February Wrap-Up and P.O.M. Award

I'm ready for another year of tracking reading progress and statistics for all things bookish on the Block. I will also be contributing to Kerrie's Crime Fiction Pick of the Month. So, here we go--let's take a look at February....

Total Books Read: 13
Total Pages: 2714 Average Rating: 3.02 stars  
Top Rating: 4 stars 
Percentage by Female Authors: 46%
Percentage by US Authors: 77%
Percentage by non-US/non-British Authors:  0%
Percentage Mystery:  54% 
Percentage Fiction: 85%
Percentage written 2000+: 15%
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: 2 (5%)


AND, as mentioned above, Kerrie had us all set up for another year of Crime Fiction Favorites. What she was looking for is our Top Mystery Read for each month. February was a mixed bag with just over half in the mystery field. Here are the books read:
One Touch of Blood by Samm Sinclair Baker (3.25 stars)
Death Over Deep Water by Simon Nash (3 stars)
Caught Dead in Philadelphia by Gillian Roberts (4 stars)
13 Steps Down by Ruth Rendell (3 stars)
A Stitch in Time by Emma Lathen (3 stars)
Panic by Helen McCloy (4 stars)
The Secret of Magnolia Manor by Helen Wells (3 stars)
The World's Best 100 Detective Stories Vol. 1 by Eugene Thwing, ed (4 stars)

This month three books earned four stars out of five: Caught Dead in Philadelphia the debut book for Gillian Roberts, Panic by Helen McCloy, and The World's Best 100 Detective Stories Vol. 1 edited by Eugene Thwing. McCloy consistently entertains with her novels--but I have already awarded her with a coveted P.O.M. Award. The short stories in the collection put together by Thwing were also entertaining, but they have aged and some of the writing leaves a little bit to be desired. So...I'm going to agree with the Anthony Awards and give my P.O.M. Award to Caught Dead in Philadelphia by Roberts. 

This is an excellent debut indeed. It caught my eye because of its cozy academic spin and it kept me reading because it's a nicely done, fast-paced read. Amanda Pepper is a feisty protagonist who still has quite reasonable fears and wobbly legs when confronted with murder. I enjoy her interactions with C. K. Mackenzie (and her efforts to learn his disguised first name) and I look forward to continuing the series to see how their relationship develops.