An uneven month of reading to round out the year: a couple of high hopes that fell flat, but also a couple of little gems that were a delight, and some dark, Scottish fiction perfect for the long winter nights.

Benbecula – Graeme Macrae Burnett ****
Crow Moon – Suzy Aspley *****
Quantum of Menace – Vaseem Khan ***
The Outsider – Stephen King ***
Little Miss Marple: Muddle at the Vicarage – Adam Hargreaves *****
Mr. Poirot: Mischief on the Nile – Adam Hargreaves *****
Sleeping Dog – Dick Lochte ****
Under the Hammer – Fiona Watson **

Short reviews available on Goodreads and Storygraph