Monday, November 25, 2019

2020 Medical Examiner's Mystery Reading Challenge


Last year Rick at the Rick Mills Project plunged into challenge hosting for the first time offering up the Medical Examiner Mystery Reading Challenge as well as the Six Shooter Challenge. I, having no self-control when it comes to challenges--especially mystery-related challenges, signed up for both. He's got them both on deck for 2020 (as well as an all-new Mystery Bingo), so here I go again....For full details, check out the link above. Basically, just read mysteries and log the murder methods on his handy form. Compete for prizes!

Rick doesn't require a sign-up post, but in order to claim this one as complete on my own personal challenge tally sheet, I must submit at least 20 death certificate reports. With the number of mysteries I read per year, this shouldn't be too difficult.

1. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie (1/9/20) Deaths = 3 (two poisoned; one stabbed)
2. Have His Carcase by Dorothy L. Sayers (1/13/20) Deaths = one (stabbed/throat cut)
3. The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle (1/15/20) Deaths = 11 (five stabbed; three shot; two poisoned; one drowned)
4. Murder on the Waterfront by Michael Jahn (1/20/20) Deaths = one (stabbed)
5. The Plague Court Murders by Carter Dickson (1/26/20) Deaths = four (three shot; one burned to death)
6. The Nine Tailors by Dorothy L. Sayers (1/28/20) Deaths = two (one "other" --to reveal how would spoil the plot; one drowned)
7. The Death of a Joyce Scholar by Bartholomew Gill (1/31/20) Deaths = one (stabbed)
8. Information Received by E. R. Punshon (2/6/20) Deaths = 4 (three shot; one poisoned)
9. Spin Your Web, Lady! by Frances & Richard Lockridge (2/8/20) Deaths = 3 (two strangled; one shot)
10. Deep Lay the Dead by Frederick C. Davis (2/14/20) Deaths = 2 (one car "accident" and one shot)
11. Red Threads by Rex Stout (2/14/20) Deaths = one (hit on head)
12. Death in Kenya by M. M. Kaye (2/20/20) Deaths = 6 (two shot; two stabbed; one poisoned; one killed with axe)
13. The Crying Sisters by Mabel Seeley (2/23/20) Deaths = 6 (two poisoned; one hit on head; one stabbed; two shot)
14. Deep Waters: Murder on the Waves by Martin Edwards [ed] (2/24/20) Deaths = 16 (one other/natural; six drowned; two other [attacked by piranhas]; three poisoned; two strangled; one hit on head; one fell from height)
15. The Big Four by Agatha Christie (2/27/20) Deaths = 11 (two poisoned; two stabbed; one electrocuted; one run over by car; three blown up; one other [suicide])
16. The Mystery of the Blue Train by Agatha Christie (3/1/20) Deaths = 1 (strangled)
17. Good Luck to the Corpse by Max Murray (3/30/20) Deaths = 4 (one poisoned; two stabbed; one drowned)
18. Stand Up & Die by Frances & Richard Lockridge (3/31/20) Deaths = 3 (one stabbed; one poisoned; one drowned after car plunges into reservoir)
19. Curtain for a Jester by Frances & Richard Lockridge (4/3/20) Deaths = 3 (one stabbed; one shot; one fell from height)
20. The Grey Flannel Shroud by Henry Slesar (4/6/20) Deaths = 4 (one fire; one heart attack; two shot)
Commitment met! Still Reading
21. The Christening Day Murder by Lee Harris (4/7/20) Deaths = 1 (shot)
22. The Valentine's Day Murder by Lee Harris (4/10/20) Deaths = 3 (one shot; one drowned; one smothered)
23. The Passover Murder by lee Harris (4/12/20) Deaths = 1 (beaten to death)
24. The Ebony Bed Murder by Rufus Gilmore (4/18/20) Deaths = 3 (one shot; one pushed from height; one jumped from window)
25. Chinese Nightmare by Hugh Pentecost (4/18/20) Deaths = 5 (one poisoned; 4 shot; a whole slew of unnamed--and therefore, don't qualify--blown up)
26. Nobody's Perfect by Douglas Clark (4/20/20) Deaths = 1 (poisoned)
27. The New Year's Eve Murder by Lee Harris (4/25/20) Deaths = 1 (beaten with shovel)
28. The April Fool's Day Murder by Lee Harris (4/27/20) Deaths = 2 (one stabbed; one auto accident)
29. The Bar Mitzvah Murder by Lee Harris (4/30/20) Deaths = 1 (beaten to death)
30. Kept by D. J. Taylor (5/2/20) Deaths = 1 (hit on head)
31. Death After Evensong by Douglas Clark (5/4/20) Deaths = 2 (one shot; one poisoned)
32. The Dreadful Lemon Sky by John D. MacDonald (5/9/20) Deaths = 5 (one hit by truck; one by explosive; one hit with heavy bag; one strangled; one intense allergic reaction; one shot)
33. The Good Friday Murder by Lee Harris (5/17/20) Deaths = 3 (one stabbed; one heart attack--stress induced by murder attempt; one natural causes)
34. Deadly Pattern by Douglas Clark (5/18/20) Deaths = 5 (strangled)
35. Golden Rain by Douglas Clark (5/21/20) Deaths = 1 (poisoned)
36. The Longest Pleasure by Douglas Clark (5/22/20) Deaths = 2 (poisoned)
37. 4 Feet in the Grave by Amelia Reynolds Long (5/30/20) Deaths = 3 (shot)
38. The Gimmel Flask by Douglas Clark (6/3/20) Deaths = 1 (poisoned)
39. Thirteen Guests by J. Jefferson Farjeon (6/10/20) Deaths = 3 (one strangled; one poisoned; one accident--thrown from bicycle)
40. The Clocks by Agatha Christie (6/12/20) Deaths = 3 (two stabbed; one strangled)
41. The Seven Dials Mystery by Agatha Christie (6/14/20) Deaths = 2 (one poisoned; one shot)
42. The Colorado Kid by Stephen King (6/17/20) Deaths = 1 (asphyxia)
43. Death-Wish Green by Frances Crane (6/18/20) Deaths = 2 (fall from height and shot)
44. Murder in a Hurry by Frances & Richard Lockridge (6/22/20) Deaths = 2 (poisoned and strangled)
45. Partners in Crime by Agatha Christie (6/24/20) Deaths = 8 (two stabbed; one electrocuted; one hit on head; three poisoned; one heart failure)
46. Foul Deeds by Susan James (6/26/20) Deaths = 5 (one hanged; two stabbed; one smothered; one shot)
47. Blotto, Twinks & the Ex-King's Daughter by Simon Brett (7/1/20) Deaths = 2 (one poisoned; one stabbed)
48. The Mysterious Mr. Quin by Agatha Christie (7/6/20) Deaths = 9 (four shot; one poisoned; one drowned; one heart failure; one strangled; one fell from height)
49. Between the Thames & the Tiber by Ted Riccardi (7/20/20) Deaths = 7 (one poisoned; one hit on head; three shot; one electrocuted; one natural causes)
50. Murder at Melrose Court by Karen Baugh Menuhin (7/23/20) Deaths = 4 (one heart attack; two shot; one pushed from height)
51. Between the Devil & the Duke by Kelly Bowen (7/24/20) Deaths = 5 (one poisoned; one stabbed [throat slit]; three shot]
52. Murder in the Dog Days by P. M. Carlson (7/29/20) Deaths = one ("other" to be more specific would be to provide a spoiler as to how the locked room was done)
53. Death in Berlin by M. M. Kaye (7/31/20) Deaths = 4 (two stabbed; one drowned; one shot)
54. The Town Cried Murder by Leslie Ford (8/2/20) Deaths = 2 (shot)
55. The Arsenic Labyrinth by Martin Edwards (8/4/20) Deaths = 4 (two hit on head; one stabbed; one burned to death)
56. The Ampersand Papers by Michael Innes (8/8/20) Deaths = one (fell from height)
57. What Angels Fear by C. S. Harris (8/9/20) Deaths = two (stabbed/throat cut)
58. Scarweather by Anthony Rolls (8/11/20) Deaths = 3 (one hit on head; one poisoned; one shot) [Two more missing, presumed dead. But never confirmed and method not discussed.]
59. The Murder That Had Everything! by Hulbert Footner (8/13/20) Deaths = 4 (one shot; three hit on head)
60. Sweet Poison by Ellen Hart (8/15/20) Deaths = one (tasered to death)
61. Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie (8/17/20) Deaths = one (shot)
62. A Study in Scarlet Women by Sherry Thomas (8/19/20) Deaths = 4 (three poisoned; one natural causes)
63. Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie (8/25/20) Deaths = 5 (four shot; one stabbed)
64. The ABC Murders by Agatha Christie (8/25/20) Deaths = 4 (two hit on head; one strangled; one stabbed)
65. The Christie Curse by Victoria Abbott (8/26/20) Deaths = one run over by subway
66. When Gods Die by C. S. Harris (8/27/20) Deaths = 10 (two poisoned; one fell from height; four stabbed; two drowned; one hit on head)
67. A Client Is Cancelled by Frances & Richard Lockridge (8/29/20) Deaths = 2 shot
68. Death Rides a Sorrel Horse by A. B. Cunninghham (8/31/20) Deaths = one hit on head
69. Something the Cat Dragged In by Charlotte MacLeod (9/4/20) Deaths = 2 (one hit on head; one strangled)
70. Out of Control by Baynard Kendrick (9/12/20) Deaths = 3 (car accidents)
71. Into the Valley by Evelyn Hervey [H.R.F. Keating] (9/13/0) Deaths = 2 (shot)
72. Bound to Murder by Dorsey Fiske (9/16/20) Deaths = 2 (one stabbed; one fell from height)
73. The Mystery of the Skeleton Key by Bernard Capes (10/2/20) Deaths = 2 (one shot; one natural causes)
74. The Revenge of the Wizard's Ghost by John Bellairs (10/3/20) Deaths = one hanged
75. Shadow on the Wall by H. C. Bailey (10/13/20) Deaths = 7 (two shot; one airplane crash; one fell from height; two poisoned; one stabbed)
76. Murder on the Eiffel Tower by Claude Izner (10/14/20) Deaths = 6 (five poisoned; one stabbed)
77. Death of a Warrior Queen by S. T. Haymon (10/24/20) Deaths = 5 (2 car wreck; 1 natural; 1 stabbed; 1 hit)
78. Why Mermaids Sing by C. S. Harris (10/26/20) Deaths = 15 (seven stabbed; one hit by sailing vessel; two drowned; two hit on head; one fell from height; one alcohol poisoning; one natural causes)
79. Foot in the Grave by E. X. Ferrars (10/28/20) Deaths= 1 (hit with hammer)
80. The Disappearance at Pere-Lachaise (11/2/20) Deaths = 6 (three hit on head; one fell from height; one stabbed; one natural causes)
81. Look Your Last by John Stephen Strange (11/6/20) Deaths= 4 (two hit on head; one shot; one overdose)
82. The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman (11/10/20) Deaths = 9 (one hit on head; three poisoned; one hung; three shot; one stabbed)
83. Where Serpents Sleep by C. S. Harris (11/11/20) Deaths = 16 (four shot; seven broken neck; four stabbed; one poisoned/suicide)
84. If the Shroud Fits by Kelley Roos (11/13/20) Deaths = 2 (one stabbed; one strangled)
85. Peril at End House by Agatha Christie (11/19/20) Deaths = 1 (shot)
86. By Hook or by Crook by Anthony Gilbert (11/21/20) Deaths = 4 (3 poisoned; one hanged)
87. The Shadowy Third by Marco Page (11/22/20) Deaths = 2 (stabbed)
88. The Whispering Death by Roy Vickers (11/23/20) Deaths = 3 (two poisoned; one shot)
89. A Halo for Nobody by Henry Kane (11/26/20) Deaths = 9 (eight shot; one fell from height)
90. Mortmain Hall by Martin Edwards (11/28/20) Deaths = 12 (one run over by train; one drowned; two strangled; one beaten; one natural; one shot; one stabbed; two fell from height; one house collapsed on; one poisoned)
91. The Sittaford Mystery by Agatha Christie (11/29/20) Deaths = 1 (hit on head)
92. Miss Marple: The Complete Short Stories by Agatha Christie (12/3/20) Deaths= 21 (five poisoned; six natural; two stabbed; two hit on head; two drowned; one fell from height; two hanged/strangled; one shot)
93. Mrs. Jeffires & the Feast of St. Stephen by Emily Brightwell (12/4/20) Deaths = 5 (poisoned)
94. The Sirens Sang of Murder by Sarah Caudwell (12/10/20) Deaths = 2 (one drowned; one fell from height)
95. The Revenge of the Hound by Michael Hardwick (12/12/20) Deaths = 3 (one stabbed; two clawed/mauled to death)
96. The Dragon Murder Case by S. S. Van Dine (12/16/20) Deaths = 4 (two strangled; one crushed by rock; one natural)
97. What Remains of Heaven by C. S. Harris (12/17/20) Deaths = 4 (one hit on head; two stabbed; one died in fire)
98. Thirteen at Dinner by Agatha Christie (12/18/20) Deaths = 3 (two stabbed; one poisoned)
99. The Hound of Death by Agatha Christie (12/20/20) Deaths = 14 (two drowned; one struck by lightning; two shot; one strangled; five natural; one poisoned; one hit w/crowbar; one hit by subway train)
100. Where Shadows Dance by C. S. Harris (12/21/20) Deaths = 12 (seven stabbed; two shot; one hit on head; two strangled)
101.


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