December reviews

December was a bumper month of reading. Some very good reads including Crimes in Southern Indiana by Frank Bill and Ashes by Sergios Gakas, but the two standout books were Mixed Blood by Roger Smith and Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin. Very different in their styles and pace, and both excellent reads. Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter probably just about shades my read of the month, but it's by a nose.

Crimes in Southern Indiana by Frank Bill ****.5
Taken by Niamh O'Connor ***
Zoo City by Lauren Beukes ***.5
Kursk by Lloyd Clark ***
Anglo Republic by Simon Carswell ****
The Cleansing Flames by R.N. Morris ***
Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin *****
Mixed Blood by Roger Smith *****
The Killer is Dying by James Sallis ***
Ashes by Sergios Gakas ****.5
Death and the Penguin by Andrey Kurkov ***
LA Requiem by Robert Crais ****