Well, it’s July. I hope, dear reader, that you and your loved ones are well, and if not, I hope you and/or they will be soon. If you might excuse me a moment, a brief observation: just because you may not mind ignoring the 2 metre rule, that doesn’t mean that the person you are squeezing past in the supermarket will want to. Please don’t force your choices onto other people – respect their opinions. And wear a facemask if you’re told to – and if you’re not told to, it really couldn’t do any harm…

Right, that’s my rant out of the way – I doubt many of my local Waitrose customers will read this, but I live in hope. But you’re not here for that, you’re here for my rundown of last month’s reading.

Ten books in total – actually eleven, but I haven’t had time to review it yet, which is a shame, as it would have been a serious contender – they were as follows:

The Haunting by Paul Doherty – a disappointing ghost story without much mystery.

The Woman In The Wardrobe by Peter Schaffer – a long lost (and also long looked for) locked room mystery, deserving of its reputation.

My Foe Outstretch’d Beneath The Tree by V C Clinton-Baddeley –  crazy name, crazy title, dull book.

Tragedy At Trinket by Brian Flynn – cricket, mystery, cricket, mystery – just not a cricket mystery…

The List Of Adrian Messenger by Philip MacDonald – perfectly entertaining read, but didn’t seem to be the out and out classic that it’s reputation suggests.

The Threefold Cord by Francis Vivian – now that’s better, a real lost classic. A really effective mystery.

Murder At The Dolphin Hotel by Helena Dixon – move along, not much to see here.

The Cannibal That Overate by Hugh Pentecost – a fun, well-written thriller with an unsurprising surprise.

Cut To The Bone by Roz Watkins – another strong mystery-thriller in the Meg Dalton series.

The House Of The Red Slayer by Paul Doherty – a truly wonderful historical mystery. A re-review, but there’s a damn good reason why I read it twice.

So which book gets the Puzzly? Well, I’m going to do something a little different. Because as good as The Woman In The Wardrobe, The Threefold Cord, Cut To The Bone and The House Of The Red Slayer are, the book that I read but haven’t reviewed yet is a notch above. Because I finished reading it three days ago and I’m still thinking about it. So the Puzzly for June 2020 goes to Christopher Fowler for Bryant & May: The Lonely Hour, the sixteenth Bryant & May novel. Be back soon for the review of that one and Bryant & May: Oranges & Lemons, the latest in the series. And quite possibly England’s Finest, the second short story collection too…