The Mystery at Lilac Inn

 The Mystery at Lilac Inn (1930) by Carolyn Keene [original text edition)

Nancy is returning from a trip to deliver important papers for her father and stops for lunch at Lilac Inn. There she runs into an old schoolmate, Emily Crandall, and they lunch together. Emily has never been as well-to-do as Nancy, but the girl is excited because next weekend is her eighteenth birthday and she's coming into an unexpected inheritance. It seems her grandmother left her the famous Crandall jewels and they become hers when she reaches eighteen. She invites Nancy to be present the next Friday when her guardian Mrs. Willoughby brings the jewels to her from the bank's safety deposit box.

But Mrs. Willoughby isn't as careful with the $40,000 bundle as she should have been and the jewels are stolen when she and her friend Mrs. Potter stop for lunch at...you guessed it...Lilac Inn. Rumors are that Mrs. Willoughby was in financial trouble so the police immediately suspect her of pretending to have been robbed. With no real evidence at all, they're preparing to arrest her, so she calls upon Carson Drew for help. Emily also approaches Nancy for help in sorting out the mystery--so both Drews are on the case.

In a backstory, we watch Nancy hunt for a temporary housekeeper while Hannah Gruen needs to go away in aid of her sick sister. This will be distasteful to modern readers because Nancy repeatedly rejects applicants based on what seems to be purely racial or ethnic stereotypes. The only point to this part of the plot seems to be bringing Nancy in contact with her primary suspect

This is another where the story diverges from the original to a fair extent in the revised text (which I read when young). The basic mystery is the same--the stolen diamonds--but after ditching Nancy's housekeeper search, a great deal of extra mystery was thrown in for the revised version (a Nancy imposter buying expensive clothes; a crime ring with small submarine; bombs going off here and there....). I'd be tempted to say that I prefer the original text version if Nancy's investigation was more than just her seeing a young woman from the "wrong side of the tracks" shopping at a store where she couldn't afford things and deciding she must be the thief. I do get it--people who one day seem to be desperate for a job and then are seen shortly after in an exclusive dress shop (especially after a bagful of jewels have gone missing) is a bit suspicious, but a few more clues would have been nice. Like, say, finding a waitress at Lilac Inn who remembered seeing the suspect there...because as far as we (and Nancy) know there is no connection between the suspect and Lilac Inn. 

my copy--no dust jacket

Ah well, I can guarantee you that I wouldn't have been that picky if I had read this version when I was seven or eight. I would have been focused on Nancy and her adventures and not thinking too much about how she figured it all out. Having read it now, I can say that it's a decent mystery with a very exciting ending that does make up (to some extent) for the deficiencies. ★★★

First line: A bright blue roadster, low-swung and smart, rolled swiftly along the winding lake road to halt suddenly before a large signboard which boldly proclaimed to all who chanced that way: LILAC INN: CHICKEN DINNERS OUR SPECIALTY.

Last line: "And what could be more fitting than that the mystery of the Crandell jewels should fade out just where it began--at Lilac Inn."

The Secret at Shadow Ranch

 The Secret at Shadow Ranch (1931) by Carolyn Keene [original text edition]

Bess Marvin and George Fayne have been invited by their aunt and uncle to spend the summer at Shadow Ranch in Arizona. Aunt Nell and Uncle Richard Rawley have recently acquired the ranch and Aunt Nell is traveling west to see if it's worth keeping or getting into shape to sell. The two girls, along with Nancy as their guest, and another cousin, Alice Regor, will serve as companions for Aunt Nell who doesn't relish the trip. Of course, since Nancy is involved, we know there will be a mystery or two along the way. In fact, they start out with one--Alice's father disappeared about eight years ago and everyone assumes he just abandoned his family, but Alice doesn't believe it. Nancy wants to help her, but can't see what can be done on a trip to Arizona when Robert Regor disappeared in Philadelphia. But maybe she'll have time to come up with a plan that can be put into action when they get back home...

Meanwhile, there is a mystery waiting at Shadow Ranch. A woman named Martha seems to be keeping her "granddaughter" Lucy prisoner in a cabin on the edge of the ranch. Nancy is concerned about the girl and must investigate to discover what's going on--is Martha really the grandmother? (the girl says not) If not, why she keeping Lucy from talking to anyone? Why does the suspicious Zany Shaw (owner of an antique shop) keep hanging around and why does Martha seem afraid of him? Once Nancy can answer all these questions, she'll be able to provide Lucy with some real help. There's also Ross Rogers, a man who seems reluctant to interact with any of the Easterners--does he have something to hide? Or does he need help too?

This is an entirely different story in the original text edition from the the one I read growing up [revised text version]. Many of the original stories underwent very simple updating which changed little about the plots, but this one has a different storyline altogether. In some ways, this is a more intricate plot, but I found that it had far less actual investigation on Nancy's part than early stories in the series. The focus is primarily on the adventures she and the other girls have while horseback riding in the mountains--facing a lynx, getting caught in a rainstorm, getting lost and sleeping in a cave all night, etc. The mysteries seem almost incidental. The only real investigative work is done off-stage by Carson Drew when Nancy sends a telegram and asks him to look for certain information in Philadelphia. It was a bit disappointing.

Of course, judging from my previous rating based on the revised text, Shadow Ranch has never been a favorite regardless of plot. I certainly don't recall rereading this one as many times as I did many of the others. I think I need to pull out my copy of the newer version to remind myself of the details. It will be interesting to see what I think of the phantom horse and treasure hunt 45 (or so) years later. ★★★

First line: "Oh, Nancy, dear, do say you'll go with us to Shadow Ranch!"

Last line: "Put out your sign. 'Carson Drew and Daughter.'"

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Deaths = one car accident

Murder at Hartigan House

 Murder at Hartigan House (2017) ~Lee Strauss

At the end of Ginger Gold's first adventure aboard the S. S. Rosa she receives a telegram from her British butler:

GHASTLY DISCOVERY IN ATTIC OF HARTIGAN HOUSE STOP AWAIT YOUR ARRIVAL FOR ADVICE STOP PIPPINS

Ginger was on her way to Hartigan House to wrap up her recently deceased father's affairs before heading back to Boston. She'd already been involved in a mystery aboard ship during her journey and didn't expect to find another waiting in the attic of her house. But that's just what she's got. Locked in the room which belonged to her father's valet (when he was still living in England) is the dry-decomposed body of a woman wearing a very chic red evening gown. Estimates indicate that the body has been there since the house was closed up ten years ago.

When circumstances and circumstantial evidence begin to point towards her late father, Ginger determines to investigate and once again finds herself "assisting" Chief Inspector Basil Reed. He tries to discourage her, but finds her difficult to resist as she has a knack of getting her way without seeming to twist any arms. They discover that the woman (one Eunice Hathaway) attended the last party held at Hartigan House. So Ginger decides to hold another party "in memory of my father" and...coincidentally...invites the same people on the guest list from that previous soiree.  She's hoping to stir things up and make the villain give himself away. She doesn't expect to wind up with another corpse on her hands. She needs to hurry her detective work along...otherwise she may wind up playing the part of third victim.

This wound up being a less intricate puzzle than the first book, but no less fun for all that. Even though I spotted the pointers indicating the ultimate villain of the piece, I still didn't get quite all the details worked out before the reveal at the end. The series is just a lot of fun with great characters and I look forward to reading more of Ginger's adventures. ★★★ and 1/2.

First line: Ginger Gold hesitated at the front door of Hartigan House.

Last lines: "I do." Ginger moved an open palm through the air like a banner. "I'm calling it Feathers & Flair."

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Deaths = 3 (one strangled; one fell down stairs; one poisoned)

Blood on the Dining-Room Floor

 Blood on the Dining-Room Floor (1948) by Gertrude Stein.

Taking a cue from the Puzzle Doctor's review of The Rat Began to Gnaw the Rope, I'll be sprinkling a few definitions and my responses throughout.

Don't expect me to give you a plot synopsis on this one. I don't find that to be even remotely possible. If there's a plot hidden in there, it went completely over my head. The afterword explains (as well as possible) what this is supposed to be about, but I'm still not convinced. AND...it doesn't address where the blood on the dining-room floor came from and what it has to do with anything. The only possible crime/mystery involved seems to be attached to a death at a hotel and has nothing whatsoever to do with the country house introduced in the first chapter or with its dining room.

According to the cover of my edition, this is Blood on the Dining-Room Floor: A Murder Mystery*.

*a novel, play, or movie dealing with a puzzling crime, especially a murder.

And here on the Block, we follow that standard definition. Mysteries are my primary reading fare and I enjoy a good murder plot. This being the case, I can tell you that whatever Gertrude Stein has written...it's not a mystery. Unless....

*something that is difficult or impossible to understand or explain.

we want to go with this second definition of mystery. Because, by golly, she's got that "difficult or impossible to understand" thing down cold. Stream of consciousness writers and I don't exactly get on well and why on earth they think the rest of us want to know every little thought that pops into their heads is beyond me. If (and this is a mighty big if) she had wanted to do a stream of consciousness mystery and had actually woven a real plot into the thoughts that were popping up on the page, I might have gone along with it. It might have been a nice experiment--especially if she had made it an examination of the type of crime she was interested in--something in the vein of the Lizzie Borden case where the killer got away with it. After all, Faulkner liked to do this sort of thing and he wrote Intruder in the Dust...a mystery with a powerful dose of social commentary...and I thought it was pretty terrific.

But is that what she did? No. She wrote a mish-mash of I don't know what and you can't see the crime (if there is one) for the extraneous bits and pieces which can't even be considered red herrings because there are too many of them and there doesn't seem to be anything substantial for them to be distracting the reader from. The blurb also describes this as "a droll** detective novel"

**curious or unusual in a way that provokes dry amusement

There was no amusement to be had--dry, wet, or otherwise. It was a long, hard slog to finish this short little book. The piece is a mere one hundred pages long (including afterword) and yet I felt like I was struggling through a tome three or four times as long. Unrated--because I can't even think what to do with it.

First lines: They had a country house. A house in the country is not the same as a country house.

Last lines: No one is amiss after servants are changed. Are they.

***********************

Deaths = one (fell from height)

The Bungalow Mystery

 The Bungalow Mystery (1930) by Carolyn Keene

Nancy and her friend Helen Corning are spending time at a camp at Moon Lake--boating, hiking, swimming, playing volleyball. A sudden storm comes up while the two young women are boating far from the camp and despite Nancy's best efforts to outrun the wind and rain, their boat runs up against floating debris and they are tossed into the water. Helen is not a strong swimmer and it takes all of Nancy's strength to keep her friend above water while trying to swim for shore. She's sure they're not going to make it when a rescuer appears in a row boat. 

Laura Pendleton had heard the cries for help and, despite not being able to swim herself, risked life and limb to save Nancy and Helen. Over the next few days, the three become fast friends and Nancy learns that Laura is a recent orphan waiting for her new guardian to arrive. Laura is dreading it--for no reason she can name. And Nancy tells her if she ever needs help to get in touch. Little does our "girl detective" know how soon Laura will need to take her up on that offer.

Laura's new guardian turns out to be a nasty man who seems intent on turning Laura into a housekeeper and who tells her that contrary to what her parents led her to believe, she's now penniless. He's cruel and verbally abusive...and Laura decides she can't take it anymore. She sneaks out of the bungalow where he has taken her to live and determines to make her way to River Heights. Fortunately, she crosses paths with Nancy who is on her way home. After hearing about Laura's treatment at the hands of Jacob Aborn, Nancy determines to get to the bottom of the trouble. What she finds when she investigates the bungalow is a trail of fraud, impersonation, and imprisonment. It's up to Nancy to discover where Laura's fortune went and to try and get it back for her friend.

my copy--was my mom's

This Nancy Drew adventure starts out with excitement (the boating incident) and just keeps going. It's almost non-stop action and Nancy does a good bit of house-breaking to find the answers she needs (bad Nancy). But--she manages to get away from the bad guy/s who tie her up and she rescues someone else along the way. As always, good triumphs over evil and everyone (except the bad guys) live happily ever after. Exciting stuff and I remember being on the edge of my seat when I read this back in 1978 (was it really that long ago?!). Still a good read all these years later. ★★★★

First lines: "Don't you think we should turn back, Helen? It's getting dreadfully dark out here on the lake and I don't like the look of those big black clouds.

Last lines: But for the present, Nancy Drew was not pining for excitement or adventure. The prospect of a restful summer with Laura Pendleton and Helen Corning satisfied her completely.

Murder on the S. S. Rosa

 Murder on the S. S. Rosa (2017) by Lee Strauss

It's 1923 and Ginger Gold is on her way back to England after spending many years in the United States (that's why you won't hear her addressed as Lady Ginger Gold in this adventure). Her father has passed away and she must go back to England to wrap up her estate. Her dear friend, gained when the young woman was nursing her father, Haley Higgins is joining Ginger on the journey. Hayley's mission is to take up studies in London to become a doctor. The young women are traveling aboard the S. S. Rosa whose Captain, Joseph Walsh, was a friend of Ginger's father.

But Captain Walsh is more attentive to Ginger because she's a lovely young woman than because he has any paternal feelings for her and it soon becomes clear that the captain, though married, has a roving eye. Not only does he make Ginger uncomfortable with his attentions, but he also seems to be in hot pursuit of Nancy Guilford, a famous actress who is also on board. Ginger witnesses an altercation between the first officer and the captain and later the chef, who seems to be overly attentive to Mrs. Walsh, is seen casting dark looks the captain's way.

It isn't a major surprise to readers then that the captain is found murdered (this is a murder mystery after all). It is a bit surprising that he's found stuffed into a pickle barrel, having been bashed over the head and then drowned in the briny juice. Ginger was some sort of intelligence worker (shhhh, we don't know that officially) in the war and her investigative nature takes over. At first, Chief Inspector Basil Reed of the Yard, also traveling on the Rosa, isn't terribly keen to have her nosing about, but they wind up making a pretty good team. Ginger also enlists the help of Scout, a young attendant in steerage who minds the pets of passengers (including Ginger's Boston Terrier, Boss) and he provides her with a very good clue. 

I enjoyed this earlier adventure with Ginger a bit more than the first one I read (though it was good too). I think perhaps the closed circle of the murder on board ship helped and I certainly think the puzzle is stronger. I definitely didn't expect the solution to turn out quite the way it did. So Strauss did a great job of keeping me mystified. The atmosphere aboard ship was perfect and she manages to effortlessly transport us back to the 1920s. I love a good historical mystery and the Golden Age is one of my favorite periods. ★★★★

First line: In the dismal autumn of 1918 Ginger Gold had vowed she'd never go back to Europe.

Last line: As soon as the chief inspector closed the door behind him, Ginger opened the telegram.

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Deaths = one drowned (hit on head first)

The Hidden Staircase

 The Hidden Staircase (1930) by Carolyn Keene [my version = 1959, revised text]

Nancy's friend, Helen Corning, asks if Nancy would like to investigate a haunted house and when Nancy says yes (of course!) plans to bring her great-aunt Rosemary Turnbull to give Nancy all the details. Meanwhile, a nasty character by the name of Nathan Gomber arrives to warn Nancy that her father is in danger and she'd better stick close to him. Carson Drew has been acting, with other lawyers, for a railroad company which bought land from various home owners. One of the lawyers did not have paperwork signed correctly and now that home owner has disappeared and the group are holding out for more money. When Nancy tells him about the visit from Gomber and that she's worried about the danger, Carson insists that there's nothing to worry about. He's going to follow a lead to Chicago in hopes of finding Willie Wharton and getting the signature verified properly. There's no reason why Nancy can't investigate the strange goings on at the Turnbull house.

So Nancy and Helen go to Twin Elms, the Turnbull home, where the mysterious incidents continue. Radios get turned on when no one is around, furniture moves mysteriously, an owl appears in a locked room, and jewelry disappears. Nancy becomes convinced that the old house must have a secret passage and the search is on. But before she can wrap up that mystery, her father disappears and she has to find him and solve the mysteries surrounding the railroad deal as well.

The 1959 revised edition is one of a set of tweed-covered Nancy Drew books that my mom passed on to me when I was in second grade. Those six books hooked me on mysteries for life. Staircase was always one of my favorites. It has everything--spooky goings-on, a hidden passage, a definite nasty bad guy, and just enough danger to make things exciting. It was fun revisiting this childhood favorite and I was glad to see that this one holds up very well. ★★★★ and 1/2.

First line: Nancy Drew began peeling off her garden gloves as she ran up the porch steps and into the hall to answer the ringing telephone.

Last lines: "And we can make all the plans we want," Nancy replied with a grin. "There won't be anyone at the listening post!"

Murder Can't Wait

 Murder Can't Wait (1964) by Richard Lockridge

Lieutenant Nathan Shapiro is out of his element and off to the country and into the stomping grounds of Captain M. L. Heimrich. The city police have gotten a "squeal" that mobsters are moving in on the football team at Dyckman University in an attempt to set up a point-shaving scheme. Shapiro is sent to meet up with Stuart Fleming, former Dyckman football star, who claims to have information. But when Shapiro arrives at the State Police Barracks to ask directions to Fleming's house, Heimrich tells him that he's too late. Sometime in the early morning hours somebody shot Fleming five times just to make sure that the job got done.

There is the obvious idea that those mobsters with the point-shaving scheme must have gotten wind of Fleming's planned interference and the possibility of police interest. And that these mobsters must have decided to shut Fleming up permanently. But there's also the fact that a substantial trust fund will revert to his brother upon his death. And the fact that someone signed into a skiing lodge under Fleming's name and Stuart was trying to find out who that was. There's also the fact that the local golf pro shows up at Fleming's house late in the morning after the murder, threatening to bash the "so-and-so's" teeth in--because he thinks the "so-and-so" has been trying to steal his wife. Did he really not know Fleming was dead? Or is he putting on a show so he won't be suspected? Maybe the answer isn't quite as obvious as it appears.

Shapiro reminds me of Michael Faye's Great Dane Colonel. He appears to everyone he meets that he's perpetually sad or depressed. He's sure that the department has made a mistake somewhere thinking that a cop who's just "guy who's good with a gun" is some sort of detective. And the sort of detective who should be promoted to lieutenant. Never mind that he has a knack for solving these murders where he believes he's out of his depth. Here, he winds up working with Heimrich and Sergeant Forniss and the three make a good team--each discovering an important clue that leads to the discovery of the killer. 

Another enjoyable, comfy reread. It had been long enough since the first time that I had forgotten who did it and was pleasantly in the dark until Shapiro interviewed a certain private detective. It was also fun to see Professor Emeritus Walter Brinkley again--if only briefly. ★★★★

First line: Nathan Shajpiro drove an unassuming police car north on the Saw Mill River Parkway and was certain that no good would come of it.

When you meet a man--a man you are going, for however brief a time, to work with--you lay a little trail of facts about your self, a trail for the man to follow, if he wants to follow. It is easier to work with other men if they know something about you, and you something about them. What you know does not need to be important; little things will do. (p. 14)

Forniss shrugged heavy shoulders. He said that if you jogged a memory, there was no telling what would fall out of it. Or what the jogged siftings would be worth. (p. 65)

Last line: And afterward he was going to take Rose to the movies.

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Deaths = 2 (one shot; one poisoned)

Death in the Tunnel (slightly spoilerish)

 Death in the Tunnel (1936) by Miles Burton (Cecil John Street)

Two elderly men are aboard the train running from Cannon Street to Stourford. When the train arrives at the station after traveling through a long tunnel, one is dead--shot to death in a locked compartment--and one has completely disappeared. The death of Sir Wilfred Saxonby has the surface appearance of suicide. He specifically asked the conductor to keep others out of his first class compartment. The gun found bore the initials W. S. and was positioned exactly where it might have fallen if Saxonby had used it himself. The compartment was locked.

The other gentleman left a first-class compartment shared with two ladies (strangers all) before the train entered the tunnel and apparently evaporated into thin air. The men in railroad buildings at either end of the tunnel swear that nothing, other than the train, either entered or left the tunnel. If Saxonby didn't kill himself (and none of his family or business associates can suggest a reason why he might have), did the man who disappeared have a hand in the death? And how did he get to Saxonby...and where did he go when he was done?

Even when Inspector Arnold learns that mysterious red and green lights in the tunnel caused the engineer to slow the train, he's hard put to figure out what that had to do with the death. The slowed train would have allowed someone to get off or to get on...if there were any way they could have dones so without being seen by the men at either end of the tunnel. Arnold calls upon his friend Desmond Merrion, a wealthy amateur of the Lord Peter Wimsey sort, to lend his imagination to the problem. It winds up being a more involved conjuring trick than Arnold supposes.

I mention Lord Peter Wimsey above. I have to say that I don't quite think Merrion is in Wimsey's league. Some of his ideas are little off-the-wall and I had difficulty following his different permutations of "A" and "B" (his proposed collaborators). Wimsey sometimes comes up with some fanciful-sounding propositions, but there's generally some solid logic underneath. At times, Merrion seems to be trying to come up with the most outlandish explanation possible.

I did like the fact that we mixed the death on a train trope with a "locked room" mystery. Not only is the compartment locked, but there is apparently no way in or out of the tunnel except on the train. It made for an interesting combo and puzzle. However, as soon as one little comment is made while examining the tunnel, I was ahead of Arnold and Merrion in figuring out how access/egress was gained. I had my eye on the main culprit (the brain behind the plot) though I couldn't quite see how they could have played the part they did. Burton explains that well, but I do cry foul on the second figure--there's no way the reader could guess their identity that I can see. 

Overall, a fairly interesting puzzle mystery. It's my second venture into Street's work (the first, written under his John Rhode pseudonym) and so far he's given me solid ★★★ and 1/2 books.

Also reviewed by: Kate @ Cross Examining Crime; Les @ Classic Mysteries; The Puzzle Doctor @ In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel; 

First line: The 5.0 p.m. train from Cannon Street runs fast as far as Stourford, where it is due at 6.7.

But, do you know, I'm never quite easy in my mind about locked doors especially when they are railway carriage doors. You know what a simple thing the key of these locks is. (Inspector Arnold; p. 13)

It seems to me that very remarkable things happen on this line of yours....It's impossible for anybody to get in or out of that tunnel without being seen. Yet, on Thursday evening, people seem to have gone in and out at their own sweet will. (Arnold; p. 67)

Last line: They were duly hanged.

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Deaths = one shot; two hanged

The Arsenal Stadium Mystery

 The Arsenal Stadium Mystery (1939) by Leonard Gribble

Francis Kindilett has worked for several years to put together an amateur football (soccer) team that will be good enough to take on the best of the professional teams: the Arsenal Gunners. The day has finally come for the big match and he's sure his Trojans are up to the competition. The soccer stands are jam-packed and 70,000 fans are on hand to watch their favorites. The match is hard-fought in the first half with Arsenal gaining a one-nothing advantage and then John Doyce manages a beautiful penalty kick at the beginning of the second half to tie the score. Just as the momentum seems to shift to the amateurs, Doyce goes down on the field.

No one had tackled Doyce. He had been alone when he fell. He had simply folded up like a jack-knife and slipped to the ground.

The ailing player is carried off the field, but nothing the trainer does can rouse Doyce. He's unresponsive and sweating uncontrollably and just after the match has ended so has Doyce's life. Scotland Yard is called in and it's determined that Doyce was murdered with an alkaloid poison. Inspector Slade is the Yard's man and is soon on the hunt for the sender of a mysterious package which arrived for Doyce just in time for half-time; a pretty young blonde woman who asked for Doyce and ran off when told he was dead; and the meaning behind a clipping that accompanied the package which referred to a drowned girl. 

Doyce was new to the Trojan squad and didn't have many friends, though there others on the team who had known him from earlier soccer teams. There was a certain coolness between Doyce and his partner in an insurance company, Phil Morring (who also plays for the Trojans), and several of the players though Doyce rather too full of himself, but is there really a motive in all that? Inspector Slade and Sergeant Clinton will have to find out. There's also a wife that no one knew Doyce had--a wife with a devoted admirer. 

I have to say...I've never read a soccer match mystery. Gribble gives just enough of the football action to set the stage and provide the setting for the murder without letting the sport overshadow the mystery. It was quite unique to have the members of the actual Arsenal team of 1939 involved in the mystery (though, of course, we all know that none of them will wind up being the murderer). It's very entertaining and nicely plotted. And he did a fine job making me focus on a particular item and derailing my attempt to spot the killer before Slade. I was a teensy bit disappointed that the particular item didn't wind up figuring in the solution at all...but overall I enjoyed this quite a lot. ★★★★ 

First line: There was a sudden, expectant hush as Tom Whittaker walked into the dressing-room of the Arsenal team at Highbury, the same hush he had been greeted with for years, on every Arsenal home-match day.

Last line: They went out of the room, leaving Kindilett staring out of the window and seeing nothing, a grey-haired man alone with his thoughts.

***************

Deaths = 2 (one poisoned; one drowned)

Six Shooter Challenge 2022: My Sign-Up

 

I'm heading out to the shooting range again with Rick and his Six Shooter Mystery Reading Challenge in 2022. The goal is pretty straight-forward--read six books on the same target (by the same author) to complete your round. Any targets started in 2021 but not yet complete will carry over to the new year, so Rick's page won't be fully updated for a while. Once it's updated, you can check out the full details at the link above.

As with his other challenges, Rick doesn't ask for a commitment. But I will set a personal goal in order to claim the challenge complete for 2022. I've been setting it at four targets--and I will be aiming for the same in the new year.  Most likely those will include Agatha Christie, the Lockridges,  and Carolyn Keene. Other authors TBD.

Agatha Christie Complete!

1. The Clocks (12/30/21)

2. Appointment with Death (12/31/21)

3. Hercule Poirot's Christmas (1/1/22)

4. Easy to Kill (1/7/22)

5. And Then There Were None (1/9/21)

6. Witness for the Prosecution (1/21/22)

Agatha Christie

1. Death Comes as the End (9/18/22)

2. N or M? (9/24/22)

3. Five Little Pigs (9/25/22)

4. The Pale Horse (10/31/22)

5. The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding (11/8/22)

6.

George Bellairs Complete!

1. The Case of the Famished Parson (1/2/22)

2. He'd Rather Be Dead (2/15/22)

3. Death Stops the Frolic (2/18/22)

4. Surfeit of Suspects (2/24/22)

5. Calamity at Harwood (3/3/22)

6. Death Treads Softly (3/7/22)

Charles Finch Complete!

1. An Old Betrayal (1/29/22)

2. The Laws of Murder (3/9/22)

3. Home by Nightfall (3/11/22)

4. The Inheritance (3/30/22)

5. The Woman in the Water (7/10/22)

6. An Extravagant Death (7/18/22)

Frances & Richard Lockridge Complete!

1. The Dishonest Murderer (2/25/22)

2. Murder Roundabout (3/12/22)

3. Death of an Angel (3/14/22)

4. Inspector's Holiday (3/15/22)

5. With Option to Die (3/22/22)

6. Murder for Art's Sake (3/26/22)

Lockridge II

1. The Golden Man (6/22/22)

2. Voyage into Violence (7/9/22)

3. And Left for Dead (7/21/22)

4. Death in a Sunny Place (7/30/22)

5. Not I, Said the Sparrow (7/31/22)

6. The Long Skeleton (8/5/22)

Carolyn Keene Complete!

1. Nancy Drew Ghost Stories (4/15/22)

2. The Haunting of Horse Island (4/27/22)

3. The Clue in the Crumbling Wall (5/29/22)

4. The Bluebeard Room (6/6/22)

5. The Secret of the Golden Pavilion (6/26/22)

6. The Scarlet Slipper Mystery (6/27/22)

Dorothy L. Sayers Complete!

1. Whose Body? by Dorothy L. Sayers (1/20/22)

2. Murder Must Advertise by Dorothy L. Sayers (2/12/22)

3.  Clouds of Witness by Dorothy L. Sayers (2/19/22)

4. The Five Red Herrings by Dorothy L. Sayers (2/24/22)

5. Strong Poison by Dorothy L. Sayers (3/29/22)

6. Have His Carcase by Dorothy L. Sayers (4/21/22)

 

Dorothy L. Sayers Complete!

1. Gaudy Night (5/10/22)

2. Busman's Honeymoon (5/21/22)

3. The Attenbury Emeralds 7/12/22)

4. "The Man With the Copper Fingers" (7/22/22)

5. Striding Folly (7/23/22)

6. Thrones, Dominations (7/25/22)

Medical Examiner 2022: My Sign-Up

 

Once again Rick at the Rick Mills Project will be 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, will--of course--sign up for both. He's got them both on deck for 2022 (as well as the fairly new Beachcomber Challenge), 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. [Tallies for 2022 begin after Christmas 2021.]

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. In the Crypt with a Candlestick by Daisy Waugh (12/24/21) Deaths = 4 (one natural; one drug overdose; one hit on head; one fell from height)

2. Spare Time for Murder by John Gale (12/27/21) Deaths = 7 (one drowned; one beaten to death; one bombed; one mauled by dogs; three shot)

3. The Death at Yew Corner by Robert Forrest (12/29/21) Deaths = 7 (one scalded to death; four suffocated; one poisoned [dog named Kurt]; one shot)

4. The Clocks by Agatha Christie (12/30/21) Deaths = 3 (two stabbed; one strangled)

5. Appointment with Death by Agatha Christie (12/31/21) Deaths = 2 (one poisoned; one shot)

6. Hercule Poirot's Christmas by Agatha Christie (1/1/22) Deaths = one stabbed

7. Fadeaway Girl by Martha Grimes (1/2/22) Deaths = 4 (one drowned; two shot; one stabbed)

8. The Case of the Famished Parson by George Bellairs (1/2/22) Deaths = 4 (one hit on head; one shot; two hanged)

9. The Price of the Phoenix by Sondra Marshak & Myrna Culbreath (1/4/22) Deaths = 2 (shot)

10. Easy to Kill by Agatha Christie (1/7/22) Deaths = 6 (one run over; two poisoned; one fell from height; one drowned; one hit on head)

11. And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie (1/9/22) Deaths = 21 total (11 current in narrative: four poisoned; one strangled; one stabbed; two shot; one drowned; two hit. Plus 10+ caused by our current murder victims: two run over; three neglect/medical malpractice; one shot [war]; two drowned; one hung; one overdose [and a bunch of unnamed natives left to die in the jungle]

12. Bodies from the Library by Tony Medawar [ed] (1/13/22) Deaths = 18 (five stabbed; one fell to his death; one natural; six shot; one hanged; one strangled; one flying accident; one electrocuted; one poisoned)

13. Death Comes to Pemberley by P. D. James (1/15/22) Deaths = 5 (one shot; two hanged; one run over; one hit on head)

14. Best "Thinking Machine" Stories by Jacques Futrelle (1/16/22) Deaths = 4 (one poisoned; one hit on head; one stabbed; one natural)

15. What, Me, Mr. Mosley? by John Greenwood (1/17/22) Deaths = one natural

16. The Ruby Raven by Michael Dahl (1/19/22) Deaths = 4 (one squashed by pillar; one beheaded; one fell to death; one shot)

17. Whose Body? by Dorothy L. Sayers (1/20/22) Deaths = 2 (one hit on head; one other)

18. Witness for the Prosecution by Agatha Christie (1/21/22) Deaths = 16 (two hit on head; three shot; two in railway accident; three natural; one strangled; two stabbed; one fell from height; two poisoned)

19. Deathblow Hill by Phoebe Atwood Taylor (1/21/22) Deaths = 5 (two strangled; one died of plague; one car/train accident; one drowned)

20. Star Trek: Voyage to Adventure by Michael J. Dodge (1/22/22) Deaths = 11 (one accident; four shooting; three electric shock; one attacked by alien; one asphyxiated; one smashed by falling rock)

Commitment Met!

21. Eight Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson (1/23/22) Deaths = 16 (five shot; one beaten to death; one hit on head; one cancer; one heart attack; one fell from height; one car accident; one house fire; one strangled; two poisoned; one hit & run) [This includes deaths from the books mentioned within the story where victim and method are named.]

22. And Soon I'll Come to Kill You by Susan Kelly (1/23/22) Deaths = 5 (two shot; one car accident; two stabbed)

23. The Green Island Mystery by Betsy Allen (1/24/22) Deaths = one natural

24. An Old Betrayal by Charles Finch (1/29/22) Deaths = 5 (one natural; two shot; one fell from height; one hanged)

25. Overture to Death by Ngaio Marsh (1/29/22) Deaths = one shot

26. Cut to the Quick by Kate Ross (1/31/22) Deaths = 4 (two stabbed; two natural)

27. Murder at the Spring Ball by Benedict Brown (2/5/22) Deaths = 3 (two poisoned; one shot with arrow)

28. The Egyptologist by Arthur Phillips (2/6/22) Deaths = 4 (two accident; on hit on head; one poisoned)

29. Midnight Sailing by Lawrence G. Blochman (2/8/22) Deaths = 5 (one shot; one hit on head; one stabbed; one strangled; one drowned)

30. This Club Frowns on Murder by Albert Borowitz (2/10/22) Deaths = 4 (one shot; one poisoned; two hit on head)

31. Death Walks in Marble Halls by Lawrence G. Blochman (2/11/22) Deaths = 3 (one stabbed; one shot; one fell from height)

32. The Murderer Who Wanted More by Baynard Kendrick (2/11/22) Deaths = 3 (one shot; one natural; one stabbed)

33. The Murder Game by Steve Allen (2/12/22) Deaths = 8 (two vehicle accidents; one drowned; one fell from height; one hit by garage door; one natural; one poisoned; one hanged)

34. Murder Must Advertise by Dorothy L. Sayers (2/13/14) Deaths = 5 (three hit; one shot; one stabbed)

35. The Golden Box by Frances Crane (2/14/22) Deaths = 6 (two auto accident; one drowned; one shot; one poisoned; one hanged)

36. He'd Rather Be Dead by George Bellairs (2/15/22) Deaths = 6 (two poisoned; one drowned; one strangled; one buried by rubble; one stabbed)

37. Sad Cypress by Agatha Christie (2/16/22) Deaths = 2 poisoned

38. Death Stops the Frolic by George Bellairs (2/18/22) Deaths = 3 (one stabbed; one strangled; one car accident)

39. Clouds of Witness by Dorothy L. Sayers (2/19/22) Deaths = 2 (one shot; one hit by car)

40. Clutch of Constables by Ngaio Marsh (2/20/22) Deaths = 3 strangled

41. Midsummer Nightmare by Christopher Hale (2/21/22) Deaths = 3 (one stabbed; one poisoned; one hit on head)

42. Portrait of a Dead Heiress by Thomas B. Dewey (2/22/22) Deaths = 2 (one drowned; one stabbed)

43. The Five Red Herrings by Dorothy L. Sayers (2/24/22) Deaths = one hit on head

44. Surfeit of Suspects by George Bellairs (2/24/22) Deaths = 7 (three hit on head, two heart attack, one drowned, one stroke)

45. The Dishonest Murderer by Frances & Richard Lockridge (2/25/22) Deaths = 2 (one poisoned; one shot)

46. Murder Begins at Home by Delano Ames (2/26/22) Deaths = 3 (one stabbed; one fell from height; one poisoned)

47. A Broken Vessel by Kate Ross (2/27/22) Deaths = 7 (one poisoned; three natural; two hanged; one fell from height)

48. The Ghost Finders by Adam McOmber (3/2/22) Deaths = 10 (one natural; two accident; two shot; one attacked by creature; one drowned; two stabbed; one suffocated)

49. Calamity at Harwood by George Bellairs (3/3/22) Deaths = 9 (one fell from height; two car accident; two shot; three hanged; one hit by a bell)

50. The Corpse with the Grimy Glove by R. A. J. Walling (3/5/22) Deaths = 5 (two shot; one airplane accident; one hanged; one drowned)

51. Death Treads Softly by George Bellairs (3/7/22) Deaths = 5 (three shot; one drowned; one natural)

52. Clue: Candlestick by Dash Shaw (3/7/22) Deaths = 7 (one shot; three hit on head; one poisoned; one stabbed; one in fire)

53. Clue by Paul Allor (3/8/22) Deaths = 10 (one shot; three hit on head; four stabbed; two fell from height)

54. Whom the Gods Love by Kate Ross (3/8/22) Deaths = 5 (two hit on head; one throat cut; one accident; one natural)

55. The Laws of Murder by Charles Finch (3/9/22) Deaths = 5 (two shot; one fell from height; two poisoned)

56. Home by Nightfall by Charles Finch (3/11/22) Deaths = 4 (one poisoned; one stabbed; two natural)

57. Murder Roundabout by Richard Lockridge (3/12/22) Deaths = 2 (one shot; one natural)

58. The Devil in Music by Kate Ross (3/13/22) Deaths = 4 (one shot; one natural; one stabbed; one asphyxiated)

59. Death of an Angel by Frances & Richard Lockridge (3/14/22) Deaths = 3 (one poisoned; two shot)

60. The Mystery of the Talking Skull by Robert Arthur (3/15/22) Deats = 2 natural

61. Inspector's Holiday by Richard Lockridge (3/15/22) Deaths = 3 (one heart attack; one drowned; one strangled)

62. The Man in the Moonlight by Helen McCloy (3/19/22) Deaths = 4 (two shot; one cancer; one drowned)

63. The Castle Island Case by F. Van Wyck Mason (3/20/22) Deaths = 3 (one stabbed; one strangled; one shot)

64. With Option to Die by Richard Lockridge (3/22/22) Deaths = 2 (one shot; one beaten to death)

65. The Cat Saw Murder by D. B. Olsen [Dolores Hitchens] (3/25/22) Deaths = 4 (one beaten to death; one stabbed; one auto accident; one fell from height)

66. Murder for Art's Sake by Richard Lockridge (3/26/22) Deaths = one shot

67. A Plate of Red Herrings by Richard Lockridge (3/28/22) Deaths = 2 (one stabbed; one hit by car)

68. Strong Poison by Dorothy L. Sayers (3/29/22) Deaths = one poisoned

69. The Inheritance by Charles Finch (3/30/22) Deaths = 4 (one by hit by horses & wagon; one shot; one heart attack; one natural)

70. The Mystery of the Stuttering Parrot by Robert Arthur (3/30/22) Deaths = one natural

71. The Sunburned Corpse by Adam Knight (Lawrence Lariar) [4/4/22] Deaths = 4 (one strangled; two hit on head; one shot)

72. The Lodger by Marie Belloc Lowndes (4/6/22) Deaths = 2 stabbed (more--but others not named)

73. Always Lock Your Bedroom Door by Roy Winsor (4/10/22) Deaths = 3 (one hit on head; two poisoned)

74. The Body in the Fog by Cora Harrison (4/10/22) Deaths = 3 (one hit on head; one strangled; one shot)

75. Death & the Professor by E. & M.A. Radford (4/12/22) Deaths = 10 (one shot; six poisoned; one heart attack induced by sleeping drug; one strangled; one stabbed)

76. Evan's Gate by Rhys Bowen (4/13/22) Deaths = 2 (one drowned; one fell from height)

77. The Guest List by Lucy Foley (4/14/22) Deaths = 4 (one overdose; one drowned; one stabbed; one heart attack)

78. Nancy Drew Ghost Stories by Carolyn Keene (4/15/22) Deaths = 3 (two natural; one shot)

79. Luck Be a Lady, Don't Die by Robert J. Randisi (4/16/22) Deaths = 5 (two hit on head; three shot)

80. Take Two at Bedtime by Margery Allingham (4/17/22) Deaths = 4 (two drowned; two poisoned)

81. Have His Carcase by Dorothy L. Sayers (4/21/22) Deaths = one throat cut

82. The Black Mountain by Rex Stout (4/23/22) Deaths = one shot

83. Lieutenant Pascal's Tastes in Homicides by Hugh Pentecost (4/25/22) Deaths = 7 (two blown up; one stabbed; two fell from height; one hit on head; one shot)

84. Dead Little Rich Girl by Norbert Davis (4/26/22) Deaths = 8 (three shot; one hung; two hit with objects; two stabbed)

85. The Black Hand by Will Thomas (4/27/22) Deaths = 9 (seven shot; two stabbed)

86. The Case of the Sapphire Brooch by Christopher Bush (4/30/22) Deaths = 6 (two natural; one shot; one drowned; two drug overdose)

87. Raisins & Almonds by Kerry Greenwood (4/30/22) Deaths = 2 (one poisoned; one stabbed)

88. Flying Too High by Kerry Greenwood (5/2/22) Deaths = 2 (one hit on head; one shot)

89. The Vanishing Thief by Kate Parker (5/5/22) Deaths = 9 (three burned to death; three poisoned; one drowned; one strangled; one stabbed)

90. Parcels for Inspector West by John Creasey (5/7/22) Deaths = 5 hit on head

91. The Parchment Key by Stanley Hopkins, Jr. (5/9/22) Deaths = 4 (one auto accident; one poisoned; one pneumonia; one drowned)

92. Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers (5/10/22) Deaths = one shot

93. Killer Loose! by Genevieve Holden (5/11/22) Deaths = 5 throat cut

94. Murder on "B" Deck by Vincent Starrett (5/14/22) Deaths = 3 (one strangled; one drowned; one natural)

95. Lock 14 by Georges Simenon (5/14/22) Deaths = 4 (two strangled; one poisoned; one fell from height)

96. Going Public by David Westheimer (5/16/22) Deaths = 7 (one fell from height; one shot; one hit by bus; two natural; one blown up; one drowned)

97. Reliquary by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child (5/19/22) Deaths = 12 (ten beheaded; one throat cut; one electrocuted)

98. Busman's Honeymoon by Dorothy L. Sayers (5/21/22) Deaths = 2 (one hit on head; one hanged)

99. The Body That Wasn't Uncle by George Worthing Yates (5/23/22) Deaths = 4 (one poisoned; two shot; one natural)

100. The Counterfeit Lady by Kate Parker (5/25/22) Deaths = 3 (one hanged; one hit on head; one neck broken)

101. The Corbin Necklace by Henry Kitchell Webster (5/26/22) Deaths = 2 natural

102. Murder Down Under by Arthur W. Upfield (5/28/22) Deaths = 3 (two shot; one poisoned)

103. When Blood Lies by C. S. Harris (5/29/22) Deaths = 13 (one drowned; one natural; five stabbed; one broken neck; two hit on head; two shot; one strangled)

104. The Clue in the Crumbling Wall by Carolyn Keene (5/29/22) Deaths = 2 natural

105. Death Among the Sunbathers by E. R. Punshon (6/3/22) Deaths = one shot

106. Bullets for Macbeth by Marvin Kaye (6/5/22) Deaths = 3 (one shot; two stabbed)

107. The Bluebeard Room by Carolyn Keene (6/6/22) Deaths = one burned at stake

108. All Hallows' Evil by Valerie Wolzien (6/7/22) Deaths = two stabbed

109. Still Life with Crows by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child (6/10/22) Deaths = 11 (two shot; four strangled; one boiled to death; one natural (heart attack/fright); two fell from height; one hit on head)

110. Give the Little Corpse a Great Big Hand by George Bagby (Aaron Marc Stein) [6/14/22] Deaths = 2 (one poisoned; one strangled)

111. Murder Gone Minoan by Clyde B. Clason (6/17/22) Deaths = 4 (two fell from height; two hit on head)

****The Following Stories All Come From: Alfred Hitchcock Presents: A Month of Mystery as edited by Alfred Hitchcock [not all stories in collection have deaths, so that's why I've done this batch as separate stories--as allowed by Rick]

112. "South of Market" by Joe Gores (6/20/22) Deaths = four stabbed

113. "The Uses of Intelligence" by Matthew Gant (6/20/22) Deaths = one hit on head

114. "The Queen's Jewel" by James Holding (6/20/22) Deaths = one poisoned

115. "Pool Party" by Andrew Benedict (6/20/22) Deaths = two drowned

116. "That Touch of Genius" by William Sambrot (6/20/22) Deaths = one fell from height

117. "A Taste for Murder" by Jack Ritchie (6/20/22) Deaths = 3 (two stabbed; one shot)

118. "The Amateur" by Michael Gilbert (6/20/22) Deaths = one burned to death (several others--either named but no method OR method with unnamed victims)

119. "Death Wish" by Lawrence Block (6/20/22) Deaths = 2 (one hit on head; one shot)

120. "The Singing Pigeon" by Ross Macdonald (6/20/22) Deaths  = three shot

121. "Justice Magnifique" by Lawrence Treat (6/20/22) Deaths = one hit on head

122. "The White Hat" by Sax Rohmer (6/20/22) Deaths = one fell from height

123. "Hard Sell" by Craig Rice (6/20/22) Deaths = 4 (one hit by car; one fell from height; one hit by train; one shot)

124. "Greedy Night" by E. C. Bentley (6/20/22) Deaths = one poisoned

125. "A Twilight Adventure" by Melville Davisson Post (6/20/22) Deaths = one shot

126. "Murder Matinee" by Harold Q. Masur (6/20/22) Deaths = 2 (one stabbed; one shot)

127. "The Oblong Room" by Edward D. Hoch (6/20/22) Deaths = one stabbed

128. "Dead Man's Story" by Howard Rigsby (6/20/22) Deaths = one shot

129. "The Legend of John Lee" by John D. MacDonald (6/20/22) Deaths = two drowned

130. "The Janissaries of Emillion" by Basil Copper (6/20/22) Deaths = one stabbed

131. "Chinoiserie" by Helen McCloy (6/20/22) Deaths = one poisoned

************

132. John Smith Hears Death Walking by Wyatt Blassingame (6/21/22) Deaths = 14 (four poisoned; seven shot; one stabbed; two strangled)

133. The Golden Man by Frances & Richard Lockridge (6/22/22) Deaths = 4 (one auto accident; one froze to death; two shot)

134. The Queen & the Corpse by Max Murray (6/24/22) Deaths = 6 (two shot; one hit by train; two drowned; one fell from height)

135. The White Elephant by Ellery Queen, Jr. (6/25/22) Deaths = 2 natural

136. Cat's Paw by Roger Scarlett (6/25/22) Deaths = 2 shot

137. The Secret of the Golden Pavilion by Carolyn Keene (6/26/22) Deaths = one natural

138. The Scarlet Slipper Mystery by Carolyn Keene (6/27/22) Deaths = two natural

139. Hans Brinker by Mary Mapes Dodge (6/29/22) Deaths = 2 (one natural; one poisoned)

140. Seven Tears for Apollo by Phyllis A. Whitney (7/4/22) Deaths = 3 (one plane crash; one hit by car; one fell from height)

141. The Body in the Vestibule by Katherine Hall Page (7/6/22) Deaths = 2 (one poisoned; one drowned)

142. Voyage into Violence by Frances & Richard Lockridge (7/9/22) Deaths = one stabbed

143. The Woman in the Water by Charles Finch (7/10/22) Deaths = 3 (one strangled; one poisoned; one shot)

144. The Attenbury Emeralds by Jill Paton Walsha (7/12/22) Deaths = 7 (one hit by car; two strangled; one bombing; one fell from height; one heart attack; one hanged)

145. Murder Off the Books by Evelyn David (7/13/22) Deaths = 3 shot

146. Relative Fortunes by Marlowe Benn (7/14/22) Deaths = 2 (one hanged; one stabbed)

147. Mycroft Holmes by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar & Anna Waterhouse (7/16/22) Deaths = 9 (five stabbed; one trampled by horse; one poisoned; two blown up)

148. An Extravagant Death by Charles Finch (7/18/22) Deaths = 2 (one hit on head; one stabbed)

149. The Suspect by L. R. Wright (7/18/22) Deaths = 4 (one hit on head; three car accident)

150. The Case of the Gilded Lily by Erle Stanley Gardner (7/19/22) Deaths = one shot

151. Secret of the White Rose by Stefanie Pintoff (7/20/22) Deaths = 6 (one stabbed; one blown up; two shot; one natural; one fell from height)

152. And Left for Dead by Frances & Richard Lockridge (7/21/22) Deaths = 3 (one beaten; one shot; one poisoned)

******The following stories all come from: Alfred Hitchcock Presents: Stories Not for the Nervous (edited by Robert Arthur)

153. "To the Future" by Ray Bradbury [Deaths = one hit by car]

154. "River of Riches" by Gerald Kersh [Deaths = one eaten by alligator]

155. "The Man with the Copper Fingers" by Dorothy L. Sayers [Deaths = two poisoned]

156. "Levitation" by Joseph Payne Brennan [Deaths = one heart attack]

157. "Miss Winters & the Wind" by Christine Noble Govan [Deaths = one fell from height]

158. "The Dog Died First" by Bruno Fischer [Deaths = one hit on head; one shot]

159. "The Other Hangman" by Carter Dickson [Deaths = one hit on head; one hanged]

160. "Dune Roller" by Julian May [Deaths = one burned to death]

161. "The Uninvited" by Michael Gilber [Deaths = one hit on head; one shot]

162. "Don't Look Behind You" by Frederic Brown [Deaths = one shot]

**********************

163. Striding Folly by Dorothy L. Sayers (7/23/22) Deaths = one strangled

164. Cousin Kate by Georgette Heyer (7/23/22) Deaths = 3 (one hit by cart; one strangled; one drowned)

165. Thrones, Dominations by Dorothy L. Sayers/Jill Paton Walsh (7/25/22) Deaths = 4 (two strangled; one drowned; one hanged)

166. Crossword Mystery by E. R. Punshon (7/26/22) Deaths = 5 (one drowned; two stabbed; one hit on head; one burned to death)

167. Murder at St. George's Church by Lee Strauss (7/29/22) Deaths = two hit with blunt instrument

168. Experiment with Murder by E. X. Ferrars (7/29/22) Deaths = 2 (one throat cut; one hanged)

169. Death in a Sunny Place by Richard Lockridge (7/30/22) Deaths = 3 (one natural; one plane crash; one hit on head)

170. Not I, Said the Sparrow by Richard Lockridge (7/31/22) Deaths = 3 (one shot w/arrow; one natural; one hit on head)

171. Garden of Lies by Amanda Quick [Jayne Ann Krentz] (8/3/22) Deaths = 9 (two poisoned; two drowned; one fell from height; two stabbed; two shot)

172. The Lady with the Gun Asks the Questions by Kerry Greenwood (8/4/22) Deaths = 11 (one smothered; nine poisoned; one heart failure)

173. The Long Skeleton by Frances & Richard Lockridge (8/5/22) Deaths = 3 (one smothered; one hit on head; one shot)

174. The Twyford Code by Janice Hallett (8/7/22) Deaths = 6 (one natural; one beaten to death; one hit with poker; two shot; one car crash)

175. The Bad Quarto by Jill Paton Walsh (8/10/22) Deaths = 4 (one fell from height; one natural; two shaken to death)

176. The Abrus Necklace by Elizabeth Seibert (8/11/22) Deaths = 2 (one natural; one car accident)

*******The following stories all come from The World's Best 100 Detective Stories Vol. 6 edited by Eugene Thwing (8/13/22)

177. "The Adventure of the Three Garridebs by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle [Deaths = one shot]

178. "The Eleventh Juror" by Vincent Starrett [Deaths = one shot]

179. "On the Top of the Tower" by Maurice LeBlanc [Deaths = two shot]

180. "Three Liars" by Henry C. Rowland [Deaths = one fell from height]

181. "The Subconscious Witiness" by Henry Smith Williams [Deaths = one hit on head]

*******************

182. Slow Dancing with the Angel of Death by Helen Chappell (8/14/22) Deaths = 4 (one explosion; one drug overdose; two shot)

183. X Marks the Spot by Lee Thayer (Edna Redington Thayer) (8/18/22) Deaths = 3 (one stabbed; one shot; one hit by car)

184. Four Days' Wonder by A. A. Milne (8/20/22) Deaths = 2 (one hit on head; one natural)

185. The Coffin Trail by Martin Edwards (8/21/22) Deaths = 9 (one stabbed; three fell from height; one hit by car; one natural; one suffocated; one drowned; one shot)

186. Dead Man's Gift by Zelda Popkin (8/24/22) Deaths = 2 (one natural [shock-induced apoplexy]; one shot]

187. Kill the Butler! by Michael Kenyon (8/26/22) Deaths = 5 (one hit by truck; one fell from height; one strangled; two hit on head)

188. Treachery in the Yard by Adimchinma Ibe (8/27/22) Deaths 9 (one stabbed; one hit on the head; seven shot)

189. You Only Hang Once by H. W. Roden (8/30/22) Deaths = 4 (three shot; one strangled)

190. Six Deadly Dames by Frederick Nebel (9/2/22) Deaths = 15 (one stabbed; twelve shot; one drowned; one poisoned)

191. A Scream in Soho by John G. Brandon (9/3/22) Deaths = 5 (four stabbed; one natural [pneumonia])

192. Murder by Matchlight by E. C. R. Lorac (9/5/22) Deaths = 2 (one hit on head; one hit by truck)

193. The Corpse on the Hearth by Harry Lang (9/5/22) Deaths = 6 (five shot; one gassed)

194. The Uninvited Corpse by Michael Underwood (9/6/22) Deaths = 4 (one strangled; two natural; one shot)

195. Murder at the Pageant by Victor L. Whitechurch (9/10/22) Deaths = 2 (one natural [apoplexy]; one hit on head]

196. The Entropy Effect by Vonda N. McIntyre (9/10/22) Deaths = 4 (two poisoned; two shot)

*******The Following Stories All Come From: The World's Best 100 Detective Stories Vol. 9 by Eugene Thwing, ed. (9/12/22)

197. "Missing Page Thirteen" by Anna Katharine Green [2 stabbed]

198. "The Secret of the Barbican" by J. S. Fletcher [one natural]

199. "Pig's Feet" by Frederic Arnold Kummer [one shot]

200. "The Missing Passenger's Trunk" by Arthur J. Rees [one natural; one drowned]

201. "The Finger of Death" by Arthur J. Rees [one shot; one natural]

202. "The Mystery of the Gold Seal by George Barton [two poisoned; one natural]

203. "The Green Pocketbook" by George Barton [one hit on head; one hanged]

****************************

204. Zanzibar Intrigue by F. Van Wyck Mason (9/15/22) Deaths = 6 [two shot; two car accident; two poisoned]

205. Read & Buried by Erika Chase (9/15/22) Deaths = one shot

206. Death Comes as the End by Agatha Christie (9/17/22) Deaths = 7 (two fell from height; three poisoned; one drowned; one smothered)

207. The Witch Tree Symbol by Carolyn Keene (9/19/22) Deaths = 2 natural

208. Goodbye, Nanny Gray by Susannah Stacey (9/22/22) Deaths = 3 (one hit on head; one drug overdose; one car accident)

209. N or M? by Agatha Christie (9/24/22) Deaths = 4 (one hit by car; three shot)

210. Five Little Pigs by Agatha Christie (9/25/22) Deaths = 2 (one natural; one poisoned)

211. The Inugami Curse by Seishi Yokomizo (9/30/22) Deaths = 10 (four natural; two poisoned; two stabbed; two strangled)

212. The Witches' Bridge by Barbee Oliver Carleton (10/2/22) Deaths = 5 (two plane crash; one hanged; one tortured; one natural)

213. The Ghost in the Gallery by Carolyn Keene (10/6/22) Deaths = one natural

214. The Mystery of the Whispering Mummy by Robert Arthur (10/6/22) Deaths = 3 (one hit by car; one murdered in the bazaar; one snake bite)

215. Susanna, Don't You Cry! by Mary Plum (10/7/22) Deaths = 3 (one hit on head; one shot; one car accident)

216. Welcome Death by Glyn Daniel (10/9/22) Deaths = 6 (one natural; one blood poisoning; one stabbed; one fell from height; one drug overdose)

217. To Spite Her Face by Hildegarde Dolson (10/14/22) Deaths = 2 (one poisoned; one strangled)

218. The Curse of the Fleers by Basil Copper (10/17/22) Deaths = 8 (one accident; one suicide; one apoplexy; two fell from height; one strangled; two hit on head)

219. Challenge for Three by David Garth (10/22/22) Deaths = 3 (two accident; one natural)

220. The Worm of Death by Nicholas Blake [Cecil Day-Lewis] (10/28/22) Deaths = 4 (two natural; one stabbed; one strangled)

221. The Widow's Cruise by Nicholas Blake [Cecil Day-Lewis] (10/28/22) Deaths = 2 (one strangled; one drowned)

222. End of Chapter by Nicholas Blake [Cecil Day-Lewis] (10/30/22) Deaths = 3 (one stabbed; one natural; one hit by train)

223. The Pale Horse by Agatha Christie (10/31/22) Deaths = 4 (one hit on head; three poisoned)

224. The Old Dark House by J. B. Priestley (11/1/22) Deaths = 6 (two natural; one blown up; two fell from height)

225. The 10:30 from Marseille by Sebastien Japrisot (11/5/22) Deaths = 7 (one strangled; six shot)

226. The Mist in the Mirror by Susan Hill (11/5/22) Deaths =  5 (one strangled; two train accident; two natural)

227. The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding by Agatha Christie (11/8/22) Deaths = 5 (one shot; two stabbed; one fell from height; one natural)

228. Down Among the Dead Men by Stewart Sterling (11/10/22) Deaths = 3 (one stabbed; one shot; one hit on head)

229. Streaked with Crimson by Charles J. Dutton (11/12/22) Deaths = 4 (three strangled; one shot)

230. The Man from Beijing by Henning Mankell (11/13/22) Deaths = 39 (six natural; twenty-three stabbed; two drowned; two hanged; two hit on head; four shot)

231. The King Is Dead by Ellery Queen (11/17/22) Deaths = 5 (four natural; one shot)

232. No More Dying Then by Ruth Rendell (11/18/22) Deaths = 2 (one strangled; one drowned)

233. The Old English Peep Show by Peter Dickinson (11/21/22) Deaths = 2 (one hanged; one shot)

234. The Longer the Thread by Emma Lathen (11/25/22) Deaths = 2 (one shot; one throat cut)

235. Murder in Black Tie by Sara Rosett (11/26/22) Deaths = 5 (one hit on head; two natural; one shot; one suffocated)

236. Death Beneath the Christmas Tree by Robert Nordan (11/29/22) Deaths = 6 (two shot; one hit by car; three natural)

237. The Last Noel by Jean Hager (12/3/22) Deaths = 4 (one stabbed; one car accident; two natural)

238. Murder at the College by Victor Whitechurch (12/17/22) Deaths = 3 (two natural; one stabbed)

********************The following stories all come from Holmes for the Holidays by Martin H. Greenberg, Jon L. Lellenberg, & Carol-Lynn Waugh [eds] (12/21/22)

239. "The Watch Night Bell" by Anne Perry (one shot)

240. "The Sleuth of Christmas Past" by Barbara Paul (one accident)

241. "A Scandal in Winter" by Gillian Linscott (one fell from height)

242. "The Adventure in Border Country" by Gwen Moffat (one fell from height)

243. "The Adventure of the Man Who Never Laughed" by J. N. Williamson (one from fever)

244. "The Adventure of the Christmas Tree" by William L. DeAndrea (two blown up)

245. "The Italian Sherlock Holmes" by Reginald Hill (one throat cut; one beheaded)

246. "The Adventure of the Angel's Trumpet" by Carolyn Wheat (one poisoned)

********************

247. The Hanover Square Affair by Ashley Gardner (12/23/22) Deaths = 6 (one stabbed; four illness; one beaten)

248. Sweet Poison by Douglas Clark (12/26/22) Deaths = 5 (three natural; one shot; one poisoned)

**********************The following stories all come from Murder Impossible by Jack Adrian & Robert Adey (eds)

249. "The House in Goblin Wood" by John Dickson Carr (one stabbed)

250. "The Other Side" by Hake Talbot (one shot)

251. "Coffee Break" by Arthur Porges (one poisoned)

252. "Bullion!" by W. Hope Hodgson (two poisoned)

253. "Proof of Guilt" by Bill Pronzini (one shot; one heart attack)

254. "An Absence of Air" by Jacques Futrelle (three suffocated)

255. "It's a Dog's Life" by John Lutz (one shot)

256. "The Death of Cyrus Pettigrew" by Sax Rohmer (two poisoned)

257. "Ghost in the Gallery" by Joseph Commings (one hit on head; one hanged)

258. "The House of Screams" by Gerald Findler (one natural; one poisoned)

259. "The Impossible Murder" by Edward D. Hoch (one strangled; one shot)

260. "A Nineteenth Century Debacle" by George Locke (one fell from height)

261. "A Razor in Fleet Street" by John Dickson Carr (one stabbed)

262. "Dinner at Garibaldi's" by Leonard Pruyn (one starved to death)

263. "The Hanging Rope" by Joel Townsley Rogers (one hit on head; one throat cut; one fell from height)

264. "Now You See Her" by Jeffrey Wallman (one strangled)

265. "The Blind Spot" by Barry Perowne [Philip Atkey] (two stabbed)

**********************

266. The Triple Hoax by Carolyn Keene (12/31/22) Deaths = one natural

267. A Nameless Coffin by Gwendoline Butler (12/31/22) Deaths = 5 (three stabbed; one natural; one bomb)