Death by Gaslight Challenge

1 January 2012 - 31 December 2012

Oh, dear. I found another one. It's not my fault. Really. Neer at A Hot Cup of Pleasure made me do it, honest. Okay. I'll fess up. She merely posted on her blog about it and I saw it and ran right over to Jenn's place at Simply...Challenging and gave in to temptation. (Like I ever put up much of a fight when it comes to challenges.)

For the Death by Gaslight Reading Challenge, the goal is to read mysteries set in or written during the Victorian and Edwardian eras (1837 - 1910). I'll probably be reading mostly mysteries set in England (since those are the ones I'm most interested in), but any location is acceptable, as long as the time frame fits. No more than 3 titles can be from the same series (except for the first of her special challenges).

There are 4 levels to choose from:
1. The Merry Widow of Windy Nook: 5 books
2. Palmer the Poisoner: 10 books
3. Burke and Hare, Body Snatchers: 15 books
4. Jack the Ripper: 20+ books

There are also some special bonus challenges and a full set of rules to check out. Go do that (click above) and join me in my Challenge Madness. The padded cells are quite nice and they treat one really well here.

So...down the to nitty-gritty. I think I'm up for Level #3 Burke and Hare, Body Snatchers. I can manage some of those with cross-overs, so I'm not adding too many to my growing 2012 TBR stack. Oh. I forgot to mention. I'll also be doing a bonus challenge: The Great Detective: Read 5 (or more) books featuring Sherlock Holmes, at least one of which must be an original story by Arthur Conan Doyle. That's not too much. Right? Right.

Here's my plan so far:

Burke and Hare, Body Snatchers:
1. The Mystery of the Yellow Room by Gaston Leroux (1907/French; 1908/English) [3/19/12]
2. The Man in Lower Ten by Mary Roberts Rinehart (1909) [5/16/12]
3. File No. 113 by Emile Gaboriau (1867) [7/11/12]
4. The House of a Thousand Candles by Meredith Nicholson (1906) [6/17/12] 
5. The Necropolis Railway by Andrew Martin (set in1903) [9/7/12]
6. Mrs. Jeffries Stands Corrected by Emily Brightwell (Victorian series) [8/19/12]
7. A Spark of Death by Bernadette Pajer (1901 Seattle) [2/19/12]
8. Death's Pale Horse by James Sherburne (Saratoga, 1890s) [8/27/12]
9. The Fleet Street Murders by Charles Finch (England, 1866) [9/1/12]
10. The Dead Witness: A Connoisseur's Collection of Victorian Detective Stories by Michael Sims (ed & intro) [5/12/12]
11. Fatal Induction by Bernadette Pajer (1901 Seattle) [7/4/12] 
12. Murder at the Portland Variety by M. J. Zellnik (1890s Portland, OR) [7/29/12] 
13. Some Danger Involved by Will Thomas (set in Victorian London) [10/27/12]
14. The Somnambulist by Jonathan Barnes (set in Victorian England) [9/16/12]
15. The Penguin Book of Victorian Women in Crime by Michael Sims (ed) [Victorian mystery short stories] (11/5/12)

16. Ashworth Hall by Anne Perry (Charlotte & Thomas Pitt series)
17. Murder, Mrs. Hudson by Sydney Hoiser (featuring the Great Detective's housekeeper)

Burke & Hare Completed 11/5/12


The Great Detective:

1. The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The Whitechapel Horrors by Edward B. Hanna (4/8/12)
2. The Adventure of the Ectoplasmic Man by Daniel Stashower (10/16/12)
3. Sherlock Holmes & the Treasure Train by Frank Thomas (10/6/12)
4. The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (2/5/12)

5. The Final Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (10/21/12)



Holmes portion finished on 10/21/12.