Puzzle Doctor

The Puzzly – The ISOTCMN Book Of The Month – April 2026

Ah, April. Off it goes, disappearing into the past, taking with it a school inspection, another notch on my “Years Spent On This Planet” chart, and nine books, all read for your delectation, dear reader. I know, it’s an absolute chore reading books in order to tell other people whether they should read them, but someone’s got to do it…

And another nine book month. And while I imagine a lot of people would be pleased to read nine books in a month, it’s the third month in a row that I’ve come short of my target ten books. At this rate, my usual 120 books a year is looking rather iffy… I blame my hectic worklife and definitely not the robot dinosaurs rampaging around my PS5…

Anyway, what were those precious nine books, and moreover, which of them will take home the Puzzly? And before you ask, it’s not necessarily going to be Anthony Horowitz…

  • The Case Of The Demure Defendant by Erle Stanley Gardner – the first of two from ESG this month, with Perry dashing to the rescue of a suspect who, rather unwisely, confessed to a murder while under the influence of a truth drug. Awkward!
  • Four-Ply Yarn by Miles Burton – A great example of a wartime whodunnit, with Desmond Merrion balancing his duties as an espionage officer with the need to bring a killer to justice.
  • The Spirit Guide by Bridget Walsh – the third in a series of murders set around the Victorian music halls. An interesting book, best read, I think, as part of the series.
  • The Dead Can Tell by Helen Reilly – the first of two book club reads and definitely the lesser of the two. An irritating narrator really doesn’t help a fairly flat mystery.
  • Treaty Of Blood by Michael Jecks – not really a mystery (although there is one) but an absorbing continuation of Jecks’ Vintaine series. Again, best read as part of a series, but still an absorbing read.
  • The Never Game by Jeffery Deaver – the first Colter Shaw thriller. I don’t think the ending is his best, but it’s a fun ride getting to it.

So, it’s Horowitz’s Puzzly. Easy peasy. A clever mystery that fooled me, despite all the clues being right there. Plus it’s funny. Couldn’t ask for anything more…

7 comments

  1. I’m currently 80 pages through A Deadly Episode and am thoroughly enjoying the understated humour. I wonder if the mystery will fool me…

    Great, tantalising review Steve 👍

    Like

    Reply

  3. Only 9 books? Shocking.

    I’m retired, nothing much else to do but read, yet I struggle to do 1 a week! How you do it plus a demanding job I don’t know. And the blog of course.

    I’ve somehow fallen into a late life reading slump. For example, I love Anthony Horowitz and bought Marble Hall to read as a treat on a 2 week holiday, convinced I’d be leaving it behind for someone to enjoy (and to lighten my luggage!) But it came back with me, half read.

    Now I need my appetite back before A Deadly Episode is out in paperback for my summer holiday. You must have experienced the same thing. How did you snap out of it?

    Thanks.

    Like

    Reply

    • Good question. Not reading long books like Marble Hall Murders is a start! Well, not until I’m ready to dive in.

      I’ve a few tricks to kickstart my reading – writing a blog is one, but chopping and changing styles within the genre, deliberately picking older books with lower page counts sometimes, like the Perry Mason series or re-reading a book that I loved but have forgotten most of the plot, like the Ethelred and Elsie series, Holmes On TheRange pr anything by Paul Doherty.

      Also by using an e-reader, I can carry my book around with me more easily. I read a good chunk of The Crack In The Lens walking around my local park the other day. It was heavenly.

      Like

      Reply

      • “I read a good chunk of The Crack In The Lens walking around my local park ….”

        Are you able to read a book while walking? You do not stumble on to anything ?

        Like

      • Well, I don’t read it if I’m walking in the countryside. But paved areas, flat parks, pavements, yes. No problem at all. It’s very relaxing.

        Like

      • I love the E & E books and a re-read might cheer me up a bit, and a few books around 200 pages might be a good idea. The Perry Mason books I will definitely have to try – I know some of your fellow bloggers also rate Erle Stanley Gardner’s work highly.

        Maybe suggest one to start me off?

        Thanks for replying.

        Like

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.