April reviews

A relatively slow month of reading, but a good mix of entertaining tails. My read of the month was Renee Patrick's Design for Dying.

Design for Dying by Renee Patrick ****.5
The Brief History of the Dead by Kevin Brockmeier ***
Evil Things by Katja Ivar ****
IQ by Joe Ide ****.5
Overkill by Vanda Symon ***.5
Six Four by Hideo Yokoyama ***.5

April reads

My read of April was Thomas Mullen's historical police procedural set in Atlanta in 1948, Dark Town, following the exploits of the cities first black cops.

Dark Town by Thomas Mullen ****.5
The Twilight Warriors by Robert Gandt ***.5
Slumberland by Paul Beatty ****
The Conquering Tide: War in the Pacific Islands, 1942-1944 by Ian W. Toll ****
Capture by Roger Smith ***.5
The Demon Under the Microscope by Thomas Hager ***

April reads

A relatively slow month of reading. The standout book was Adrian McKinty's There's Police at the Station and They Don't Look Friendly. Another strong addition to the Sean Duffy series.

Whiskey River by Loren Estleman ****.5
The Secret Speech by Tom Rob Smith ***
The Long Firm by Jake Arnott ****
Mortal Stakes by Robert B. Parker ****
Bulldog Drummond by Sapper **
There’s Police at the Station and They Don’t Look Friendly by Adrian McKinty *****

April reads

April provided an interesting and enjoyable set of books.  Blessed are the Dead by Malla Nunn and The Whisperers by John Connolly were the standout reads, with the latter shading it for my read of the month.

Japan 1941 by Eri Hotta ****
A Drink Before the War by Dennis Lehane ***.5
The Game Must Go On by John Klima ***
The Whisperers by John Connolly *****
Worst Enemies by Dana King ****.5
Blessed are the Dead by Malla Nunn *****
Night Passage by Robert Parker ***
A Little More Free by John McFetridge ****

April reads

April was a month of okay reads.  My book of the month was Pandaemonium by Christopher Brookmyre, which was heading for a five star review before shifting gears and style in its latter third.

Fool Moon by Jim Butcher ***
The Spy Who Came in From The Co-op by David Burke ***
Pandaemonium by Christopher Brookmyre ****
Blacklands by Belinda Bauer ***.5
The Circle by Dave Eggers ***.5
California Thriller by Max Byrd ***
Gun Street Girl by Adrian McKinty ****
Calling Out For You by Karin Fossum ****

April reading

I got through a fair bit of reading over the past month, much of it fairly run of the mill.  The two standout books were Bird Dog by Philip Reed and Live by Night by Dennis Lehane.  Very different books in style and tone and both recommended reads.

Bird Dog by Philip Reed ****.5
The Panda Theory by Paschal Garnier ***.5
To Have and Have Not by Ernest Hemingway ***
The Numbers Game of Alan Schwarz ****
Night Moves by Randy Wayne White ***
Tropical Freeze by James W. Hall ***.5
Margin of Error by Edna Buchanan ***
Hurricane Punch by Tim Dorsey ***.5
Tropical Heat by John Lutz ***
Live by Night by Dennis Lehane ****.5
The Big Goodbye by Michael Lister ***

April's reading

I reviewed nine books in April, which comes as a surprise as it didn't feel like a typical month of reading.  That's especially the case given I also read a couple of non-fiction books that I've not yet got round to reviewing.  It felt like a five book month!  The standout read was Rubbernecker by Belinda Bauer.

The Polka Dot Girl by Darragh McManus ****
The Perfect Crime by Les Edgerton ***.5
The Devil in a Blue Dress by Walter Mosley ***.5
Die a Little by Megan Abbott ****
The Devil Doesn't Want Me by Eric Beetner ****.5
Rubbernecker by Belinda Bauer *****
Missing in Rangoon by Christopher G. Moore ***.5
Blood from a Stone by Donna Leon ***
A Man Without Breath by Philip Kerr ***

April reviews

April was a big month of reading and reviewing with twelve books. And it was a good reading month as well with three five star reads. After a bit of reflection, my book of the month is Caught Stealing by Charlie Huston. A very accomplished debut novel that rattles along like a tilt-a-whirl.

The Big Short by Michael Lewis ***.5
Still Life by Louise Penny ***.5
The Swiss, The Dead and The Gold by Jean Ziegler ***
The Cutting Crew by Steve Mosby ****
Devil Red by Joe Lansdale ****.5
Slow Burn by G.M. Ford ***
30 For a Harry by Richard Hoyt ***.5
The Rainy City by Earl Emerson ***.5
Caught Stealing by Charlie Huston *****
Ghost Mountain Boys by James Campbell *****
Beyond Hitler's Grasp by Michael Bar-Zohar ***
Secret Dead Men by Diane Swierczynski *****

April reviews

April may have been a strange month, but I managed to get back to my reading ways. Although I only managed to post 9 reviews, I actually read 12 books. The remaining reviews will appear this week and next. Probably no bad thing as two of those three are also five star reviews and picking a book of a month in one that had four in would be tough. Choosing between The Grave in Gaza and Expiration Date is bad enough, but my nod goes ever so slightly to the former.

The Grave in Gaza by Matt Beynon Rees *****
Old Dogs by Donna Moore ****
Motor City Blue by Loren Estleman ***
Truth by Peter Temple ****
Paying For It by Tony Black ***
Criminal Summer by Luigi Guicciardi ***
A Firing Offense by George Pelecanos ****
Have Mercy on Us All by Fred Vargas ***
Expiration Date by Duane Swierczynski *****