The 52 Book Club 2025

 

I'm back for another round of Liz's reading challenge at The 52 Book Club. Hers is a low-key challenge, so there is no pressure to fulfill all 52 categories I'm setting a personal goal of 26. I may read more that fit the categories, but at 26 I can claim my challenge goal fulfilled. Several times in the past I've managed to pull off all 52--so who knows, maybe I'll get there again. I'll list some tentative selections below and update as needed.

1. Pun in the Title: One Fell Sloop by Susan Kenney (7/3/25)

2. Character with Red Hair: Death on the Dragon's Tongue by Margot Arnold [several characters with red hair] (8/8/25)

3. Title starts with Letter "M": Murder in Williamstown by Kerry Greenwood (2/15/25)

4. Title starts with Letter "N": Nothing Is the Number When You Die by Joan Fleming (3/12/25)

5. Plot Includes a Heist: The Disappearing Floor by Franklin W. Dixon [bank robberies & jewel thefts] (8/9/25)

6. Genre 1 Set in Spring: 

7. Genre 2 Set in Summer: Ambush for Anatol by John Sherwood [Action/Adventure/Thriller] (3/17/25)

8. Genre 3 Set in Autumn: Murder by Lamplight by Patrice McDonough [Historical Mystery; main action in November] (3/19/25)

9. Genre 4 Set in Winter: Thief Is an Ugly Word by Paul Gallico [Mystery/War Propaganda; takes place in January] (2/17/25)

10. Author's Last Name is a First Name: Dangerous Davies: The Last Detective by Leslie Thomas (1/11/25)

11. A Prequel: Sherlock Holmes: Death Cloud by Andrew Lane [young Sherlock Holmes] (3/25/25)

12. Moon on Cover: The Case of the Hijacked Moon by Thomas Brace Haughey (6/28/25)

13. Title Is Ten Letters or Less: "Inquest" by Henrietta Clandon (2/21/25)

14. Climate Fiction: The Last Resort by Michael Kaufman (2/13/25)

15. Includes Latin American History

16. Author Has Won an Edgar: The Cipher Garden by Martin Edwards (4/17/25)

17. Told in Verse:

18. Character Who Can Fly: The Green Mill Murder by Kerry Greenwood [Phryne Fisher flies a plane] (3/23/25)

19. Has Short Chapters: The Girl from the Mimosa Club by Leslie Ford (2/6/25)

20. Fairy Tale Retelling: Poisoned Apples: Poems For You, My Pretty by Christine Heppermann (3/20/25)

21. Character's Name in Title: Mrs. McGinty's Dead by Agatha Christie (9/25/25)

22. Found Family Trope: Murder at the Mill by Irina Shapiro [Redmond is building a family of friends] (6/29/25)

23. Sprayed Edge: The Benson Murder Case by S. S. Van Dine

24. Title Is a Spoiler: Death in Shallow Water by Miles Burton (2/24/25)

25. Breaks the Fourth Wall: Poison for Teacher by Nancy Spain (1/31/25)

26. More Than a Million Copies Sold: The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco (over 50 million sold)

27. Features a Magician: The Mystery of the Merry Magician by Ellery Queen, Jr. (5/3/25)

28. Crossover (Set in Shared Universe): The Incredible Umbrella by Marvin Kaye (3/21/25) [world of Sherlock Holmes]

29. Shares Universe with Prompt 28: The Strange Case of Eliza Doolittle by Timothy Miller (4/11/25) [world of Sherlock Holmes]

30. In the Public Domain: John Macnab by John Buchan (12/22/25)

31. Audiobook Has Multiple Narrators:

32. Includes a Diary Entry:

33. Standalone Novel: The Price of Silence by Kate Wilhelm (1/10/25)

34. Direction in the Title: Murder, London-South Africa by John Creasey (7/23/25)

35. Written in the Third Person: The Book of Killowen by Erin Hart (2/4/25)

36. Final Sentence Less Than Six Words Long: The Deadly Truth by Helen McCloy ["She wasn't worth it..."] (1/15/25)

37. Genre Chosen for You by Someone Else: Lord Darcy by Randall Garrett [fantasy/detective--chosen by my son] (3/9/25)

38. Adventure Story: 

39. Has an Epigraph: The Snow Queen by Joan D. Vinge [actually has two] (2/1/25)

40. Stream of Consciousness Narrative (YIKES): Tarantula by Bob Dylan (4/8/25)

41. Cover Font In Primary Color: Dick Van Dyke by Christy Webster [yellow] (1/25/25)

42. Non-Human Antagonist: 

43. Explores Social Class: The Bus Station Murders by Louisa Revell [discusses the class system among naval families] (4/2/25)

44. Celebrity on Cover: In Such Good Company by Carol Burnett (1/22/25)

45. Author Releases More Than One Book a Year: The Feathered Serpent by Edgar Wallace (7/26/25)

46. Read During a "-Ber" Month: The Nine Waxed Faces by Francis Beeding (9/22/25)

47. "I Think It Was Blue": Murder on the Orient Express: The Graphic Novel by Agatha Christie/Bob Al-Greene (2/22/25)

48. Related to Word Puzzle: The Final Ring by Marcia Blair [#2 in the Zebra Puzzler series] (11/2/25)

49. Set in Country With Active Volcano: The Devil's Flute Murders by Seishi Yokomizo [Japan] (1/5/25)

50.  Set in the 1940s: The Art School Murders by Moray Dalton [pub 1943; takes place during WWII] (1/20/25)

51.  300-400 Pages Long: The Talk Show Murders by Steve Allen [314 pp] (6/12/25)

52. Published in 2025: A Slash of Emerald by Patrice McDonough (4/10/25)

April Mini-Challenge
1. Let out a breath they didn't know they were holding:

2. Book that makes you roll your eyes: The Strange Case of Eliza Doolittle by Timothy Miller (4/11/25)