Dagger in the Library

I am on the panel of judges for the Dagger in the Library again this year.

This involves reading the  nominated novels of crime writers put forward  by people in libraries.

It is interesting in the same way that reviewing books is interesting because you are reading books which are nominated by someone else.  In the Dagger books they are put forwards by people who think that they deserve to win the prize, and sometimes the authors put forwards you think are good and other times you think 'why did they nominate this person?'

B being in Pembrokeshire in the week is giving me more reading time because I go to bed to  read at night instead of chatting so I am getting through a few books.   Some of the authors have been nominated in previous years so I have already read one or more books by them which is helpful.  The award is for a body of work, not a particular title so it helps to have read a few books by each author.

At the moment I am reading Raven Black by Ann Cleeves, which is the second book in a row which is set on Shetland.  Shetland isn't a very large island, and I'm sure has a lower than average crime rate, so it is a bit bizarre to be on  my second murder novel set on the same island.