April Mysteries and Pick of the Month

The Crime Fiction Pick of the Month meme at Mysteries in Paradise has inspired me to start summarizing my monthly reading... or at the least my mystery reading... and actually pick a favorite.

Even though I don't rate the books I read (yet) on my blog, I do usually have a firm idea of where they rate in my affections. I have been reading a variety of types of crime fiction lately, and this has encouraged me to think more about why I like certain books, and what appeals to me, and what makes a book a good read.


Books I read in April (with links to reviews)...

1. Second Violin by John Lawton
2. The Redbreast by Jo Nesbo 
3. Dying Light by Stuart MacBride
4. A Duty to the Dead by Charles Todd
5. The Thief Who Couldn't Sleep by Lawrence Block
6. Cop Hater by Ed McBain

Of these books, my Pick of the Month is Second Violin by John Lawton. Most of the books in the Frederick Troy series combine elements of police procedural and spy fiction. This one, however, doesn't have much to do with spies. The books are set in England (primarily) in the years before, during and after World War II. I have mentioned in my reviews of this book and Bluffing Mr. Churchill that the books in the series are written out of chronological order and some reviewers recommend reading the books in chronological order rather than in order published. This is the first chronologically but I would not read it as the first in the series. Regardless, it is a very compelling story. I have two more books to go to finish the series.