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Amazingly, we are already almost halfway through 2018 - so what have been your favourite reads in the last six months, both mystery and non-mystery?

Answering my own question, there hasn't been one single mystery which has really stood out for me so far, but I've enjoyed Vintage Murder out of our challenge books.

I have also enjoyed finishing Josephine Tey's mysteries, though I'm rather sad she didn't live long enough to write more of them. I've read four of hers this year, and am not sure which one was my favourite.

My non-mystery favourites included A Handful of Dust by Evelyn Waugh (a reread) and The Collected Novellas of Stefan Zweig.

Some reading highlights so far:
A Far Cry from Kensington by Muriel Spark
Bookworm by Lucy Mangan
Greeks Bearing Gifts by the much mourned Philip Kerr
Ma'am Darling by Craig Brown

Greatest disappointment - Enemies Within by Richard Davenport-Hines...

My best reads so far include ;- Mysteries The Dry by Jane Harper Which I thought was a really good debut novel
The Allingham books
The Fire Child by S.K. Tremayne
Non mysteries :-
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer
The Dancing Bear byFrances Faviell
Dominion by C.J. Sansom

Jill wrote: "My best reads so far include ;- Mysteries The Dry by Jane Harper Which I thought was a really good debut novel
The Allingham books
The Fire Child by ..."

I agree with you, Jill, about The Dry The story keeps replaying in my mind, and it was one of the standout debut novels for me.
I'm nearly finished her next Aaron Falk mystery, Force of Nature and it is shaping up well too.

The only mystery that has stood out for me was a reread of my all time favourite And Then There Were None The Mystery of a Hansom Cab was an important read for understanding the development of the murder mystery, but I could only rate 3.5��

My other fiction 5�� reads that weren't rereads were The Husband's Secret Maybe it wasn't quite a 5�� read, but I just couldn't stop turning those pages! & I have just finished The House of Mirth which was totally amazing!

Best mysteries so far were A Question of Proof by Nicholas Blake for GA and Uniform Justice by Donna Leon for modern. I've also enjoyed our Allingham buddy reads.

Other fiction - the big surprise for me was Moby-Dick; or, The Whale and I also loved two by Graham Greene, The Human Factor and The Quiet American. Muriel Spark is also becoming a favourite.

Not so great on the non-fiction so far, but I think the best has been Guilty Thing: A Life of Thomas De Quincey, closely followed by Hearts And Minds: The Untold Story of the Great Pilgrimage and How Women Won the Vote

Carol, I love The House of Mirth - there is also a good film starring Gillian Anderson. I must reread it!

Pamela, I also really liked Hearts and Minds, and I'm a fan of Graham Greene in general.

I also enjoyed The Human Factor and Muriel Spark has been a new find, of an old author, for me.

Judy wrote: "Carol, I love The House of Mirth - there is also a good film starring Gillian Anderson. I must reread it!
"

For me, the film didn't altogether work. It would have been different if I had read the book first I think.

If we are discussing disappointments Murder Must Advertisewas a severe one - even though I gave it 4��. So many people told me it was one of her best. Not for me.

But the worst were the overhyped IQ, The Essex Serpent & The Last Hours

The Word Is Murder stands out for me.

My 5�� new reads so far this year have been Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, The Little World of Don Camillo, and The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914. In The Shadow of 10,000 Hills is officially at 5��, but really, it's more like 4 1/2, mainly because I dislike one of the main characters, Rachel.

For re-reads, I have a couple of 5�� mysteries, all by Agatha Christie: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, And Then There Were None, and Ordeal by Innocence. Miss Buncle's Book is another 5�� reread.

I loved Joyce Hemlow's biography of Fanny Burney ( not the most recent and not trying to dis Claire Harman's, but the Hemlow one paints vivid word pictures and really brings the people alive).

Not sure if it's 5 stars, but am loving Robert MacFarlane's Landmarks, a real word orgy for those who love vocabulary.

In light reading, I found little to fault in Abbi Waxman's novel The Garden of Small Beginnings. It's about a widow with two young children who is struggling to move on with her life. Very funny on the surface with a river of sadness running underneath.

Sadly, I haven't found anything to adore yet this year in historical mysteries.

Doris, I loved Don Camillo as a child. I must re-read those - thank you for reminding me :)