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

Once again in 2014 I will be combining my monthly wrap-up post with Kerrie's Crime Fiction Pick of the Month over at Mysteries in Paradise.  I'm pretty pleased with my year so far...Goodreads says I'm five books ahead of schedule.  Let's keep it that way.  Here are the stats:


Total Books Read: 16
Total Pages: 4370
Average Rating: 3 stars
Top Rating: 5 stars 
Percentage by Female Authors: 44%
Percentage by US Authors: 69%
Percentage by non-US/non-British Authors: 1%
Percentage Mystery: 63%
Percentage Fiction: 88%
Percentage written 2000+: 50%
Percentage of Rereads: 1%
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: 7 (18%)




AND, as mentioned above, Kerrie has started us up for another of Crime Fiction Favorites. What she's looking for is our Top Mystery Read for each month. In March, I read ten books that may count as mysteries and only handed out one five-star rating.  That makes awarding the P.O.M. very easy....


The Darker the Night by Herbert Brean (3.5 stars)

Murder in the Vatican by Ann Margaret Lewis (4 stars)
The Poisoned Island by Lloyd Shepherd (4 stars)
Vicious Circle by Douglas Clark (3.75 stars)
Endless Night by Agatha Christie (2 stars)
India Black & the Gentleman Thief by Carol K. Carr (5 stars)
A Tale of Two Biddies by Kylie Logan (3 stars
The League of Frightened Men by Rex Stout ( 4 stars)
Tut, Tut! Mr. Tutt by Arthur Train (3.5 stars)
The Clue of the Leather Noose by Donald Bayne Hobart (2.75 stars)

As you can see...this month's P.O.M. award goes to my favorite Madam of Mystery India Black and the Gentleman Thief.   

This is a whirlwind of a book. The story moves at full throttle and keeps the reader on the edge of her seat waiting to see what will happen next--whether it's the next step in the mystery plot or where the relationship between India and French is headed or what India plans to do about the hereditary information she gets from the Marchioness. There is a lot going on and Carol K. Carr handles it all superbly. The India Black series is wonderful and just keeps getting better. If you love a good adventure mystery set in Victorian times with a bit of romance for flavor and haven't started reading these yet, then what's keeping you