It’s almost time for my summer holiday – as ever with me and Professor Puzzle Doctor, it’s off to a cottage in the middle of nowhere for fresh air, nature and a bag full of books, so expect a deluge of reviews in about ten days time.

In the meantime, though, it’s the end of July and that means only one thing – it’s time for the Puzzly, that much-craved book of the month that everyone in my head is talking about. Hey, it’s important – Victoria Dowd mentions winning the Grand Puzzly in her author bio! – so who is going to be awarded a crucial step towards fame and fortune this month?

Ten books read so far this month – still keeping on target for 120 books for the year, just. Those books were:

• The Piazza Murders by Michael Jecks – the third in the Art Of Murder series and the best yet, an entertaining narrative voice along with an intriguing whodunnit.
• The Case Of The Mad Doctor by P D Lennon – an historical thriller rather than a mystery (the title does rather give away the culprit) but the history element of eighteenth century Jamaica is fascinating.
• Lewker In Tirol by Glyn Carr – my last read in this series and while the mystery is nothing to write home about, it’s such marvellous fun that it really didn’t matter.

• Cat Of Many Tails by Ellery Queen – pretty sure it says something that this book, admired by many crime fiction aficionados, was probably my least favourite of the month. And the thing it says is that many crime fiction aficionados are wrong, obviously. [Note for those who can’t read sarcasm –  this is a joke.]
• Fatal Venture by Freeman Wills Crofts – still not sure why there’s a plane on the cover of a book about a boat. A good read but probably second-tier Crofts.
• A Divine Fury by D V Bishop – another trip to Medici Florence to track down a (fairly obvious) religious serial killer. As with the Lewker book though, even with an obvious mystery, it’s a magnificent read.

• A Case Of Life And Limb by Sally Smith – the second Gabriel Ward mystery and the series has really found its stride. More on this one in a mo…
• Two Kinds Of Stranger by Steve Cavanagh – the best Eddie Flynn thriller since Thirteen, an edge-of-your-seat page-turner of a legal thriller in the company of the best con man in town…
• Into Thin Air by H Winslow and L Quirk – a very-lost classic and something that needs to be un-lost as soon as possible.
• What The Dark Whispers by M J Lee – a solid police procedural concerning a killer who can talk people into killing themselves.

It’s actually not that hard to pick the book of the month from this collection of all-but-one good reads. I’m disqualifying Into Thin Air, as I’d rather like my readers to be able to actually follow my recommendation without going bankrupt, and some of the other best reads were primarily thrillers or mysteries where the mystery was the one weak link. The book that had everything – characters, a clever plot, humour, heart – was A Case Of Life And Limb. I liked the first book in the series, but perhaps not enough to automatically read the second. Well, I’m glad I did because this one is marvellous. I look forward to more from Gabriel Ward (and Delphinium, obviously) and I urge readers to give this series a go.

Right, a busy next month – new books from some of my favourite modern authors, Tom Mead, M W Craven, D V Bishop, Lisa Gardner and more, and hopefully I’ll squeeze in a few classics at the same time. See you soon…