My February 2020 Reading Challenge Update

I finished my final book of February last night. I'll provide my review of it then get into my Reading summary for the month / year.

Just Finished

1. Mystery Mile by Margery Allingham (Albert Campion #2).

"Mystery Mile is the 2nd Albert Campion mystery by Margery Allingham. I've read a few others in this series, not particularly following them sequentially. Although now that I have the next few books, I will try to do so. Campion brings to mind Dorothy Sayer's Lord Peter Wimsey, although Campion's past seems more mysterious than that of Wimsey. There are secrets in his life that I hope will come out more and more, but we'll see.

In this story, decides to help a retired American judge and his two adult children. They have left America to get away from a mysterious gang of criminals, lead by one Simister (a faceless unknown gang leader). The Judge, Crowdy Lobbett, has been trying to break the gang for years and appears to know something about the identity of Simister. The gang previously had been trying to scare Lobbett into giving up the investigation but now appear to want him snuffed out. Unfortunately their efforts so far have resulted in the deaths of others. Campion is brought into the case when an attempt is made on the Judge on board the cruise ship they on which they are traveling to England.

Campion takes the family to Mystery Mile, an isolated coastal town in Suffolk. They will stay at the Manor House, owned by friends of Campion, the Paget twins, Giles and Biddy, a young lady for whom Campion seems to have strong feelings. Campion hopes that the location will make it easier to detect strangers who might belong to the gang. An incident occurs immediately with the suicide of family friend, the local vicar, St Smithins. After this the plot progresses quickly, with further incidents occurring (I'll let you discover those as I don't want to ruin the story). Suffice it to say that there is a steady threat, sufficient action and intrigue to satisfy you.

The characters in the story are all interesting and sympathetic and there are enough quirky characters to enhance the colour and tone of the story. All very interesting and well-crafted, succeeding to draw you into the story and to feel invested in the safety and lives of the main characters. Campion is an excellent series and I look forward to reading the other books in the series. (4 stars)"

Now on to my Reading Summary

February 2020

General Info            Feb                  Total (Including my current read)
Books Read -            13                       21
Pages Read -            3900                  5920 (Avg per book - 280)

Pages Breakdown
    < 250                       4                        9       
250 - 350                     4                        7
351 - 450                     5                        5
   > 450                           

Ratings
5 - star                         3                        3
4 - star                         5                        8
3 - star                         5                      10
2 - star                           

Gender
Female                         8                     12
Male                            5                       9

Genres
Horror                                                  1
Fiction                         2                      4
Mystery                     10                    14
SciFi                            1                      1
Non-Fic                       
Classics                                        
Young Adult                                        1

Top 3 Books

1. Wall of Eyes by Margaret Millar (5 stars)
2. Barney's Version by Mordecai Richler (5 stars)
3. The Well of Lost Plots by Jasper Fforde (5 stars)

Challenges

12 + 4 (Finish off Some Series) (completed 3)
1. The Death of Kings by Rennie Airth (3.5 stars)
2. Stopover: Tokyo by John P. Marquand (3.5 stars)

Individual Challenge - First Book in Series (completed 3)
1. The Bishop's Wife by Mette Ivie Harrison (3 stars)

Individual Challenge - Next Book in Series (completed 6)
1. 4th of July by James Patterson (4 stars)
2. Agatha Raisin and the Murderous Marriage by M.C. Beaton (4 stars)
3. The Well of Lost Plots by Jasper Fforde (5 stars)
4. Mystery Mile by Margery Allingham (4 stars)

Individual Challenge - Non Series (completed 4)
1. The Rehearsal by Eleanor Catton (3.5 stars)

Monthly Challenge - January (CanCon) (completed 1)
1. Barney's Version by Mordecai Richler (5 stars)

Monthly Challenge - February (Margaret Millar) (completed 4)
1. Wall of Eyes (5 stars)
2. Taste of Fears (4.5 stars)
3. The Fiend (4 stars)
4. Beyond This Point are Monsters (3.5 stars)

Currently Reading

1. Summertime All The Cats Are Bored by Philippe Georget (Inspector Sebag #1) (12 + 4 Challenge)
2. The Forgotten Legion by Ben Kane (Forgotten Chronicles #1) (First Book in Series Challenge)
3. The Silent World of Nicholas Quinn by Colin Dexter (Inspector Morse #3) (Next Book in Series Challenge)
4. The Meaning of Night by Michael Cox (Non Series Challenge)
5. Death to the French by C.S. Forester (March Focus Challenge - C.S. Forester)

Next In Line (Possibles)

1. 12 + 4 Challenge - The Winter Thief by Jenny White (Kamil Pasha #3)
2. First in Series - The Tomb of Zeus by Barbara Cleverly (Laetitia Talbot #1)
3. Next in Series - T is for Trespass by Sue Grafton (Kinsey Milhone #20)
4. Non-Series - The Girls in 3-B by Valerie Taylor
5. March Challenge - The Captain from Connecticut by C.S. Forester

So there you go. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!