As I write this post, it is Friday afternoon, December 30. I've just finished reading the 7th book for this month, and although there is still one more day left in the month, it is unlikely that I can finish an eighth book before the month comes to an end. Therefore, I'll write the post now and have it ready for tomorrow.
If it should happen that I'm able to finish another in the time remaining I will edit this post.
Unlike some other months, I haven't posted many reviews in December for the books I've read immediately following my having read them. I did, however manage to write something about A.J. Cronin as well as one book by Toshikazu Kawaguchi.
I can't say enough about how much I admire the work of Dr.Cronin. His Hatter's Castle is one of the best books I've read this year. More of his novels will be going into the queue for 2023.
As I wrote in an earlier post, I enjoyed reading all three books in Kawaguchi's Café series, and I recommend the trilogy, although I'm looking forward to the day when Kawaguchi spreads out and writes a novel that is not part of the same series.
For the 4th book of December, I switched from fiction to non-fiction, reading Anna Reid's Leningrad : The Epic Siege of World War II.
I don't recall exactly how I discovered Seishi Yokomizo. Yokomizo was a popular Japanese mystery novelist during the immediate post WWII period. His mystery novels have only recently been translated into English. The first in 2019. So far, five of his mystery novels have been translated into English although #5 won't be available until sometime in 2023. I have read the first two - the third and fourth will be the first two I'll read in January.
The final book finished this month (and this year as well) is a mystery novel mentioned by Seishi Yokomizo in The Honjin Murders - The Red House Mystery by A.A.Milne.
Milne is best remembered as the creator of Winnie - the - Pooh. The Red House Mystery is his only mystery novel. He mentions in his dedication of the novel to his father that the elder Milne was a great fan of detective and mystery novels and the younger Milne wrote this novel especially for his father. I, for one, wish that Milne had written more in the genre. I enjoyed reading The Red House Mystery and would liked to have seen the amateur detective, Anthony Gillingham team up with his friend Bill Beverly in more novels.
So, now - here is the list of the books I read in December, 2022. I can recommend all seven.
The Stars Look Down by A.J. Cronin
Before Your Memory Fades by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
Hatter's Castle by A.J. Cronin
Leningrad The Epic Siege of World War II by Anna Reid
The Honjin Murders by Seishi Yokomizo
Death on Gokumon Island by Seishi Yokomizo
The Red House Mystery by A. A. Milne
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