Oh, hell, it’s Hallowe’en and there’s nothing on at the cinema so I can’t take refuge there from the sweet beggars/delightful children this evening. Pardon the phrase, but bollocks. Maybe the Venom movie won’t be that bad… maybe…

Oh, sorry, miles away. Yes, it’s my favourite day of the year to be grumpy about, but that also means that October is about to give up the ghost (see what I did there?) and it must be time for the Puzzly for the month. And after a rubbish seven books last month (actually six of them were really good), I’m back on form with a far more respectable eleven books. Yes, some of them were fairly short Golden Age books, they still count. That brings one hundred books so far this year, so still on target for the magic 120 for the year…

So what were those books and what’s taking home the book of the month?

• Nobody’s Hero by M W Craven The second Ben Koenig thriller, really edge-of-the-seat stuff and the most creative use of a leg that you’ll ever read.
• Food For Felony by Belton Cobb A close run tie with The Horrible Man In Heron’s Wood by Belton Cobb and Suspicion In Triplicate by, um, Belton Cobb for most rubbish mystery novel. Remind me why I collect him…
• Midsummer Mysteries ed. Martin Edwards A CWA collection of short stories, with some excellent contributions but one too many that takes the word “mysteries” a little too lightly.
• A Quiet Teacher by Adam Oyebanji An outstanding thriller/mystery combination, told in a compelling voice. A fantastic book.
• Murder’s Snare by Paul Doherty Not out for a month or so, but one of the best Brother Athelstan mysteries with one aspect being utterly wonderful.
• Everyone This Christmas Has A Secret by Benjamin Stevenson i.e. how to actually do a “Christmas Special” book in a series. Make it a short novel, not a novella, and treat it like every other book in the series, namely a proper mystery. JH, take note!
• Holiday With Murder by Glyn Carr When “Filthy” Lewker is told that their holiday will involve “no mummers, no murders and no mountains”, you can bet all three will be in play by the end. First rate Carr.
• And Cauldron Bubble by Brian Flynn Another exercise in me torturing you by reviewing a Flynn that’s not been reprinted by Dean Street Press.
• Cards On The Table by Agatha Christie A great read, one of her best, and thank you to Sergio for warning me off the TV adaptation.
• Murder In The Mews by Agatha Christie Three novellas and a short story, which is the best of the four, the novellas all being extensions of short stories and showing it.
• The Riddle Of The Ravens by J S Savage Murder of both men and birds at the Tower of London, including an impossible shooting.

OK, this is a tricky one. Ignoring Christie, there are six books here – six! – that in most months could have walked it. Nobody’s Hero is an outstanding thriller with a compelling voice, twists that you don’t see coming and the leg bit. A Quiet Teacher just surprised the hell out of me, a whodunit story and an espionage tale that mesh together in a way that really shouldn’t work but grips the reader, the freshest book that I’ve read for a while. Murder’s Snare is a Brother Athelstan mystery, which is always enough to put it in the running, but the cleverness here, particularly in the tax-collector’s murder, is exceptional. Everyone This Christmas Has A Secret is just magical, more than makes me forget the bitter pill of The Christmas Appeal. Holiday With Murder is top-notch Lewker and I had a smile on my face throughout it. And The Riddle Of The Ravens is exactly what this blog is about – a clever engaging properly clued multi-threaded mystery with an engaging sleuth.

Right, let’s see if we can get it down to a coin toss at least.

Paul Doherty and Mike Craven, you’ve won the Puzzly so many times, you’re out of the running here. Glyn Carr aka Showell Styles, your book is out of print and you’re only reading this because it’s Hallowe’en – hello, by the way, love your books – so you’re out too. J S Savage, you’ve won the Puzzly for your first two books, so I’m going to eliminate you as well. And Adam Oyebanji, I’m currently reading the next book in the series, so you’ll get a second chance very soon.

So honourable mentions to all of those authors above, but the Puzzly goes to Benjamin Stevenson and Everyone This Christmas Has A Secret. I really liked the first two but had minor quibbles, but this one is absolutely spot on. The perfect Christmas present for the mystery lover in your life – or indeed, yourself.

Right, loads of stuff coming up, too much to mention, but more Flynn, more Oyebanji, some new Christmas mysteries (unless they’re crap) and probably more Poirot – maybe I will manage to get to Hercule Poirot’s Christmas for, well, Christmas…