June was a very active reading month for me. I enjoyed two new paperback releases for Euro Crime, finished my last birthday gift, and managed some intensive reading on planes to and from San Diego. But yes, I am a bit behind on my reviews…
I read:
- Wilkie Collins: The Woman in White, a long-haul read I wouldn’t want to repeat. I did enjoy the opportunity to look at the book in a different way for Clothes in Books.
- Ann Granger: A Particular Eye for Villainy, Victorian history-mystery with an intriguing victim and likeable protagonists in Ben and Lizzie Ross.
- Andrea Camilleri: The Track of Sand, a typically enjoyable Inspector Montalbano mystery with the usual mix of murders and meals.
- Jonathan Gash: Lovejoy in The Judas Pair (a darker Lovejoy than the Ian McShane TV version).
- Barbara Vine (Ruth Rendell); Nostalgia-filled intelligent suspense novel A Fatal Inversion.
- Lionel Davidson’s 60s spy caper The Night of Wenceslas.
- Agatha Christie: Death Comes as the End, her only history-mystery.
- Dorothy L. Sayers: Murder Must Advertise, a refreshingly brisk murder-mystery with an authentic setting.
- The latest Fred Vargas: An Uncertain Place
My pick of the month? A very tough decision between A Fatal Inversion, An Uncertain Place, and (with some serious reservations I’ll describe in a later review) The Judas Pair, but in the end I’m going to go with An Uncertain Place. This is the seventh in the Commissaire Adamsberg series. As always it’s readable, quirky, and I whizzed through it. You can read a review by Karen Meek on Eurocrime.
This post is related to Kerrie’s meme at Mysteries in Paradise.
Past Offences: Classic crime, thrillers and mystery book reviews 
I haven’t read this Fred Vargas novel yet (perhaps the vampire connection makes me a bit reluctant, although I am sure it will be interesting in her capable hands). Thanks for sharing – and may I say, what a voracious reader you are!
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It’s not vampiric in a corny way. There were certainly no signs of her jumping on the Twilight bandwagon.
June was a bumper reading month, thanks to some travel. I was fortunate to have lots of free time. I’m normally just a hungry reader, rather than voracious.
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A very varied reading month! I very much enjoyed A Fatal Inversion (and other early “Vines”) when I read them but I seem to have missed the last two or three. I also read several of the Lovejoy books so look forward to your views on this one. Seems like a good choice of book of the month – I’m glad a translated work does so well in your estimation, compared with native-language-written books.
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