December was a quieter reading month for me as I only finished 11 books (down on the record 19 of the previous month). Here are my five favourite, in no particular order. Click on the book title to read my review.
The Last Train by Michael Pronko
The author has been patiently waiting for my review of his book for several months and now I have read it, I’m sorry it took me so long to get around to it. Set in Tokyo, it had a great plot, authentic locations and an interesting central character, Detective Hiroshi. Recommended for crime thriller fans.
Corpus (Tom Wilde #1) by Rory Clements
I’ve loved Rory Clements’ John Shakespeare series of historical mysteries set in Elizabethan England. His new series is set in the 1930s but there are echoes of the Tudor period with plenty of plots, intrigue and competing political factions. Corpus was a great, action-packed read and a promising start to a new series. I’ll be reading the next book, Nucleus, shortly.
Fortune’s Wheel (Meonbridge Chronicles #1) by Carolyn Hughes
Another author who’s been waiting a while for a review of her book and, once again, a book I wished I’d got to earlier. Set in a small Hampshire village in the aftermath of the Black Death, it had a great cast of characters, an interesting mystery at its heart and a wealth of very believable detail about everyday life in that period.
The Twelve-Mile Straight by Eleanor Henderson
With echoes of To Kill A Mockingbird in its depiction of racial prejudice, this was a powerful story about poverty, family secrets and the misuse of power in a small rural community.
The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck
This was another powerful story, this time about the struggles of a Chinese family to eke out a living from the land. Written in 1931, the author was the daughter of American missionaries and spent the first half of her life in China. The book was my Classics Club spin for December.
What were your favourite reads last month?
What Cathy Read Next... 