February fairly whizzed by, so I was surprised to see that I had managed 18 blog posts and 12 reads. Two of these posts were for ranked lists: British Library Crime Classics short story collections and Lee Goldberg’s Adrian Monk series. February also saw me starting to do monthly roundups for #MurderEveryMonday. I did a catch up one for January too.
Choosing February’s book of the month was a very easy task for me, as there were two clear winners, one a modern crime fiction novel, and the other a classic crime title. Beginning with the first category, the winner was…
Gertrude Lynley was a new-to-me author, and I enjoyed her use of the charity shop setting for her mystery, Death Came Secondhand (2022). Geraldine Lamb, the amateur sleuth is a likeable and relatable character, and I felt Lynley did a good job of giving her investigation shape and direction, which is important when a murder has a cold case element to it. This book is only 120 or so pages long, but I felt the reader was given a complete mystery and investigation to engage with, and a clear chain of evidence leading to the killer. In an age where novels seem to be getting longer and longer, (and not always delivering much of a mystery plot), I found this to be encouraging.
My favourite classic crime read of the month, took me to 1930s Japan…
I am not always the biggest fan of Japanese mysteries, as the writing style does not always agree with me, so I was unsure what to expect with Edogawa Rampo’s Gold Mask (1930-1931; 2019). So, I was delightfully surprised when I had such a great time reading this book. It is such a thematically rich story, which I explore more fully in my review.
Looking ahead into my March, my first read was the next title in my Green Penguin project, so I shall be reviewing that soon. Meanwhile, my current read sees me returning to the catalogue of the Dean Street Press. After that who knows! I am very much a mood reader at the moment.
What are you looking forward to reading this month? What was your favourite read of February?