What I read in December 2013

A few less books this month, but some real quality nevertheless, including 5 Australian authors..

1. 4.7, THE RAVEN'S EYE, Barry Maitland - Aussie author
2. 4.5, NO PLACE LIKE HOME, Caroline Overington  - Aussie author
3. 4.3, WICKED DESIGN, Brian Kavanagh  - Aussie author
4. 4.7, FULL DARK HOUSE, Christopher Fowler   - audio book
5. 4.3, AT BERTRAM'S HOTEL, Agatha Christie
6. 4.3, SHADOW OF THE SERPENT, David Ashton  - Kindle
7. 4.7, POLICE, Jo Nesbo  - library book, translated
8. 4.7, THE MIDNIGHT DRESS, Karen Foxlee  - Australian author,Kindle
9. 4.2, THE RIDERS, Tim Winton - Australian author, not crime fiction 

My pick of the month is THE RAVEN'S EYE by Barry Maitland
although you'll have noticed there are several with a rating of 4.7.

Synopsis (author site)

First published : 2013 Allen & Unwin, Australia; 2013 St Martin’s Press / Minotaur

A woman dies in her sleep in a houseboat on the Thames; the apparent cause of death, an unflued gas heater. It all seems straightforward, but DI Kathy Kolla isn't convinced.

Unfortunately both Kathy and DCI Brock are up against an aggressive new Commander who seems to have a different agenda, opposing their investigation in favour of emerging technologies over the traditional policing methods. Coppers like Brock and Kolla who have reservations are being squeezed out.

To make matters worse, there's a new Task Force moving in on their patch, and a brutal killer, Butcher Jack Bragg, to be tracked down and caught. It's one of Brock and Kolla's bloodiest investigations yet.
In this heart-thumping new novel Brock and Kolla are under pressure; it's a clash between the menacing ever-present eye of computer surveillance versus the explosive threat of a man with a meat cleaver and a grudge.

The Raven's Eye is published in Australia by Allen and Unwin, http://www.allenandunwin.com, and in the USA by St Martin's Press / Minotaur, http://us.macmillan.com/minotaur.aspx.