playing on his blanket, then all of a sudden he was gone.’

A 16-month-old boy is found drowned in a pond right by his home. Chief Inspector Sejer is called to the scene as there is something troubling about the mother’s story. As even her own family turns against her, Sejer is determined to get to the truth. 

See what others have chosen this month.

Crime Fiction Pick of the Month May 2015

Crime Fiction Pick of the Month 2015

Many crime fiction bloggers write a summary post at the end of each month listing what they've read, and some, like me, even go as far as naming their pick of the month.

This meme is an attempt to aggregate those summary posts.
It is an invitation to you to write your own summary post for May  2015, identify your crime fiction best read of the month, and add your post's URL to the Mr Linky below.
If Mr Linky does not appear for you, leave the URL in a comment and I will add it myself.

You can list all the books you've read in the past month on your post, even if some of them are not crime fiction, but I'd like you to nominate your crime fiction pick of the month.

That will be what you will list in Mr Linky too -
e.g.
ROSEANNA, Maj Sjowall & Per Wahloo - MiP (or Kerrie)

You are welcome to use the image on your post and it would be great if you could link your post back to this post on MYSTERIES in PARADISE.

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Crime Fiction Pick of the Month April 2015

Crime Fiction Pick of the Month 2015

Many crime fiction bloggers write a summary post at the end of each month listing what they've read, and some, like me, even go as far as naming their pick of the month.

This meme is an attempt to aggregate those summary posts.
It is an invitation to you to write your own summary post for April 2015, identify your crime fiction best read of the month, and add your post's URL to the Mr Linky below.
If Mr Linky does not appear for you, leave the URL in a comment and I will add it myself.

You can list all the books you've read in the past month on your post, even if some of them are not crime fiction, but I'd like you to nominate your crime fiction pick of the month.

That will be what you will list in Mr Linky too -
e.g.
ROSEANNA, Maj Sjowall & Per Wahloo - MiP (or Kerrie)

You are welcome to use the image on your post and it would be great if you could link your post back to this post on MYSTERIES in PARADISE.

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What I read in March 2015

March 2015

I'm very pleased with the amount of reading I'm getting done, and also with the quality of most of the books.
The titles have been a mixture of recently published, review copies, and vintage crime fiction.

I even managed a non-fiction title this time too, although it was so closely linked to Agatha Christie that was not surprising.

• 4.7 MEDEA'S CURSE, Anne Buist - Australian author
• 4.7, BY ITS COVER, Donna Leon
• 4.5, THE KIZUNA COAST, Sujata Massey - set in Japan, post 2011 tsunami
• 4.5, AN EVENT IN AUTUMN, Henning Mankell - Wallander novella  
• 5.0, THE HUNTING DOGS, Jorn Lier Horst - translated from Norwegian, Glass Key winner 
• 3.8, ROSEMARY'S BABY, Ira Levin - vintage fiction 
• 4.5, DARK HORSE, Honey Brown - Australian author. 
• 4.3, THE CARTER OF LA PROVIDENCE, Georges Simenon-vintage crime, translated
• 3.6, DEAD RECKONING, Michael B. Smart -  thriller set in the Carribean
• 4.8, ABATTOIR BLUES, Peter Robinson
• 4.5, SINS OF THE FATHER, Graham Hurley 
• 4.8, RUNAWAY, Peter May 
• 4.5, POIROT and me, David Suchet

My pick of the month was THE HUNTING DOGS by Jorn Lier Horst, translated from Norwegian, the
eighth title published in the William Wisting series, the third to be published in English.
Winner of The Glass Key (top Nordic novel 2013) and winner of The Golden Revolver (top Norwegian crime novel 2012).

See what others have chosen for their Pick of the Month.

Crime Fiction Pick of the Month March 2015

Crime Fiction Pick of the Month 2015

Many crime fiction bloggers write a summary post at the end of each month listing what they've read, and some, like me, even go as far as naming their pick of the month.

This meme is an attempt to aggregate those summary posts.
It is an invitation to you to write your own summary post for March 2015, identify your crime fiction best read of the month, and add your post's URL to the Mr Linky below.
If Mr Linky does not appear for you, leave the URL in a comment and I will add it myself.

You can list all the books you've read in the past month on your post, even if some of them are not crime fiction, but I'd like you to nominate your crime fiction pick of the month.

That will be what you will list in Mr Linky too -
e.g.
ROSEANNA, Maj Sjowall & Per Wahloo - MiP (or Kerrie)

You are welcome to use the image on your post and it would be great if you could link your post back to this post on MYSTERIES in PARADISE.

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What I read in February 2015

Crime Fiction Pick of the Month 2015

I managed to keep up a rate of a book every two days this month, with some excellent titles.
I've been reading mainly books from my local library and some vintage crime fiction e-books.
An attempt to read outside the crime fiction genre did not work for me.

1. 4.3, A SLEEPING LIFE, Ruth Rendell - British police procedural, vintage fiction
2. 5.0, HOW THE LIGHT GETS IN, Louise Penny  - Canadian author
3. 4.0, DEATH OF A LIAR, M.C. Beaton - British cozy 
4. 4.5, THE ART OF KILLING WELL, Marco Malvaldi - translated from Italian 
5. 4.9, THE BACK ROAD, Rachel Abbott 
6. 4.6, BEAST IN VIEW, Margaret Millar
7. 4.5, MURDER ONE, Robert Dugoni - US courtroom drama 
8. 3.8, THAT AFFAIR NEXT DOOR, Anna Katherine Green - vintage fiction
9. 4.5, THE TERRORISTS, Maj Sjowall & Per Wahloo - translated
10. 4.3, DEAD HEADING, Catherine Aird - British cozy 
11. 2.0, THE BRONZE HORSEMAN, Paullina Simons - NOT crime fiction
12. 4.7, THE DARK ROAD TO MERCY, Wiley Cash 
13. 4.4, ANGLE OF INVESTIGATION, Michael Connelly
14. 3.8, THEY FOUND HIM DEAD, Georgette Heyer - vintage fiction  

My Pick of the Month went to  HOW THE LIGHT GETS IN by Louise Penny

Check what others have chosen for this month.

Crime Fiction Pick of the Month February 2015

Crime Fiction Pick of the Month 2015

Many crime fiction bloggers write a summary post at the end of each month listing what they've read, and some, like me, even go as far as naming their pick of the month.

This meme is an attempt to aggregate those summary posts.
It is an invitation to you to write your own summary post for February 2015, identify your crime fiction best read of the month, and add your post's URL to the Mr Linky below.
If Mr Linky does not appear for you, leave the URL in a comment and I will add it myself.

You can list all the books you've read in the past month on your post, even if some of them are not crime fiction, but I'd like you to nominate your crime fiction pick of the month.

That will be what you will list in Mr Linky too -
e.g.
ROSEANNA, Maj Sjowall & Per Wahloo - MiP (or Kerrie)

You are welcome to use the image on your post and it would be great if you could link your post back to this post on MYSTERIES in PARADISE.

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