October Wrap-Up and POM 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. It may be tough to meet that 191 mark this year. Here's the run-down:

Total Books Read: 16
Total Pages: 3400
Average Rating: 2.83 stars  
Top Rating: 4 stars 
Percentage by Female Authors: 31%
Percentage by US Authors: 38%
Percentage by non-US/non-British Authors: 13%
Percentage Mystery: 100% 
Percentage Fiction: 100%
Percentage written 2000+: 13%
Percentage of Rereads: 0%
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: 34 (76%)


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. October, most appropriately was a very mysterious month--all 16 books read were mysteries. 

Blood on the Stars by Brett Halliday (3.5 stars)
The Witch's Grave by Philip DePoy (1 star)
Death by Hitchcock by Elissa D. Grodin (2.5 stars)
Lament for a Maker by Michael Innes (3 stars)
The Labors of Hercules by Agatha Christie (4 stars)
Death on Allhallowe'en by Leo Bruce (3.5 stars)
Only a Matter of Time by V. C. Clinton-Baddeley (2.5 stars)
Murder on Mike by H. Paul Jeffers (3.5 stars)
Appleby's Answer by Michael Innes (3 stars)
The Haunted Lady by Mary Roberts Rinehart (4 stars)
Too Many Doctors by Holly Roth (2 stars)
Madman's Bend by Arthur W. Upfield (3 stars)
Roast Eggs by Douglas Clark (3.75 stars)
Nor Live So Long by Sara Woods (3 stars)
Head of a Traveller by Nicholas Blake (2 stars(
The Mind-Murders by Janwillem van de Wetering (1 star)

Unfortunately, it was not a month for outstanding mysterious reads.  In fact, there were a couple of real stinkers. There were no five-star winners and only two were awarded four stars. Both Christie's excellent short story collection The Labours of Hercules and Mary Roberts Rinehart's (The) Haunted Lady ran off with top honors. However, Christie snatched up a P.O.M. awarded in September, so that means our October Pick of the Month is 

Rinehart is an expert at atmosphere--the Fairbanks house is creepy at night and the inhabitants are all a bit eccentric (to put it mildly). And she ties up her murder mystery quite tidily--although I'm a bit unsure about the culprit. Not because I don't believe in the motivation, but I'm not sure that I see how they could have done it. But overall, an excellent read and an excellent example of Rinehart's style of mystery.