I thought that as we’re approaching the end of the year, I would do something a little different with this posting and take a run through my favourite crime/mystery reads of the last twelve months.

I realised when I sat down to write this that I probably can’t remember all the crime books I’ve read this year. That’s probably got more to do with the state of my memory than the quality of the books I’ve read, but I think, all the same, I’ve managed to recall the majority of them. So, here we go...


Ian Rankin, ‘Let it Bleed’

Fabulous. First Rebus that I've read in many years and so glad I did. The storyline does the business, the settings are seriously well done and then there is Rebus himself, a beautifully rounded character with sufficient depth and complexity to draw you in and keep you there. And to back up the main character, there is a wide supporting cast of impressively well developed individuals.

Yep, I loved this one and I'm already turning to the book shelves to see what other Rebus stories are waiting there.


Jeff Lindsay, ‘Dexter in the Dark’

I have to admit, I’d never heard of Dexter until I stumbled upon this book in a charity shop. Don’t really know what it was about the book, but something appealed to me!

If you know Dexter then you will be well aware that he is not exactly a run-of-the-mill good guy. Indeed, some of the things he gets up to are very gory and a long, long way from acceptable public behaviour. But this other side to the character is precisely what makes him so appealing. And as for his side-lick, well, they don’t come a lot more unusual than the one Dexter has.

I’m not rushing off to buy another one of the books in this series but there again I wouldn’t complain if Santa delivered one on Christmas Day either.


If you want to find out what else I’ve read this year, then read on here http://www.benwesterham.com/a-writers....

Get a free copy of the novel ‘Good Investigations’ here http://www.benwesterham.com/.
Crime fiction with attitude and humour from 1980s London.