Everyone at work is bemoaning the fact that this January seems to have gone on forever. They’re not wrong. While I await the imposition of blogging tariffs from President Fart – sorry, looks like the US to UK AI translator kicked in there, blame Elon and chums – at least the interminable wait until February meant that I got loads of books read. Thirteen, in fact, a great start to the year and gives me a headstart on the “ten books a month” target.

But there is a problem, dear reader. I’ve got to pick which one I liked best. It’s a hard job, but someone’s got to do it…

So the books were:

Murder For Busy People by Tony Parsons – no idea why I requested this from NetGalley as I hadn’t loved the previous standalone from Mr P, but it’s one of the most effective and emotive procedurals that I’ve read in a long time.

Murder On The Marlow Belle by Robert Thorogood – probably the best of the Marlow books, a really nice closed-circle mystery where the author had made time to think about the “why” of the bizarre circumstances as well as the “who”.

A Little Bird Told Me by Rachael Gray – I read this because the author engaged with me on Blue Sky – see, it does pay to be nice to people. An effective whodunnit, and while not massively clued, it does spring a good surprise.

Parker Pyne Investigates by Agatha Christie – one plan this year is to tick off some unread Christies and this is one of them. The first half is very average but the second half, where Mr Pyne actually gets off his arse and solves some murders, contains some very good mysteries.

The Troubled Deep by Rob Parker – looking forward to meeting Rob (and lots of other authors) at Stockport Noir next weekend. Definitely a thriller, but with an engaging central character, a strong arc for him, and a dog. A gripping read.

Keeper Of The Keys by Earl Derr Biggers – my first encounter with the print version of Charlie Chan and if you can excuse the stereotype Chinese servant character, who is there and like that for a very good reason, it’s an interesting mystery. Much better than I thought it would be.

The Bookseller by Tim Sullivan – the latest DS Cross mystery, the autistic sleuth based in Bristol. I’d have preferred more of a sense of the reader being encouraged to play along rather than just watching Cross solve the case, but he and his team are good company.

Death In The Arctic by Tom Hindle – another standalone whodunnit, with an interesting setting, but marred a little by an overlarge group of suspects and the fact that the murderer and motive, not for the first time in these books, was pretty obvious to me. Of course, that might just be me…

The Dog Sitter Detective Plays Dead by Antony Johnston – I wasn’t expecting much from this series, but don’t be put off by the over-cosy title. Yes, it’s a cosy read, but there is proper detection, proper clues and a well-hidden murderer. It even had that thing where I noticed an important thing and then dismissed it. Silly me. A really fun read.

Death On The Pier by Jamie West – the first book featuring playwright Bertie Carroll as a sleuth. An engaging story with a beautiful setting, a strong lead and some beautiful clues lead to a plot that feels more like Christie than almost anything else that I can think of.

The Dark Hours by Amy Jordan – a split-time narrative concerning the young and retired Gardai Julia Harte hunting for a serial killer and their copycat. It’s a well-written, interesting take on the police procedural – it’s not clued that I noticed – and there are some good surprises.

Murder As A Fine Art by Carol Carnac – I’m a bit lost as to why this one was chosen as the latest from Lorac/Carnac/Rivetts as it’s rather dull. Moving on…

Helle’s Hound by Oskar Jensen – Torben Helle is back, this time convinced that his mentor, Dame Charlotte Lazerton, has been murdered despite no evidence supporting this. It could have done with more emphasis on the mystery, as it lacks the claustrophobia of Helle And Death, but Torben and friends are enjoyable company, even if they spend a lot of time wining and dining each other.

So, loads of choice there. Let’s stick to the mysteries and that narrows it down, if I look at the ones that made me go “Wow!” by catching me out, to Murder On The Marlow Belle, Death On The Pier and The Dog Sitter Detective Plays Dead. The esteemed Mr Thorogood keeps saying nice things about me on Blue Sky,

but he has won the Puzzly a lot in the past (and not just because of such amazing comments – name a character after me, and I’ll reconsider bribery…) and Jamie West won it for Murder At The Matinee last month. So despite the fact that either book would have waltzed off with the trophy any other month, the Puzzly this month goes to The Dog Sitter Detective Plays Dead. A dead body, staked through the heart, in a locked caravan! What else could you ask for?

So congratulations to Antony Johnston – do go and give the series a try. I’m certainly going back to catch up on the first two very soon.

Meanwhile for February, I’ll first of all be desperately trying to read a few more from authors who will be at Stockport Noir – do say hello if you see me there (not that you have any clue what I look like and unfortunately I’ve expanded out of my Brian Flynn T-shirt) – and then there’s a lot more new releases from authors that are new to me to put under the microscope, and in what seems to be a theme now, yet another with a dog in a lead role. Still, it makes more sense than a cat being bothered to solve a mystery…