December is out of the way, and I had a big reading target. After a barren (for me) November, if I was going to hit my reading target for the year, then I was going to have to get through thirteen books! Thirteen!

So I read thirteen books. As you do.

On top of that, I got to enjoy the utter delight of Return To Paradise and the Death In Paradise Christmas special. Didn’t get round to reviewing Don Gilet’s debut as the new sleuth, so I’ll save that until the series review, but it was a very promising start. Oh, and there was the Beyond Paradise special as well, which… was busy as usual, only with the mystery element being written by Captain Obvious.

So, on with the books…

Murder At The Christmas Emporium by Andreina Cordani – a bonkers Christmas mystery about a murderous Wonka-esque toymaker (or is it?). Probably not for everyone but I loved it.

Hercule Poirot’s Silent Night by Sophie Hannah – a triumph of expectation over hope. Just read Hercule Poirot’s Christmas instead.

Death On Ice by R O Thorpe – a decent enough whodunnit that could have done with a map and not immediately undoing a good twist.

The Deaths Of December by S J Holliday – more festive deaths let down by a plan that makes very little sense and a reveal of a murderer who was literally mentioned once in the preceding book.

The Murder Of Sir Edmund Godfrey by John Dickson Carr – a brave, if somewhat flawed, attempt to analyse the historical crime in the form of a novel.

The Three Deaths Of Justice Godfrey by L C Tyler – same crime, different approach as Sir John Grey gets involved in the case and Len Tyler gives his own theory in book form.

The Antique Hunter’s Guide To Murder by C L Miller – a new cosy series, this time set in the world of antique restoration (as in to their true owners). I’ll take a look at book two, but hopefully there will be some clues next time.

Dramatic Murder by Elizabeth Anthony – a “Lost Christmas” mystery, namely that Christmas gets lost after the first chapters. Didn’t really enjoy this.

The Silken Shroud by James Sandys – a very lost author and while it probably helped that I didn’t know what sort of story this was going into it, this was a pleasant surprise.

The Proof In The Pudding by Rosemary Shrager – not as Christmassy as I’d hoped, and the weakest in the series so far, but still a notch above the average cosy.

The Case Of The Stuttering Bishop by Erle Stanley Gardner – an enjoyable case with Perry Mason but I’d recommend reading it when not distracted, as I did end up getting a tad confused when I came back to it after a couple of days. My fault, not the book…

Death Comes In Threes by Michael Jecks – another merry murderous romp with Jack Blackjack, this time giving us the chance to see the rogue from other characters points of view.

The Yellow Taxi by Jonathan Stagge – you’d think the tale of a murderous taxi cab wouldn’t work, but this is a very effective whodunnit.

Hmm… Book of the Month. Two books stood out, namely the first and the last. Murder At The Christmas Emporium is very interesting and gripping, but it might be a bit weird for some. You know what, it’s been a while since I gave the Puzzly to an old book, and even more so to a book that you basically can’t get hold of, but I really enjoyed The Yellow Taxi. It’s not perfect at all, but it’s one of the first books in a while where the author’s tricks worked in making me look the wrong way – more than once in fact. And I do like being fooled.

Be back tomorrow for the review of the year…