While my beta readers ripped one book to shreds and I left another to stew away quietly, I took a break!

It was so nice to catch up with friends and family as we’d been separated from them for months. We relaxed, read books, ate, swam at the beach (it’s our summer here in Aotearoa New Zealand!), sampled a few wineries, ate some more, went on bush walks and garden walks and dog walks, picked up hay bales (manual labour on my holiday, outrageous!), celebrated my siblings’ birthdays, and a bunch else.

But, as we’re all readers here, let’s talk about the books I read over the break. I usually tend to jump around in my reading – historical fantasy to scifi thriller, contemporary humour to YA adventure, graphic novel to romcom – but as you might have noticed, these three below are all rather cosy, English, murder mysteries:

• The Christmas Murder Game by Alexandra Benedict
• The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
• A Quiet Life in the Country by T E Kinsey

They were great fun – and I would recommend each of them! – but I think I’m ready for something completely different for my next read. Have you tried any of these? Drop me a message and let me know – I’d love to hear!

If you’re interested to see what else I’ve been reading, or to add my books to your reading list, head over to my Goodreads profile.