MY READER'S BLOCK: November 2025

Sunday, November 30, 2025

2026 Mount TBR: My Sign-Up

I'm ready to kick off my fourteenth climb up Mount TBR as well as the fourteenth year I've sponsored the challenge. It will come as a surprise to no one that my TBR mountain range is no smaller than when I started. I just seem to trade one mountain for another, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to keep trying to read more than I take in. Once more the goal is to climb Mount Everest (100 of my own books) with the hopes of planting a flag atop Mount Olympus on Mars. I've managed that feat in two of the past years--but it's unlikely that I'll get very far on Mars this year. Grab your hiking boots and come join me on a TBR trek in 2026!

10.

2026 Vintage Scavenger Hunt: My Sign-Up

My own Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge is near and dear to my heart. It's the first challenge I sponsored here on the Block and mysteries are my genre of choice--if I'm forced to choose. We're back again for another round of the Vintage Mystery Scavenger Hunt. The mission is to find as many objects on the scavenger hunt list as possible, although finding a total of eight on either card will technically fulfill the challenge. You can play along in either the Golden or Silver (or, for the more adventurous, both) and all the rules may be found at the link above. I will be searching for both gold and silver treasure--eight on each card will allow me to count my challenge complete, but I will definitely be trying to find them all. Hope you will join me!

Commitment Met

2026 Color Coded & Read It Again, Sam Challenges

There continues to be a lot of love out there for both the Color Coded and Read It Again, Sam Challenges. Since I don't monitor these quite as closely as my other challenges and my linky provider limits the number of linky "parties" I can provide, I am setting these up on the same sign-up and headquarters sites again this year. The Headquarters with review links and wrap-up links will be updated on the sidebar at the beginning of the year. Here are the challenge descriptions and sign-up links:

Color Coded Reading Challenge

I've opened the possibilities up just a bit further--the color may be named in the title, in the author's name, or it may appear as the dominant color for the cover of the book. For "implies color" the image implying color should dominate the cover--for instance a large rainbow, a field of flowers, or the image of a painter. Get ready for a rainbow of reading in 2026.

General Rules:

~Challenge runs from January 1 through December 31, 2026 and any book read after January 1 may count regardless of when you sign up. You may sign-up any time.

~Read nine books in the following categories:

1. A book with "Blue" or any shade of Blue in the title/author name/on the cover.

2. A book with "Red" or any shade of Red in the title/author name/on the cover.

3. A book with "Yellow" or any shade of Yellow in the title/author name/on the cover.

4. A book with "Green" or any shade of Green in the title/author name/on the cover.

5. A book with "Brown" or any shade of Brown in the title/author name/on the cover.

6. A book with "Black" or any shade of Black in the title/author name/on the cover.

7. A book with "White" or any shade of White in the title/author name/on the cover.

8. A book with any other color in the title/author name/on the cover.title/on the cover (Purple, Orange, Silver, Pink, etc).

9. A book with a word/image that implies color in the title/author name/on the cover. (Rainbow, Polka-dot, Plaid, Shadow, Paint, Ink, etc).

~Crossovers with other challenges are fine.

~To Sign Up please fill in the form below. If you have a blog, please post about the challenge on your site and enter the url link. You may also enter a link to a Goodreads or Library Thing list, Instagram, etc. If you can't use the form for any reason, you may also sign up by commenting below.

~If you post on Facebook, Instagram, or other social media to log a book, please use #ColorCoded2026.

~At the beginning of the new year, I will put up posts for review links for each color category and the sidebar image will be updated to the new challenge links.

Read It Again, Sam

For those of you who love to revisit old friends in the book world, I present another round with Sam at the piano for all your reading music needs. While not quite as popular as the Color Coded Challenge, this one still has its devotees.

Rules:
~Challenge runs from January 1 to December 31, 2026.

~Levels:

Déjà vu: Reread 4 books

Feeling Nostalgic: Reread 8 books

A Trip Down Memory Lane: Reread 12 books

Living in the Past: Reread 16 books

Just Give Me a Time Machine Already...: 24+ books

~Once you choose your challenge level, you are locked in for at least that many books. If you find that you're lost in a nostalgic haze and want to tackle a higher level, then you are welcome to upgrade. You cannot change down, however.
~Any book read after January 2026 will count no matter when you sign up.
~Crossovers with other challenges are fine.

~If you post on Facebook, Instagram, or other social media to log a book, please use #ReadItAgain2026.

~~To Sign Up for either or both please fill in the form below. If you have a blog, please post about the challenge/s on your site and enter the url link. You may also enter a link to a Goodreads or Library Thing list, Instagram, etc.
~No blog or social media site or can't use the form for any reason? No problem! Post a comment below to announce your entry into the challenge/s and when you have completed just post a comment on the most current review site with a list of your books.
~Please use the Headquarters Page (updated link coming in January) to post review links and a final wrap-up post and/or comments. [Reviews are not required--but we'd love to see what you think about the books you've read if you do review.]

Calendar of Crime 2026

photo credit: Ellery Queen's Calendar of
Crime (Signet edition)

Ready for another year of mysterious months and dangerous days? I'm pleased to sponsor the 2025 edition of the Calendar of Crime. Just a reminder that this mystery-based challenge allows readers to include any mystery regardless of publication date. If it falls in a mystery category (crime fiction/detective novel/police procedural/suspense/thriller/spy & espionage/hard-boiled/cozy/etc.), then it counts and it does not matter if it was published in 1896 or 2026.

The Rules
~Challenge runs from January 1 to December 31, 2026. All books should be read during this time period. Sign up at any time. If you have a blog, please post about the challenge. Then sign up via the form below and please make the url link to your challenge post and not your home page. If you don't have a blog, links to an online list (Goodreads, Library Thing, etc.) devoted to this challenge are acceptable OR you may skip that question.

~All books must be mysteries. Humor, romance, supernatural elements (etc.) are all welcome, but the books must be mysteries/crime/detective novels first.

~Twelve books, one representing each month, are required for a complete challenge. You may find the spreadsheet with monthly categories HERE. We will be using the 2024 version again this year.

~To claim a book, it must fit one of the categories for the month you wish to fulfill. Unless otherwise specified, the category is fulfilled within the actual story. for instance, if you are claiming the book for December and want to use "Christmas" as the category, then Christmas figure in some in the plot. Did someone poison the plum pudding? Did Great-Uncle Whozit invite all the family home for Christmas so he could tell them he plans to change his will?

~The "wild card" book is exactly that. If July is your birth month (as mine is), then for category #9 you may read any mystery book you want. It does not have to connect with July in any way--other than a July baby chose it. The other eleven months, you must do the alternate category #9 if you want to fulfill that slot.

~Chinese Zodiac: Animal must be important to the book in some way. Examples: animal name appears in title (stand-alone, not part of another word); animal itself is important to the story; animal appears on cover; important character is associated with the animal (nickname--for instance, owns one as a pet, etc.) OR book may have been published in a year that corresponds to the Zodiac year.

~Books may only count for one month and one category, but they may count for other challenges (such as my Vintage Scavenger Hunt Challenge). If it could fulfill more than one category or month, then you are welcome to change it at any time prior to the final wrap-up.

~Books do not have to be read during the month for which they qualify. So--if you're feeling like a little "Christmas in July" (or May or...), then feel free to read your book for December whenever the mood strikes.

~A wrap-up post/comment/email will be requested that should include a list of books read and what category they fulfilled. [Example: January: The House of Sudden Sleep by John Hawk (original pub date January 1930)]

~The headquarters link in the left-hand sidebar will be updated in January for 2025 for easy access to this original challenge post, monthly review link-ups, and the final wrap-up. The final wrap-up link will not go live until the end of 2025, so please save your notification until that time.

~If you post on Facebook, Instagram, or other social media to log a book, please use #CalendarOfCrime2026.

Reading by the Numbers 2026

Year number five for the Reading by the Numbers Challenge on My Reader's Block! Over the years various blogs have sponsored reading challenges that were all about tracking how many books you read. But those that I participated in are no longer active, so I decided to create my own. This is the reading challenge at its most basic--just track everything you read. Anything counts--graphic novels or comic books, hard copy, e-books, audio novels, etc. If it is a book, it counts. Books with numbers in the title are not required. I merely used those above as a play on the challenge name. And, although the covers shown in the challenge image are all mysteries, you may read from any and all genres that interest you.

~Challenge runs from January 1 through December 31, 2026.

~No pre-set challenge levels. You decide on your personal goal.

~May be used concurrently with other "number" reading challenges (such as the Goodreads Challenge) or with any other challenge.

~A blog and reviews of the books are not required to participate, but if you have a blog, please post your sign-up for the challenge and link the post in the form below. You are also welcome to link up other media sites where you log process (Instagram; Goodreads; etc.).

~As with my other challenges, I will update the Headquarters link in the left sidebar of the blog at the beginning of the year.

~If you post on Facebook, Instagram, or other social media to log a book, please use #ReadingByNumbers2026.

2026 Virtual Mount TBR Challenge

We're ready for another year of the Virtual Mount TBR Reading Challenge. This challenge, a sister site to the Mount TBR Challenge, is for folks who have a long "wish-list" of TBRs and who would like a chance to tackle those mountains. The strategy and general set-up is the same as for the regular Mount TBR--but you don't own the books. Heard about a great book from a friend, took note of the title, and then never got around to reading it? Saw a book online that you thought sounded intriguing but you keep putting off ordering it up from the library? You borrowed a book from somebody and need an extra push to read it and return it? This is the place for you!

Challenge levels:
Mount Rum Doodle: Read 12 books from your Virtual TBR/Wish List/Library
Mount Crumpit: Read 24 books from your Virtual TBR/Wish List/Library
Mount Munch: Read 36 books from your Virtual TBR/Wish List/Library
White Plume Mountain: Read 48 books from your Virtual TBR/Wish List/Library
Stormness Head: Read 60 books from you Virtual TBR/Wish List Library
Mount Mindolluin: Read 75 books from your Virtual TBR/Wish List/Library
Mount Seleya: Read 100 books from your Virtual TBR/Wish List/Library
Mount Olympus: Read 150+ books from your Virtual TBR/Wish List/Library

In keeping with the virtual nature of the challenge, all mountains are fictional (reference in comments below). How many do you recognize? The only one shared by both TBR challenges is Olympus--both fictional and on Mars. However, since I don't know actual heights, I have arbitrarily assigned levels.

The Rules:
~This challenge is only for books you do not own. They may be borrowed from the library, a friend, found on a free e-book site (like Project Gutenberg), or anywhere else that allows you to temporarily "checkout" the book. Also--unlike Mount TBR--there is no date limit on your wish list. If you see a book that strikes your fancy after January 1 and want to grab it from the library, etc. then go for it.

~Once you choose your challenge level you are locked in for at least that many books. If you find you are on a mountain-climbing roll and want to tackle a taller mountain, then you are welcome to upgrade. All books counted for lower mountains carry over towards the new peak.

~Challenge runs from January 1 to December 31, 2026. You may count any "currently reading" book that you begin prior to January 1--provided you have 50% or more of the book to finish when January 1 rolled around. Exception: if you participated in the 2025 Virtual Mount TBR and did not finish a book in time to count it towards that challenge, then you may count it as your first step of 2026 regardless of how much you had left to read.

~Rereads may count if you have not yet counted it for a Virtual Mount TBR Challenge.

~You may count "Did Not Finish" books provided they meet your own standard for such things; you do not plan to ever finish it; and you move it off your virtual mountain.

~Books may be used for other challenges as well.

~A blog and reviews are not necessary to participate. If you have a blog then please post a challenge sign-up and link that post (not your home page) in the form below. Non-bloggers may skip that question on the form, provide a link to another media site for tracking--OR, if you are a member of Goodreads, it may be more practical join the challenge there. Feel free to sign up HERE if that's where you want to participate. (link coming soon)

~The headquarters link in the left-hand side-bar will be fully updated at the beginning of January.

~If you post on Facebook, Instagram, or other social media to log a book, please use #VirtualMountTBR2026.

2026 Mount TBR Challenge

January 2026 kicks off the fifteenth year for the Mount TBR Reading Challenge and my mountain ranges just have shrunk even less than usual--due in part to life going off the rails in November. I still have mountain ranges to climb. And miles of bookcases to read before I sleep (or something like that). I just can't resist a good old fashioned used bookstore (though they are become rarer and rarer) or the community Hoosier Hills Food Bank Book Sale which adds to the mountains as fast as I knock books off. And my mountain range seems to be just as vast as ever.

So, here we are again, planning to concentrate on reading primarily from my own books in the coming year. In both 2021 and 2022 I actually planted a flag on Mount Olympus...I'm not sure that will ever happen again (especially when real life becomes a bit of a challenge as well). So, my declared goal will remain Mount Everest. Please join me in knocking out some of those books that have been waiting for attention for weeks...months...even years.

Challenge Levels:

Pike's Peak: Read 12 books from your TBR pile/s
Mount Blanc: Read 24 books from your TBR pile/s
Mt. Vancounver: Read 36 books from your TBR pile/s
Mt. Ararat: Read 48 books from your TBR pile/s
Mt. Kilimanjaro: Read 60 books from your TBR pile/s
El Toro*: Read 75 books from your TBR pile/s (*aka Cerro El Toro in South America)
Mt. Everest: Read 100 books from your TBR pile/s
Mount Olympus (Mars): Read 150+ books from your TBR pile/s

The Rules:
*Once you choose your challenge level, you are locked in for at least that many books. You are welcome to voyage further and conquer taller mountains after your commitment is met. All books from lower mountains carry over towards the next peak.

*Challenge runs from January 1 to December 31, 2026.

*You may sign up at any time--no matter when you see this challenge. All qualifying books read after January 1st count.

*Books must be owned by you prior to January 1, 2026--items requested or ordered prior to January 1, may count even if they arrive in the new year. No library books. If you're looking for a library book challenge or one that counts books on your non-owned TBR list, then please see Mount TBR's sister challenge: the Virtual Mount TBR Challenge.
~The ONLY exception to the library rule: If you own the book in any form and have a reason to check out a version from the library instead, then you may count it. For example--if you own a hard copy, but are planning on taking a trip where listening to the audio version would be a great way to knock out a book while you drive, then by all means check out the audio version and have a wonderful trip! Please check with me if you have questions.

*Rules for Rereads: Any reread may count, regardless of how long you've owned it, provided you have not counted it for a previous Mount TBR Challenge.

*Audiobooks and E-books may count provided they are yours prior to January 1. ARCs are also fine.

*You may count any "currently reading" book that you begin prior to January 1--provided you had 50% or more of the book left to finish when January 1 rolled around. I will trust you all on that. The only exception is if you have participated in Mount TBR in 2025 and were unable to finish the book in time for the final Check-in Post. Then--if you finish the book post-January 1, you may count it as your first step of the new challenge.

*You may count "Did Not Finish" books provided they meet your own standard for such things, you do not plan to ever finish it, and you move it off your mountain [give it away, sell it, remove from e-resources, etc.]. For example, my personal rule (unless it's a very short book) is to give it 100 pages. If I decide I just can't finish it and won't ever, then off the mountain it goes and I count it as a victory--the stack is smaller!

*No page limit--if it was published as a book, it counts. No single short stories--but collections of short stories do count.

*Books may be used to count for other challenges as well.

*Feel free to submit your list in advance or to tally them as you climb.

*A blog and reviews are not necessary to participate. If you have a blog, then please post about the challenge and link that post (not your home page) in the form below. My link provider has limited the number of link "parties" I can have open at a time--so I will be using Google forms for all my sign-up links this year. Non-bloggers may enter their names only without a blog link OR members of Goodreads are welcome to join the Goodreads group HERE.

*Anthologies which contain more than one full-length book may count for the number of books included in the edition--provided that you read all books included AND that the books were published individually at some point. For instance, I own a large number of 3-in-1 Detective Book Club editions. Those three books count as three separate entries on Mount TBR. Occasionally, publishers put together editions of "previously unpublished works." Those editions would only count as one entry since those works have not been published separately at any time.

*If you post on Facebook, Instagram, or other social media to log a book, please use #MountTBR2026.

* As I have in the past, I will have a headquarters link in the left hand side-bar which will offer links to this original post, monthly review links, and the final wrap-up. I will update it at the beginning of the new year The Headquarters will also have a link to a list of our climbing crew with their commitments.

Happy climbing!

Vintage Mystery Scavenger Hunt 2026

It's past time to start posting challenges for the new year, but life went off the rails at the beginning of November here at the Block so I'm running a bit late. I had planned to switch things up for the Vintage Mystery Challenge in 2026, but never got a chance to think things through properly. So...we're going to do another round of scavenging and I'll see about a new vintage challenge next year.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, will be to find as many objects on the scavenger hunt list as possible on the covers of the mystery books you read. As always, you may play along in either the Golden or Silver Mystery Eras (or, for the more adventurous, both). See check lists below.

Rules
* All books must be from the mystery category (crime fiction, detective fiction, espionage, etc.). The mystery/crime must be the primary feature of the book--ghost stories, paranormal, romance, humor, etc are all welcome as ingredients, but should not be the primary category under which these books would be labeled at the library or bookstore.

*For the purposes of this challenge, the Golden Age Vintage Mysteries must have been first published before 1960. Golden Age short story collections (whether published pre-1960 or not) are permissible provided all of the stories included in the collection were originally written pre-1960. Please remember that some of our Golden Age Vintage authors wrote well after 1959--so keep an eye on the original publication date and apply them to the appropriate card. Silver Age Vintage Mysteries may be first published any time from 1960 to 1989 (inclusive). Again, Silver Age short story collections published later than 1989 are permissible as long as they include no stories first published later than 1989. Yes, I admit my dates are arbitrary and may not exactly meet standard definitions of Golden or Silver Age.

*Minimum number of items to complete the challenge and to be eligible for an all-Reader's Block Challenge prize drawing at the end of the year is eight items from the covers of books read from a single Vintage Mystery Era. If you choose to do both eras, you must use separate checklists. You may not, for example, find three golden age items and five silver age items to claim the minimum eight.

*Challenge runs from January 1, 2026 to December 31, 2026. All books should be read during this time period. You may sign up at any time. Any books read from January 1 on may count regardless of your sign-up date. If you have a blog, please post about the challenge and a little bit about your commitment—if you’re going Silver or Gold…or maybe both. Then sign up via the form below. And please make the url link to your Challenge post and not your home page. If you do not have a blog, links to an online list (Goodreads, Library Thing, etc.) devoted to this challenge are also acceptable OR you may comment below to indicate your sign up.

*"On the cover" may apply to either the front or the back cover of the book. For example, if you need a map or a chart for your scavenger hunt list, then Dell Mapbacks are perfect--with the map in question on the back cover. Also, the item should be found on the cover of the edition that you read. If at all possible either post a picture showing the item on the cover in the monthly review linky or provide a link to a page showing us. Exception: If the edition you read has no picture whatsoever (hardbacks that have no dust jacket, e-copies, etc.), then you may go on another scavenger hunt online to find a cover image--again, please provide a link to the edition used. Bottom line: if I choose to check up on entries, I must be able to find the item claimed on a cover for the book read.

*No double-counting within the challenge. If a book's cover has both a shadowy figure and a weapon, you may only use it to check off one item from the list. You are welcome to change the item claimed at any time prior to submitting it for the prize drawing.

*Books read for this challenge may be used for other challenges as well.

*Reviews are encouraged, but they are not necessary to participate. If you do not have a blog, post to the comments below that you intend to join and then post again at the end-of-year wrap-up site when you have completed your challenge (include a list of books read, categories you have completed, and how to find images of covers).

*The Vintage Headquarters link which appears on my sidebar will be updated for the 2026 version once the new year begins. You can go there for review links and information.

*PRIZE Opportunity: Challengers who complete the minimum eight books from a single era will be eligible for a drawing at the end of the year for a book from the prize list. Please keep track of your progress and be prepared to submit a final wrap-up post or comment at the end of the year. Please do not submit completion notifications prior to the posting of the Wrap-Up Link. Thank you.

*If you post on social media, please use #2026VintageScavengerHunt.*Pictures of the Scavenger Hunt lists are below (click photo to enlarge). To help you track your progress, you may find a spreadsheet with tabs for lists in Gold & Silver HERE. You can download the sheet for your own use.

Friday, November 28, 2025

It Can't Be My Grave

It Can't Be My Grave (1984) by S. F. X. Dean

Professor Neil Kelly is back in England. He's just written a spectacular scholarly book on John Donne (which has even sold movie rights!*) and his British publisher wants him to make a big splash in the London literary world as well. They want to throw huge parties and book him on the William Wisdom show (only the most-watched face on British TV). Neil really doesn't want any of it--though it would be nice if his book would do as well here as in the States. In the process he meets eccentric business tycoon Sir Gordon Fairly (who incidentally owns his publisher).

Sir Gordon is convinced that an anonymously attributed sixteenth-century tragedy was really penned by his ancestor, an obscure writer named Lucy Goodman. He plans on funding a production of the play, putting Neil's friend actor Hugh James in charge and featuring Hugh's wife, actress Sheila. All he wants from Neil is for him to prove Fairly's theories about authorship correct. Oh, and one other thing, maybe even prove that Shakespeare murdered Lucy while he's at it. Neil is skeptical about the first part and very certain there's no chance of proving the second.

Neil finds himself liking Gordon and is willing to listen to more of his "proofs." In very short order, he spends a lot of time with this man he just met. He even gets invited for a ride in the the businessman's Daimler limousine--eccentrically decked out like drawing room with tapestry-upholstered antique armchair, Aubusson carpet, artwork, and fancy gold drapes. Sir Gordon also arranges to have his daily mail delivered straight to the Daimler via private courier. Scholarly mysteries turn into a murder case when a letter bomb (or three) is later delivered to Sir Gordon with fatal results.

It's hardly surprising that Sir Gordon has collected a fair amount of enemies (including within his own family) on his way to the top--single-minded men (and women) often don't mind who they tick off while they get on with their objectives. Neil is a little surprised to find that Scotland Yard seems to think he might be included on that list. But after all, it is a little suspicious how much time he spent in Fairly's company given that he says he just met the man...Neil even has his own personal shadow, Detective Inspector Thomas Bowie. The question is will Neil or Bowie discover the murderer first?

So...this book should be right up my alley. Professor as amateur detective? Check. Throw in an interesting literary mystery on top of the murder plot? Check. Set it in England? Check. Witty dialogue? Check. But. Other than the professor how many of these characters are interesting? Not many. Bowie is good and makes for really good dialogue when he's talking with Neil. Does Neil Kelly actually do much of anything in the amateur detective line? Not really. All the suspects (for no reason that makes any real sense) come and talk with him and clues get thrown at him, but does he actually put two and two together? Nope. We got Bowie for that--and kudos to Bowie! I hope Sinjin (his boss) gives him the appropriate accolades. Neil Kelly's sole purpose (as far as I can tell) is to receive confidences and serve as a sounding board for Bowie to bounce things off of. And Neil is the recurring character here, folks. The book blurb makes it sound like our dear professor is hot the trail and coming up with "brilliant solutions" but I'm afraid it just ain't so. One other minor complaint while I'm at it...what's with that title? If anyone can read this book and tell what the title has to do with the plot, then I'd be very grateful. It sounds spiffy. It sounds like a quote from something (if so, Google couldn't tell me what). But I just don't see the connection...

The plot is decent and I did like the the set-up of not one....not two...but three letter bombs being used. The consternation it caused among the lab boys and Bowie's description thereof was worth the price of admission. But I'd like to see our recurring amateur sleuth do a bit more detecting if I pick up another of this series. Especially since, when Scotland Yard does a bit of check-up on him, they find that his hometown police chief calls him "a goddam super-sleuth" and that he's been hobnobbing with the London Metropolitan Police force and the Devon constabulary in previous cases. Surely to goodness he does more than just act as a conduit for suspects' conversations... Had high hopes for this one, but in the end it's just a middle-of-the road read for me.★★★

*This is how we know this is fiction. How often does that happen?!)

First line: After more than a year away from it, London felt good.

Last line: She still wasn't smoking, and she was starting to enjoy it.
********************

Deaths = 5 (one natural; one letter bomb; two car accident; one gunshot)

Wednesday, November 19, 2025

The World's Best One Hundred Detective Stories Vol. Eight

The World's Best One Hundred Detective Stories Vol. Eight (1910) by Eugene Thwing, ed

[I did, finally, manage to finish this collection--which I started before my husband was hospitalized. I only had three more stories to read, but had difficulty concentrating on much for almost two weeks.]

Billed as the "world's best," this collection is very hit and miss. Mostly miss in these later volumes. The best of this collection are "The Story of O Toyo" and "The Tragedy at St. Tropez." The Bramah stories are also good, but I have read them previously. ★★ and 1/2 for the collection.

"The Last Exploit of Harry the Actor" by Ernest Bramah: Features his blind detective Max Carrados in a mystery about the robbery from several safe deposit boxes in a Lucas Street depository known colloquially as "The Safe." The contents of the boxes are held safe behind multiple barriers--both real locks and bars as well as secret passwords known only to the owners. And yet...a large number of the boxes are plundered. Carrodos, whose other faculties have become stronger to compensate for the loss of his sight, is able to "see" the solution to the mystery very quickly.

"The Comedy at Fountain Cottage" by Ernest Bramah: Carrados is intrigued when his friend Louis Carlyle tells him about his niece's odd neighbor--a neighbor who tosses stewed kidneys over the fence at night. When he digs into the history of Fountain Cottage he learns some interesting facts about the previous owner and what the odd neighbor might have planned. [one natural]

"The Curious Circumstance of the Two Left Shoes" by Ernest Bramah: When the Enderleigh's silver is stolen--apparently by the Monkey Burglar, Carrodos arrives to track down the real culprit.

"The Jeweled Casket" by Arthur Somers Roche: An "artist" in thievery, John Ainsley, steals from the thieves and gives...to himself. He loves outwitting the White Eagle, one of those supercrooks who thinks he's unstoppable. In this episode, Ainsley plots to get hold of a fabulous jeweled box that the White Eagle has just gotten his hands on. [two natural]

"The Club of One-Eyed Men" by Arthur Somers Roche: John Ainsley is at it again. He sees the White Eagle in close conversation with an American millionaire at a Parisian nightclub. Then sees the criminal mastermind the next day on a street full of men with only one eye. When he finds himself onboard a New York-bound steam ship with the millionaire and one of the one-eyed men, he finds himself set up to take advantage of another White Eagle criminal plot.

"The Pigtail of Hi Wing Ho" by Sax Rohmer: Hi Wing Ho becomes embroiled in a series of mysterious events that threaten his life and the lives of those around him. He is pursued by a group of criminals who are after a valuable artifact that our hero possesses.

"The Story of O Toyo" by H. de Vere Stacpoole: When some con artists attempt an impersonation of a jeweler, the young Japanese woman who is his servant sees through their plot.

"The Tragedy at St. Tropez" by Gilbert Frankau: When a wealthy financier is poisoned everything points towards his secretary. But the man brought in to translate French for the investigators, can't believe his old school friend is guilty. [one poisoned]

These last two are like "minute mysteries"--the readers are given the story and then supposed to figure out the solution. The authors vary from the very obvious (the first) to impossible to tell how it was done even though the culprit is again obvious (the last).
"The Crawley Robbery" by Evelyn Johnson & Gretta Palmer: A wealthy couple bring home the family jewels so the wife can wear them to a special dinner. While she is dressing the emeralds disappear. Who did it?

"Finger Prints Can't Lie" by Evelyn Johnson & Gretta Palmer: The wife of a German spy is poisoned. The fingerprints on the bottles (poison and the wife's medicine bottle) belong to the maid. Is she guilty? If not, who did it and why aren't the fingerprints telling the truth? [one poisoned]

Pause in Posting: Update

Life is still off the rails...but a little closer to getting back on track. My husband wound up not having to have the heart pump after all (We're SO thankful!). When the surgeon got in there, he said "I don't see why I can't do a bypass." So, he did. Triple bypass--actually. Recovery is going well--but I'm still spending a great deal of time at the hospital.

Saturday, November 15, 2025

A Pause in Posting

Life has gone off the rails here on the Block. My husband is currently in the critical cardiac unit of a local hospital--waiting on a surgery to install a heart pump. I do plan to host all of my challenges in 2026, but I can't promise how soon I'll get them posted.

Sunday, November 2, 2025

The Final Ring

The Final Ring (1978) by Marcia Blair (Marc Baker)

Tory Baxter is awakened by a phone call from her best friend and fellow nurse Peg Moore. After a bit of unintelligible mumbling, she manages one full sentence: "Oh, I don't think so." And then, "Two...Mailman...Bell...Our Favorite." Tory realizes that her friend, a diabetic, must be suffering from a diabetic reaction and tells her to hang up so Tory can summon help. She calls the house where Peg had been serving as a day nurse and instructs the housekeeper to get some sugar into the young woman at once. She then calls Dr. Clarkson, the doctor associated with the house as well as Peg's love interest. But they're too late. Peg dies as a result of a diabetic coma.

The longer Tory thinks about that last phone call the more certain she is that Tory was trying to tell her something important. The two young women were both mystery book fans and she's sure that there's a dying clue in there somewhere. Her friend, Lieutenant Thorpe, is just as sure that Tory is letting her imagination run away with her and that everything is just what it seems. But Tory insists that Peg was too aware of the dangers of her condition to have missed an insulin shot or not eaten enough. So, when Dr. Clarkson asks if she wants to take over the job at the Harrington house, she jumps at the chance. And when more "accidents" occur, Tory is sure that Peg's death is just one part of a nefarious plot. But whose plot? And to what purpose?

Mrs. Harrington, a beautiful woman married to a rich man who adores her, is the patient. She is suffering from a broken leg which occurred when her husband accidentally backed into her with the car. Or was it an accident? When Eve Harrington suffers from gastric distress that looks a lot like arsenical poisoning, Tory begins to wonder. And then Ethel, a nosy little maid, takes a deadly tumble down the staircase. Did Ethel see or hear too much? Tory needs to find out soon...or she may be next on the killer's list.

This is the first of Blair's Zebra Puzzler books to feature nurse Tory Baxter and her sparring partner Lieutenant Jay Thorpe. These Puzzlers offer up mysteries with visual clues--on the cover and in illustrations within the novel. The plot is a good one; better, I think, than the first of Blair's that I read two years ago (review HERE). There still aren't a lot of suspects running around (a definite weakness in Blair's plotting), but I do think there's more doubt about which way the suspicion should fall to become certainty. It isn't until the last clue given that I became sure. There's supposed to be one clue on the cover and four more inside, but I can only point to two of the five. And one of the illustrations is down-right misleading--what it depicts is contradicted throughout by what we're told and the contradiction doesn't figure in the explanation.

A nice, quick read. Interesting plot and a good chance for the reader to figure out whodunnit (especially if you're better than I was at picking up the visual clues). Well worth the afternoon I spent on it. ★★★ and 1/2

A final note: I'm still not a fan of Tory's tendency to shout at Jay. It gets on my nerves. She's such a level-headed young woman in all other respects. The poor man doesn't even have to be irritating for her to shout at him. Not that he can't be irritating--he can. And is at times. If the shouting were limited to those times, that might be okay. But, geez, Tory, give it a rest, can't you?

First line: The ringing telephone threaded its way into Tory's nightmare.

My my mind's like a superlative wastebasket, filled with both trivia and unexpected valuables. (Sandy Brockman; p. 41)

Last line: They were still at it when the waiter brought the check.
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Deaths = 2 (one fell down stairs; one diabetic reaction)