October Wrap-Up & P.O.M. Award

October

 Bouncing down by one this month, with 15 books. And I've managed to fall behind on Goodreads again.  I'm worse than a yo-yo.  Anyway...I'm continuing to combine my monthly wrap-up post with Kerrie's Crime Fiction Pick of the Month over at Mysteries in Paradise. And here we go with the August totals:  

Total Books Read: 14
Total Pages:  3,241 (one less book, but a few more pages...) Percentage by Female Authors:  29%
Percentage by US Authors:  57%
Percentage by non-US/non-British Authors:  0%
Percentage Mystery: 57%
Percentage Fiction: 86%
Percentage written 2000+: 36%
Percentage of Rereads: 7%
Percentage Read for Challenges: 100% {It's easy to have every book count for a challenge when you sign up for as many as I do.}     Number of Challenges fulfilled so far: 20 (61%)


AND, as mentioned above, Kerrie has started us up for another year of Crime Fiction Favorites. What she's looking for is our Top Mystery Read for each month. In October, eight of the books I read count as mysteries or mystery-related:
 

Unthinkable by Richard Cibrano (2.75 stars)
Murder at Cambridge by Q. Patrick (4 stars)
Dead of a Counterplot by Simon Nash (4 stars)
The Water Room by Christopher Fowler (1 star)

Gently Go Man by Alan Hunter (1.5 stars)
Once Upon a Crime by M. D. Lake (3 stars)
Through a Glass, Darkly by Helen McCloy (4 stars)
Mystery & Crime: NYPL Book of Answers by Jay Pearsall (2.75 stars; NF)

We've got three books coming in with four stars this month: Murder at Cambridge by Q. Patrick; Dead of a Counterplot by Simon Nash; and Through a Glass Darkly by Helen Mccloy.  The Patrick and Nash books are both dear to my heart--I do love me an academic mystery and both of these fit the bill.  Cambridge is a good solid mystery plot with excellent characters and a nice peek at the 1930s university--full of wit and humor, dotty dons and an absent-minded Master.  Counterplot is the first novel in a series featuring Adam Ludlow as professor and amateur sleuth.  This outing has him coming to the rescue of one of his prize pupils--suspected of murdering a woman who wasn't above a spot of blackmail.  But the winner of October's P.O.M. award goes to

Helen McCloy's interesting tale involving doppelgangers and doubles is the perfect October treat.  Take a peak at my review (linked above) to learn more.