Right, May was a bit rubbish. Far too much work to do, a bad back, falling off a step that scraped my leg really badly (but could have been a lot worse) and a third complaint that I am so not going to tell you about. Oh, and on top of those things interfering with my reading, I decided to start another trip around the realms of Skyrim. And anyone who’s done that knows how much time it can waste.

All in all, seven books. Seven. I know, some of you will think that’s a lot, but for me, it really isn’t. It’s rubbish. And it’s going to make this month’s Puzzly incredibly difficult…

So what were those books? They were:

• The Crack In The Lens by Steve Hockensmith – the Amlingmeyer boys head to San Marcos, Texas, to find the truth behind the death of Old Red’s first and only love. A great re=read from one of my favourite series.
• Murder By Design by Lee Goldberg – interesting, but reads more like a TV show that a novel. Not enough is made of the lead’s lack of filter in my opinion.
• Death At The Lighthouse by Alasdair Beckett-King – laugh-out-loud funny book for children of all ages as Montgomery Bonbon/Bonnie Montgomery investigates a fall from a lighthouse and a locked room mystery.
• Death At Dyke’s Corner by E C R Lorac – a minor outing for Inspector Macdonald, coming across at times as the bastart love-child of John Rhode and Freeman Wills Crofts.
• A Reluctant Spy by David Goodman – an interesting spy thriller, well-written, but not really my thing.
• Grave Intent by Sarah Ward – the third in Sarah’s Jericho series, the town with more secret societies than there are inhabitants… A good series, best read in order to avoid spoilers.
• The Unicorn Murders by Carter Dickson – fun but over-complex. An interesting read, but not Merrivale’s finest hour.

So what takes the Puzzly? I really don’t know because nothing particularly leaps out from that list. I don’t usually give the Puzzly to a re-read but back in 2011, the Puzzly didn’t exist and I haven’t gone back and retroactively done them. So instead, let’s give it to The Crack In The Lens. I’ve said before how much I love this series and its characters, and after a slight dip with The Black Dove, this is a clear return to form. So congratulations, Steve Hockensmith, and let’s hope there’s more books to choose from next month.