I struggled to choose a single book for the month, feeling like there were several books equally deserving of the title. But in the end I’ve decided on Sulari Gentill’s MILES OFF COURSE which I finished two weeks ago but which still puts a smile on my face when I think of it. There is something I particularly treasure about a book that makes me happy and this combination of whodunnit, exploration of a lesser-known part of our history and old-fashioned fun is an absolute delight.
I finished 12 books for the month and all the rest are recommended reads (anything rated 3 or more)
- A ROOM FULL OF BONES by Elly Griffiths (3.5 stars)
- COMEBACK by Peter Corris (3.5 stars)
- LUCIFER’S TEARS by James Thompson (I liked the book and rated it 3.5 but decided not to review it after reading this)
- MATILDA IS MISSING by Caroline Overington (4 stars)
- THE COLD, COLD GROUND by Adrian McKinty (4 stars)
- THE HIDDEN CHILD by Camilla Lackberg (3.5 stars)
- THE STRANGER HOUSE by Reginald Hill (3.5 stars, mini review as part of my tribute to the author on his passing away this month)
- THE WINTER OF THE LIONS by Jan Costin Wagner (3.5 stars)
- TRACKERS by Deon Meyer (4.5 stars)
- TRICK OF THE DARK by Val McDermid (4 stars)
- V IS FOR VENGEANCE by Sue Grafton (3.5 stars)
The Australian Women Writers Challenge 2012
Two of the books were by Australian woman (counting towards the total of 10 I’m aiming for) and I managed two genres as well
- MATILDA IS MISSING by Caroline Overington (contemporary fiction, 4 stars)
- MILES OFF COURSE by Sulari Gentill (historical crime fiction, 4.5 stars)
Other, non-review related posts this month
- More book spin nonsense (me having a whinge about the silliness used to get us to buy books)
- The Stranger House and Other Stories (in memory of Reginald Hill who passed away on
- The swings and roundabouts of book recommendations (who do you trust to recommend your reading?)
- What price a Comeback (more book pricing madness)
- Thoughts on shopping as therapy (local shops have one up on online stores)
If you want to see other people’s crime fiction picks of the month head over to Mysteries in Paradise for the Pick of the Month meme
Reactions to Reading 
Bernadette – Excuse me just a moment *hastily makes notes of some of these titles*. Thanks for this resource. I’m very glad you had such a good reading month, and I appreciate your putting all of these links together like this. My credit card, on the other hand, does not. 😉
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I had a good reading month. Books included the interesting 1222 (Anne Holt), starring a cantankerous protagonist; the brilliant Inspector and Silence (Hakan Nesser) the delightful Heavenly Pleasures (Kerry Greenwood), the easy page-turner The Accident (Linwood Barclay) and the fun House at Sea’s End (Elly Griffiths). On the first day of the year, I finished the very relaxing V is for Vengeance. I read a few passable books.
I’m ready to move to Melbourne and right into Corinna Chapman’s bakery or go to Norfolk to do an archaelogical dig with another favorite character, Ruth Galloway.
And now I have a slew of books by women from Oz to begin.
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Glad to know the Oz women are slowly taking over your little corner of the world Kathy, though I agree that a dig with Ruth (and Cathbad) would be a good place to visit too
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You do me a great honour, Bernadette. Thank you. I shall throw myself back into editing the next Rowly book with a very warm glow indeed.
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thanks for all these ideas, Bernadette. I must try Miles Off Course some time, obviously, if it did so well against, eg Trackers. Luckily I have read quite a few of your other recommendations, though I am going to have to get on with The Cold Cold Ground now (despite a less than thrilling recent blog post by the author which you pointed out, & previous experience of him being snarky when I reviewed an earlier book by him which is one of my pet hates (author moans), I have been sent a copy and the good reviews here and elsewhere have tipped me over the edge into deciding to read it).
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It was a tough choice Maxine…Trackers is the other one I was tossing up…but I think there is just a little bit of fairy dust or something in this particular book of Sulari Gentill’s – either that or it just pushes all of my buttons at once – interesting history and humour and a terrific sense of Australian-ness without being over the top (such a hard thing to get right) and a character I am a wee bit in love with. I really can’t work out now why I didn’t give it 5 stars – except that part of my enjoyment is that I keep thinking of things all this time after finishing it that make me smile – and I didn’t know that was going to happen when I closed the cover.
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Bernadette, first off, your blog is fabulous! I really look forward to reading it. For me, my best reads were MIssing by Karen Alvtegen, Faceless Killers by Henning Menkell and The Business of Dying by Simon Kernick. My favorite was The Darkest Room by John Theorin. I was most disappointed with The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes. I know it was a huge award winner, but for me a tad over-hyped. Not awful by any means, but of the eight books I finished, not at the top.
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Bernadette, I hope this best books of the month recap is a new and lasting thing!
On your recommendation last month I read WHAT WAS LOST by Catherine O’Flynn. This
profound book of 246 pages about a shopping mall and its characters still has me smiling.
But I’m disappointed that you didn’t review LUCIFER’S TEARS. I saw nothing in Jim’s lengthy article about book reviewers to dissuade you. Are you having another “class warfare” crisis?
You are a professional reviewer!
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Thanks for listing these. My month didn’t start off too well and there were quite a few books that I couldn’t get into. I think February will be a better month.
Ann
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Such a great list of books, as always, Bernadette. I’m still in the library queue for the latest Elly Griffiths, but I just got THE HOUSE AT SEA’S END so I’ll finish that one off first (and hopefully A ROOM FULL OF BONES will be waiting for me at the library by then – well, probably not, but soon, hopefully!). It doesn’t look like my library has MILES OFF COURSE on order as yet, but it’s on my to-read list now.
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