September Wrap-Up and 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 fell behind on my Goodreads goal--two books behind to be precise--and I still haven't been able to make up the lost ground. My page numbers are up, but I really need to forge ahead if I'm going to meet that 191 mark. Here's the run-down:

Total Books Read: 16
Total Pages: 4145
Average Rating: 3.61 stars  
Top Rating: 5 stars 
Percentage by Female Authors: 69%
Percentage by US Authors: 63%
Percentage by non-US/non-British Authors: 13%
Percentage Mystery: 88% 
Percentage Fiction: 100%
Percentage written 2000+: 25%
Percentage of Rereads: 13%
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: 29 (64%)


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. September was a mystery-fest with fourteen of the books I read counting as mysteries. And, I suppose if I wanted to stretch a point, we could even count The Scarlet Pimpernel as a mystery of sorts...since we're all wondering who that elusive Pimpernel is. But here are the authentic contenders

Vertigo 42 by Martha Grimes (4 stars)
Death in a White Tie by Ngaio Marsh (4.5 stars)
The Unfinished Crime by Elisabeth Sanxay Holding (3.75 stars) 
Wednesday the Rabbi Got Wet by Harry Kemelman (2 stars)
Red Cent by Robert Campbell (3 stars)
Ten Little Indians by Agatha Christie (5 stars)
The Sittaford Mystery by Agatha Christie (3 stars)
The Herb of Death & Other Stories by Agatha Christie (4 stars)
Death Takes a Sabbatical by Robert Bernard (3 stars)
The Edison Effect by Bernadette Pajer (4 stars)
The Footprints on the Ceiling by Clayton Rawson (3.5 stars)
Two for Sorrow by Nicola Upson (3 stars)
A Death for a Dancer by E. X. Giroux (3 stars)
Bleeding Maize & Blue by Susan Holtzer (4 stars)

September is a difficult month for this P.O.M. Award judge. My top two contenders--Ten Little Indians (with 5 stars) and Death in a White Tie (with 4.5 stars) are both rereads. And my policy has been to not to hand out awards for rereads. Next in line are the 4 star winners--Vertigo 42, The Herb of Death & Other Stories, The Edison Effect and Bleeding Maize & Blue--all highly entertaining and deserving. Again, I'm stumped because I also try to highlight different authors and all of these ladies of mystery have been featured as a Pick of the Month before. So....not wanting to dip below the 4 star mark....This month's P.O.M. Award goes to.....
 

The Queen of Crime herself, Agatha Christie, and Ten Little Indians. I couldn't possibly tell you how many times I've read this puzzler by the mistress of the fiendish plot. And watched the film adaptations. And, now, for this year's version--listed to the audionovel read by Norman Barrs. No matter how often I repeat my visit to Indian Island (my preferred version) I am always delighted. It doesn't matter that I know the solution. That, I think, is the mark of a true P.O.M. Award Winner.