Virtual Mount TBR 2020

image credit--ST:The Next Generation holodeck with Capt. Picard

Last year I created the Virtual Mount TBR Reading Challenge for all those folks who had asked me why library books couldn't count for the Mount TBR Challenge. It has been such a success that I plan to keep it as a regular challenge feature here at the Block.

This challenge is for folks who have a long "wish-list" of TBRs who would like a chance to tackle those mountains as well. 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, 2020. 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 2019 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 2020 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.

~There will be a year-end check point and prize drawing!

~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-blogger may skip that question on the form--OR, if you are a member of Goodreads, you may join the challenge there. Feel free to sign up HERE if that's where you want to participate.

~If you post on Facebook, Instagram, or other social media about the challenge or books read, please use #VirtualMountTBR2020.

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

Mount TBR Reading Challenge 2020

January 2020 kicks off the ninth year for the Mount TBR Reading Challenge and, despite climbing like mad and conquering Mount Everest on the regular each year, 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.

So, once again, I plan to concentrate on reading primarily from my own books in the coming year. Perhaps this year I will actually plant a flag on Mount Olympus...but 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 (a few minor adjustments from previous years indicated in green):
*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, 2020

*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, 2020--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 (click the link).
   ~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.

*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 2019 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!

*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.

*There will be a year-end check-in and prize drawing! 

*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. 

*If you post on Facebook, Instagram, or other social media to log a book, please use #MountTBR2020.

* 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. The Headquarters also has a link to a list of our climbing crew with their commitments. 

Happy climbing!

Vintage Mystery Extravaganza: Reading Challenge 2020

Having discovered the delights (and temptations) of reading challenges during my first year of blogging (2010), I decided try my hand at hosting a challenge for the next year. My abiding love of classic mysteries suggested the theme of Vintage Mysteries and so an almost 10-year journey was begun. Since I am celebrating 10 years of blogging in 2020 and the 10th Anniversary of the Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge in 2021, I have put together a Vintage Mystery Extravaganza version of the challenge to run in both years. As has been the case since 2014, readers may choose either Golden or Silver eras (or, for the more adventurous, both) to claim completion of any level.

General Rules
*Challenge runs January 1, 2020 through December 31st 2020. Any books read January 1 or later may count regardless of sign-up date.

*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, romance, humor, etc. are all welcome as ingredients, but must not be the primary category under which these books would be shelved at the library or bookstore.

For the purposes of my challenge, Golden Age 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 authors wrote well after 1959--so keep an eye on the original publication date and count them appropriately. Silver Age mysteries may be first published from 1960 to 1989 (inclusive). Again, Silver Age short story collections published later than 1989 are permissible provided none of the stories are first published later than 1989. Yes, I admit my dates are arbitrary (and personal to me) and may not exactly meet standard definitions of Golden or Silver Age.

*If you have a blog please post about the challenge and a little about your commitment--if you're going Silver or Gold...or maybe both in some of the levels. Then sign-up via the form below. Please use the url link for your Challenge post and not your home page. Those without blogs may leave that blank or enter the url for a Goodreads or Library Thing list, ect.


The Basic Level for the Vintage Mystery Extravaganza: 
Commandments/Rules/Common Devices
Ronald Knox (1888-1957) was a member of the Detective Club who penned the original commandments for detective fiction writers. S.S. Van Dine (Willard Huntington Wright; 1888-1939) was a detective novelist from the early years who compiled his own list of rules for detective fiction writers. To complete the most basic level of this year's challenge and to be eligible for the prize drawing at the end of the year, challengers must read five books in a chosen era (Golden or Silver) related in some way to five different categories from the combined lists. Bonus points for completing more categories and more than one book per category as well as completing the challenge for both eras. You are welcome to interpret these creatively:

1. The criminal must be mentioned in the early part of the story, but must not be anyone whose thoughts the reader has been allowed to know. (Knox/Van Dine #10) Now--I don't want to encourage spoilers, so elements for eligible books may include any of the following: unreliable narrator/source of any sort (does not have to be the villain--may just be telling us fibs for their own purposes); criminal winds up being some random, marginal character or someone thrust upon the reader in the last half of the book; etc.

2. All supernatural or preternatural agencies are ruled out as a matter of course. (Knox) The problem of the crime must be solved by strictly naturalistic means. Such methods for learning the truth as slate-writing, ouija-boards, mind-reading, spiritualistic seances (especially to frighten the culprit into giving himself away--see Van Dine #20), crystal-gazing, and the like, are taboo. (Van Dine #8) and The method of murder, and the means of detecting it must be rational and scientific. (Van Dine #14) Any book that includes a supernatural aspect (real or imagined) is fair game. 

3. Not more than one secret room or passage is allowable (Knox). A book with any amount of secret rooms/passages will qualify.

4. No hitherto undiscovered poisons may be used, nor any appliance which will need a long scientific explanation at the end. (Knox). No use of the hypodermic syringe and the knockout drops. (Van Dine #20) Any book that uses poisons, ingenious devices, hypodermics, etc. may count here.

5. No Chinaman must figure in the story. (Knox) Any book that features someone of Asian heritage in a prominent way--culprit, suspect, victim, witness, detective.

6. No accident must ever help the detective, nor must he ever have an unaccountable intuition which proves to be right. (Knox) The culprit must be determined by logical deductions--not by accident or coincidence or unmotivated confession. (Van Dine #5) Any book where it seems that the detective has pulled his/her solution out of the air or where you are completely unsatisfied with the explanation may count. 

7. The detective himself must not commit the crime. (Knox) The detective himself, or one of the official investigators, should never turn out to be the culprit. (Van Dine #4). Again, to avoid spoilers, any book where the detective, a police officer, other law/justice-related person, or the narrator is suspected of the crime (not necessarily ultimately guilty).

8. The detective is bound to declare any clues which he may discover. (Knox) The reader must have equal opportunity with the detective for solving the mystery. All clues must be plainly stated and described. (Van Dine #1) No wilful tricks or deceptions may be played on the reader other than those played legitimately by the criminal on the detective himself. (Van Dine #2) The truth of the problem must at all times be apparent--provided the reader is shrewd enough to see it. (Van Dine #15) Any book where you feel the detective is holding clues/knowledge back or you just feel like you were unfairly bamboozled by the author.

9. The "sidekick" of the detective, the Watson, must not conceal from the reader any thoughts which pass through his mind: his intelligence must be slightly, but very slightly below that of the average reader. (Knox). Again--any book where you feel the narrator is not playing fair with the information given. 

10. Twin brothers, and doubles generally, must not appear unless we have been duly prepared for them. (Knox) There shall be no final pinning of the crime on a twin, or a relative who looks exactly like the suspected, but innocent person. (Van Dine #20) Any book where twins or doubles figure. Impersonation of any sort. Mistaken identity.

11. There must be no love interest. (Van Dine #3) Any book with love/romance as a prominent feature. [Just about any Patricia Wentworth, for instance)

12. The detective novel must have a detective in it; and a detective is not a detective unless he detects. (Van Dine #6) This is pretty much a free space--any mystery with a real detective in it (professional or amateur).

13. There simply must be a corpse in a detective novel, and the deader the corpse the better. (Van Dine #7) Any mystery that does NOT have a murder in it--think burglary, kidnapping, forgery, spying (with no dead bodies mentioned), etc.

14. There must be but one detective--that is, but one protagonist of deduction--one deus ex machina. (Van Dine #9) Any book where you have more than one detective (loosely interpreted). For instance, books with an amateur detective working in concert with or separately from the official force. (Holmes & Lestrade; Lord Peter Wimsey and Charles Parker; etc.)

15. A servant must not be chosen by the author as the culprit. (Van Dine #11) To avoid spoilers--any book where a servant is important in any way--culprit, suspect, victim, vital witness, detective.

16. There must be but one culprit, no matter how many murders are committed. The culprit may, of course, have a minor helper or co-plotter; but the entire onus must rest on one pair of shoulders. (Van Dine #12) Secret societies, camorras, mafias, et al., have no place in a detective story. (Van Dine #13) A professional criminal must never be shouldered with the guilt of a crime in a detective story. (Van Dine #17) Any book with more than one culprit, a professional criminal, OR with a reference to any secret society. The secret society does not have to be responsible for any murders done--just play a role in the narrative.

17. A detective novel should contain no long descriptive passages, no literary dallying with side-issues, no subtly worked-out character analyses, no "atmospheric" preoccupations. (Van Dine #16) Any book you think goes on a bit much about the countryside, delves too deeply into psychology, or breaks Van Dine's rule in any way.

18. A crime in a detective story must never turn out to be an accident or a suicide. (Van Dine #17) Any book that features a death looks like accident or suicide--whether it winds up really being murder or not.

19. The motives for all crimes in detective stories should be personal. International plottings and war politics belong in a different category of fiction--in secret-service tales, for instance. (Van Dine #19) Read a spy/espionage novel; military intrigue; international super-villains; etc.

20. The remaining over-used devices listed under Van Dine's #20: Determining the identity of the culprit by comparing the butt of a cigarette left at the scene of the crime with the brand smoked by a suspect. Forged fingerprints. The dummy-figure alibi. The dog that does not bark and thereby reveals the fact that the intruder is familiar. The commission of the murder in a locked room after the poilice have actually broken in. The word association test for guilt. The cipher, or code letter, which is eventually unraveled by the sleuth. One book that employs any of these devices OR any device that you would argue has been over-used to the point of cliche.


Bonus Levels: Vintage Mystery Challenge over the years
Once a challenger has read the five books for the basic-level challenge, they are welcome to complete any of the bonus levels focused on each variation of the Vintage Mystery Challenge since it began. Each level requires new books in addition to those already read and when completed will add extra entries for the prize drawing at the end of the year. Even though the original version may have called for Golden Age books only, five or six books in Silver are also acceptable. Please click on the links for the individualized rules for each version.

Vintage Mystery Challenge 2011  
To complete this level, challengers must complete the Murderous Mood level of the original challenge with five books.

Vintage Mystery Challenge 2012: Vintage Themes
To complete this level, challengers must complete at least five books in a chosen theme. .

Vintage Mystery Challenge 2013: Scattergories
To complete this level, challengers must complete at least five books in five of the categories listed.

Vintage Mystery Challenge 2014: Bingo
To complete this level, challengers must complete one valid Bingo on either Golden or Silver card.

Vintage Mystery Challenge 2015: Bingo
To complete this level, challengers must complete one valid Bingo on either Golden or Silver card.

Vintage Mystery Challenge 2016: Scavenger Hunt 
To complete this level, challengers must find five of the required items on book covers. [None from books read previously]

Vintage Mystery Challenge 2017: Scavenger Hunt
To complete this level, challengers must find five of the required items on book covers. [None from books read previously]

Vintage Mystery Challenge 2018: Just the Facts, Ma'am
 To complete this level, challengers must complete one book for each notebook item (6 total).

Vintage Mystery Challenge 2019: Just the Facts, Ma'am 
To complete this level, challengers must complete one book for each notebook item (6 total)

Color Coded & Read It Again, Sam Reading Challenges 2020

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, I set these up on the same site. The Headquarters with review links and wrap-up links will be posted on the sidebar at the beginning of the year. Here are the challenge descriptions and sign-up forms:

The Color Coded Challenge

Once again the categories will be more open--the color may either be named in the title or it may appear as the dominant color for the cover of the book. For "implies color" the image implying cover 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 2020. 

Here are the rules:

~Challenge runs from January 1 through December 31, 2020 and any book read after January 1 may count regardless of when you sign up. Sign-ups accepted until November 1, 2020.

~Read nine books in the following categories:
1. A book with "Blue" or any shade of Blue (Turquoise, Aquamarine, Navy, etc.) in the title/on the cover.
2. A book with "Red" or any shade of Red (Scarlet, Crimson, Burgandy, etc.) in the title/on the cover.
3. A book with "Yellow" or any shade of Yellow (Gold, Lemon, Maize, etc.) in the title/on the cover.
4. A book with "Green" or any shade of Green (Emerald, Lime, Jade, etc.) in the title/on the cover.
5. A book with  "Brown" or any shade of Brown (Tan, Beige, Sand, etc.) in the title/on the cover.
6. A book with "Black" or any shade of Black (Jet, Ebony, Charcoal, etc.) in the title/on the cover.
7. A book with "White" or any shade of White (Ivory, Eggshell, Cream, etc.) in the title/on the cover.
8. A book with any other color in the title/on the cover (Purple, Orange, Silver, Magenta, Pink, etc.).
9. A book with a word that implies color in the title/on the cover (Rainbow, Polka-dot, Plaid, Shadow, Paint, Ink, etc.).

~Crossovers with other challenges are fine.
~Please post about the challenge on your blog, if you have one and sign up using the form below. Give your name and blog (Example: Bev@My Reader's Block) and use a direct link to your challenge post as your url. Please don't connect to just your home page. Links to a list on GoodReads or other social media sites are also acceptable.
~No blog or social media site? No problem! Just skip that question on sign-up form.
~I am still tinkering with how reviews will be handled this year--my linky provider has limited the number of linky "parties" I can have open, so I'm looking for a new system. Stay Tuned!

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. 2020.

~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

~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.
~You may sign up until November 1, 2020. Any book read after January 2020 will count no matter when you sign up.~Crossovers with other challenges are fine.
~Please post about the challenge on your blog, if you have one and sign up using the form below. Give your name and blog (Example: Bev@My Reader's Block) and use a direct link to your challenge post as your url. Please don't connect to just your home page. Links to a list on GoodReads or other social media sites are also acceptable.
~No blog or social media site? No problem! Just skip that question on sign-up form.
~I am still tinkering with how reviews will be handled this year--my linky provider has limited the number of linky "parties" I can have open, so I'm looking for a new system. Stay Tuned!

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (mini-review)

Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2005) by Rick Riordan

Synopsis from the book flap: Percy Jackson is about to be kicked out of boarding school...again. And that's the least of his troubles. Lately, mythological monsters and the gods of Mount Olympus seem to be walking straight out of the pages of Percy's Greek mythology textbook and into his life. and worse, he's angered a few of them. Zeus's master lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect.

Now Percy and his friends have just ten days to find and return Zeus's stolen property and bring peace to a warring Mount Olympus. But to succeed in his quest, Percy will have to do more than catch the true thief: he must come to terms with the father who abandoned him; solve the riddle of the Oracle, which warns him of betrayal by a friend; and unravel a treachery more powerful than the gods themselves.

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

My take: This is a very good fantasy novel for young people. Once the introductory chapters are done and Percy begins to find out who he is, the action picks up and things get pretty exciting for the twelve-year-old who has never felt like he belonged. An adventurous coming-of-age series that teaches lessons in self-reliance, friendship, loyalty, and courage. It's pretty appealing to us oldsters who appreciate fantasy as well as young people. And I thoroughly enjoyed getting reacquainted with the gods and heroes of mythology that I learned about many moons ago in school. It was interesting to see how Riordan brought the ancient gods into the modern world.  I'm very glad that one of my challenges this year forced me out of my mystery comfort zone to read more fantasy and literary fiction this year. ★★★★

Reading Challenge News & Upcoming Celebrations

2020 and 2021 are anniversary years here at the Block. In April of next year, My Reader's Block will be ten years old (my how time flies!) and January 2021 will mark the 10th anniversary of the ever-changing Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge. With those two things in mind, the upcoming edition of the Vintage Mystery Challenge--named for 2020 and 2021 "Vintage Mystery Extravaganza"--will include a brand-new section as well as a look back at all the versions of the challenge over the last ten years. 

I will begin posting sign-ups for next year's challenges in the coming week. The Calendar of Crime, Mount TBR, Virtual Mount TBR, and Color Coded/Read It Again, Sam Challenges will all return to the Block as well. 

A bit of news for Monthly Key Word Challenge fans: Kim from Bookmark to Blog was the original host for this challenge. When she started blogging with Tanya at Girlxoxo, she handed the reins over to Claudia at My Soul Called Life with the understanding that Claudia would hand it back if she decided not to do it anymore. Claudia's blog abruptly disappeared and when I couldn't get in touch with her, I (not knowing about the arrangement with Kim) decided to host a variation myself. Kim has been in touch and I am handing the challenge back to her. Stay tuned--I will most definitely be signing up and will point you all in the right direction once she has the challenge posted.

Other challenge news: Sign-ups and final wrap-ups will look a bit different this year. My linky provider has put a limit on the number of link-ups I can have open at one time, so I will be using my limit to cover the monthly review link-ups for most challenges and all other sign-ups will be done through Google forms. I thought folks might be most interested in having review links visible--to check out any tempting titles. I will have to rethink the Color Coded and Read it Again Review links (if I can find an alternate way to make review links visible for those, I will).

The Dutch Shoe Mystery

The Dutch Shoe Mystery (1931) by Ellery Queen takes place in the Dutch Memorial Hospital in New York City. It features not one, but two murders carried out--practically under the nose of Ellery Queen himself (in the first instance) and a whole posse of NYC policemen (in the second). The hospital's wealthy benefactress, Abigail Doorn has an accident that requires an emergency gall bladder operation. Since she is a diabetic and her health is a bit fragile there is some concern, but her surgeon, Dr. Francis Janney, is absolutely confident that she will pull through the operation with no problem. 

Ellery has stopped by the hospital to consult his friend Dr. John Minchen over a medical point impacting another case and is asked if he would like to watch the operation. The men sit in the operating theater and watch as the patient is brought in. Ellery immediately notices her odd coloring--but puts it down to her ill-health until Dr. Janney bends over the patient, turns and crooks a "forefinger furiously toward Dr. Minchen." Ellery's friend rushes down to the operating table, looks at the neck of the patient (where Janney drew his attention), and then beckons to Ellery.

Ellery rose. His eyebrows went up. His lips formed one soundless word, which Minchen caught.
Dr. Minchen nodded.
The word was: "Murder?"

Yes, it's murder. Someone, somehow has managed to strangle the elderly woman without the hospital staff noticing until that moment in the operating theater.

It's soon revealed that Dr. Janney visited the patient in the prep room prior to surgery and was left alone with her while the attending nurse exited the room on his indication of a need of sterilization materials for his hands (no words were exchanged--gestures were all that were necessary). This, the doctor denies categorically--as Ellery and Minchen know he was called away to attend to a visitor during the time period indicated. And when a discarded set of doctor's clothes, including the cap and mask, are found in the hallway telephone booth, it begins to look like the killer masqueraded as Janney, imitating his characteristic limp, in order to create the opportunity for their deed.

Ellery sorts through all the clues--including the impostor's white canvas shoes with broken lace and folded back tongues--and all the suspects. The suspects include Dr. Janney, Dr. Minchen, Dr. Kneisel (all of whom benefit directly or indirectly from the woman's will), Hulda Doorn (Abigail's daughter), Sarah Fuller (Abigail's companion--who has had an on again, off again raging argument for years), the mysterious Mr. Swanson with whom Janney met (and whom Janney will not assist the police in finding...), and various members of the hospital staff. Ellery thinks that he has begun to see daylight when Dr. Janney is murdered, strangled in exactly the same way as Mrs. Doorn. This time while sitting peacefully at his desk. Ellery is stumped by how the murderer managed to slip behind Janney to deliver the knock-out blow (which allowed the murderer to strangle his victim with no fuss). There's no window behind the desk. In fact, when Ellery enters the doctor's office there is absolutely nothing behind the desk except a blank wall. He can't see a legitimate reason for anyone to go behind the doctor while he was at his desk. It isn't until Dr. Minchen idly mentions that something was removed before Ellery arrived on the scene that our detective has his eureka moment.

This is a decent mystery outing for Ellery. The initial set-up and the two murders are portrayed well. And I'll go along with Ellery's wrap-up. Mostly. One thing Ellery didn't explain: what exactly did the murderer hit Janney upside the head with? According to Dr. Prouty, he was hit by "some heavy blunt instrument" [emphasis mine]. What on earth could the murderer have carried back there (in their legitimate mission explained by Ellery) that wouldn't arouse Janney's interest? "I say, what are you doing with that hammer [insert any suitable blunt object]..." And, apparently, it was something they carried in and out with them because there wasn't anything in the room that was identified as a possible weapon or anything mentioned as missing (like, say, a paperweight always kept on the desk).

Also, I cry foul on the "you have all the evidence" business. Yes, I figured out the main part. But there is a final piece of evidence (which I can't mention without spoiling) that I don't see how the reader was supposed figure out. After all--we didn't get to actually see a certain bit of evidence that is vital. Also, I couldn't figure out the relationship between two characters based on what we were actually told and shown--and it's a relationship that's kind of important to the whole motive thing. 

I agree with Ben over at The Green Capsule that there is way too much mulling, interviewing, and reviewing the evidence going on in between murders and solution. If the point was fair play to the reader--waving evidence under our noses repeatedly--then it doesn't come off (see previous paragraph). In actuality, this 305 page book could have been cut to maybe 250 (251, if we add in a portion to at least hint a bit better at the crucial piece of evidence). Still, it was a good plot with a nice bit of misdirection. So-- ★★★ for a solid, mid-range mystery.

**************
Deaths= two (both strangled)
Golden Vintage card = Where: hospital

Hand in Glove (with a few spoilery bits)

Hand in Glove (1962) by Ngaio Marsh

April Fool's Day seems to Lady Bantling to be the perfect time to throw a scavenger hunt dinner party. Known for her outrageous parties, she goes all out, sending her guests on a village-wide hunt for rhyming clues that will lead them to the grand prize--a magnum of champagne. But the festivities come to a disagreeable end when Mr. Harold Cartell is found dead face down in a drainage ditch the next morning. A drainage ditch that was the site for one of the clues. Superintendent Alleyn and company are called in right away so the trail is fresh and the evidence (such as it is) as undisturbed as possible.

The question Alleyn will have to answer is whose hands were in the gloves that set a fatal booby for the disagreeable elderly lawyer Mr. Cartell? Leading up to the fateful night, there are all sorts of relationship troubles. The sweet but snobbish bachelor Mr. Pyke Period has been forced by post-war circumstances to share his lodgings with the prickly Mr. Cartell. It causes all sorts of domestic upheavals from unexpected (dare I say unwanted) extra guests at meal times to the outrageous antics of Cartell's disagreeable dog Pixie to Cartell's indelicate references to Period's claims of ancestry. But has Mr. Period's life been disrupted enough to cause him feel murderous towards his housemate?

Then there's Cartell's relationship to his sister Connie--a childless woman who has taken an unaccountable fancy to a "poor orphan girl" (of 20 or so, mind you) and is willing to turn a blind eye to anything Moppet (what a nickname) and her disreputable boyfriend might get up to. When it becomes apparent that Leonard (said boyfriend) is a thief and a man out to con a local garage man out of a fancy car, Cartell lowers the boom. Connie must disentangle Moppet from her boyfriend or Moppet and Leonard will face the police. Would Connie kill her brother over a girl who's no relation? Would Moppet and/or Leonard kill to prevent a more minor run-in with the police?

We mustn't forget Lady Desiree Bantling and her delightful (key sarcasm font) third husband Bimbo (who is not Lord Bantling). Bimbo was mixed up in some unsavory doings at a club in London. Would he kill over that ancient history? Or are there more recent doings to cover up? Nor should we overlook Lady Bantling's son, Andrew. Cartell and Period are the trustees of Lord Bantling's will and Andrew has had a fairly heated argument with the lawyer over his future plans. Andrew paints (rather well according to Troy Alleyn who should know) and wants an advance on his trust funds to start his own gallery. Cartell refuses to consider such "nonsense" and insists that the young man stay in the Guards and stick to a proper job. Would Andrew kill for his dreams or would his mother kill to help her son?

Warning: A few spoilery bits in my observations below....


Marsh's characters in this one are a little more intensely eccentric than usual. P.P. (as he's known) is definitely larger than life as a man snobbishly aware of breeding. And Connie's snorting laugh is a little much (but definitely better on paper than when heard--as in the filmed version with Patrick Malahide as Alleyn--more on that in a bit). But--even with characters that take a bit of believing in at times, this is still a quite enjoyable mystery with a good dose of comedic turns. One might question the motive of the killer, but the theme of twisted love/devotion is a popular one (Sayers addressed it Gaudy Night). Becoming obsessed with the love object, whether a lover or a child, does strange things to people.

And...while I enjoy Andrew and Nicola (temporary typist for P.P.) and their blooming romance...wouldn't it have been interesting if just once Dame Ngaio had made one of her charming young lovers (or both in cahoots) the guilty party? It's a sure bet that if you've got a pair of young things making eyes at each other in a sweet way (not the antics of Moppet & Leonard!), then neither of them did it.  ★★★ and 3/4.

Me wondering: Why shoehorn Troy in?

I followed up my reading of the novel with a viewing of the televised version starring Patrick Malahide. In general, I like Malahide's portrayal of Alleyn very much and the series as a whole is well done overall. I do take exception to two things in this particular episode. One--even though the story clearly takes place in the Marsh canon after Alleyn and Troy are married, we've changed that here. Troy is still waffling on whether she wants to become part of a couple. In addition, we've changed the plot to include an entire new thread involving fake Troy masterpieces and Troy plays junior detective (and nearly gets bumped off in the process). The writers kept the same murderer and just threw in this extra plot line to muddy the waters even further. Totally unnecessary--other than it seems to be a device to bring Troy into a story that didn't feature her.


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Just the Facts Silver: Why (Author Not from My Country)
Calendar of Crime: April (April Fool's Day)
Deaths = One (smothered)

The Handmaid's Tale

In 1985 Margaret Atwood published The Handmaid's Tale, a dystopian novel depicting a future United States (and most particularly, the New England area) where the government has been overthrown and replaced by a theonomy called the Republic of Gilead. It is implied that this has taken place in part as a response to the growing numbers of infertile people and those who have deliberately chosen not to have children. The new regime affects women to the greatest extent. It is now illegal for women to hold property, work at paid jobs, read and write, or have any autonomy at all really. They are divided into various classes--women of the ruling class who may or may not be capable of bearing children; Handmaids who essentially serve as broodmares for those in the ruling class who are infertile; Marthas who do all the household chores for the ruling class; Econowives, legitimate wives of the lower classes; Aunts who train and discipline the Handmaids in preparation for their lives as broodmares; and the illegitimate women (Unwomen and Jezebels), those who fall outside the boundaries of these highly regulated categories.

The story follows Offred, a woman in her thirties who remembers what it was like before the militaristic theonomy took over. She had a husband, who was not allowed to keep her because he had been divorced, and a daughter, who was taken from her parents and given to one of the new regime's Commanders. She had work and money of her own. A great deal of Offred's thoughts makes it appear that she is trying to accept the new order and just fit in and yet she also speaks of wanting shears or scissors (anything with a sharp blade). We're sometimes not sure if she wants them to do away with herself or if she wants to use them on the Commander or his wife though she often makes a point of how anything that might be useful to a suicide has been kept out of her reach.

I thought this was a shatteringly good novel when I first read it for a college English class in 1988. At that time it was an interesting look at a dystopian society that could happen, but to a child of the 70s and early 80s it seemed unlikely. Though positive change was slow, it was happening and seemed to be trending to keep happening. So, I read it as more of a cautionary tale. Reading it now with the background of the United States from 2016 on, it is even more shattering. It doesn't seem so far-fetched that so much could change so quickly--that a free woman could find herself stripped of her autonomy and enslaved in the ways that Offred and her fellow Handmaids are. Because so much has changed so quickly in the last three years. It is so easy to take a way of life for granted--but this book (and current events) show us has dangerous it is to take anything for granted...even the basic rights promised to us in the Constitution. Even battles already fought in the courts can be reversed and taken from the victors.

It also teaches us how easily humans adapt--how quickly we conform. How much the average person doesn't want to upset the apple cart...even when the cart becomes filled with rotten apples.  There will always be those who will take advantage of opportunities to wield power over others (the Aunts and those who inform on anyone who steps out of line). There will always be those who assume it isn't really as bad as it seems and will buy the party line that things are "better now." But as the Commander says, "Better never means better for everyone....It always means worse, for some."

This is an incredible story made even more incredible by how very relevant it is thirty-some years later. ★★★★★

Let's Kill George

Let's Kill George (1946) by Lucy Cores

George Banat was a film script writer trying to make himself into a playwright. He also liked to cast himself in the starring role of god in his little world. It amused him to arrange the lives of others and to disrupt them where he saw fit. His wife Sophie didn't seem to mind and even tolerated his Zeus-like need to indulge himself with the pretty mortals who came into his orbit. His daughter Monica also seemed to go along with his decrees on her marriage arrangements. His son didn't care much for the way George exercised his powers, but Mons Banat had joined the army and traded his father's orders for Uncle Sam's so he isn't home much. Jacques Mariner, his contemporary, also takes issue with George's assumption of god-like powers. And Shelley Ames...well, Shelley is George's latest protege but she doesn't quite understand the designs he has on her virtue and the plans he's laid ready for her. 

She's a naive young actress who thinks the great man has taken an interest in her career and plans to help her. But attendance at a weekend party with her boyfriend Ralph in tow gives her a quick education in George's methods. By the end of the weekend, Ralph is no longer her boyfriend, George has ticked off several in the house party...one of them badly enough that they decide to end George's interference for good. Shelley is surprised to find herself a suspect and also finds an unexpected ally in Mons (who has come home for a spot of leave). 

This is a decent mystery, but quite honestly it wasn't as entertaining as I anticipated. I definitely didn't mind that George got knocked off--he really was a nasty man--but I also didn't find myself having much sympathy for those around him. I'm quite sure we're supposed to sympathize with Shelley at the very least, but she spends the first part of the book as a weak character who obviously doesn't know what she's doing and then suddenly at the end she transforms into a little firebrand who is equal to anything Mons can throw her way. And she somehow acquires in depth insight into his character even though she's been horrible at character analysis up till then. Quick learning for a weekend. Her boyfriend is pretty brutal to her--totally willing to take the word of a man (George) whom he just met over that of the girl he supposedly loves. Mons spends two-thirds of the book being pretty offensive as well and the rest of the crew are not much better or--in some cases--worse. 

Cores does a fairly good job of spreading the suspicion around and keeping the reader guessing till the end. I didn't see the solution coming and had picked out someone quite different. ★★ and 3/4.

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Calendar of Crime: January (Author's Birth Month)
Deaths = 2 (hit on head)

The Restless Corpse

The Restless Corpse (1947) by Alan Pruitt

Don Carson, the Chicago Globe's top crime reporter, is tapped by "Old Man Holiday," the newspaper's publisher, to track down his wayward daughter April. April has run off from the family home in New York City and Holiday is afraid she'll get herself into some kind of trouble that will splash her name across the pages of other people's newspapers. Carson catches up with her twice--only to be outwitted by the bewitching brunette. He finally catches up with her at an apartment in Chicago (which she has taken under the clever pseudonym of April Hall) where she is hosting one stop in a traveling apartment party in the high-class building where she's living. 

April admits defeat and promises to go home like a good girl, but she can't resist one last trick. She doctors Carson's drink and he wakes up hours later in a darkened room with a fresh corpse on the other couch. The murdered man is Archie Hertz, husband of a rather promiscuous woman who may have been looking to inherit the means to let her hook up with a younger man. Carson decides his first duty is to the boss's daughter and he's intent on keeping her out of a murder inquiry. So, they take Archie and station him on a convenient park bench far from the apartment, congratulate themselves on quick thinking (and no observers), and head back to the apartment....only to find that Archie has reappeared. He's the corpse that won't stay put. 

Since the scheme to ditch the body doesn't work, Carson figures he might as well start investigating and solve the murder before the police discover it's been committed--outwitting whoever is trying to pin the rap on April and, incidentally, picking up a huge news scoop along the way. But then another of April's odd friends winds up dead and the cops thinks she's acting mighty suspicious. They arrest her before Carson can solve the case and he manages to get himself fired. To save the day, he has to make his way through all the suspicious characters hanging about the apartment building--including a well-known con man, a few Germans looking for a white jade Buddha (that seems to move about as much as Archie's corpse), a painter with a bohemian lifestyle, and a chess champion. Of course our hero triumphs--finding the murderer, landing a major news story with April cast as the heroine, and getting the girl in the end.

This is a fast-paced mystery with lots of action and a good rapport between Don and April. I liked that she could get the better of him and he didn't resent it. In fact, he admired her for it and decided it would keep their life together interesting. He also has a friend, Butch, that he can call on when he's in a jam. Butch is a "reformed" member of the criminal element who isn't above putting his former talents to use in a good cause. His muscle helps Don get people to talk who might have been just a tad reluctant. 

A great deal of fun is had by all (well...except the victims and the villain who is going to get well-acquainted with the justice system). Very entertaining. ★★★
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Golden Vintage card: "Simon Says"
Deaths 2 (with method given): one hit on head; one shot [one previously killed--but method not given]

The Murder Book of J. G. Reeder

The Murder Book of J. G. Reeder (aka The Mind of Mr. Reeder; 1925) by Edgar Wallace is a small collection of short stories featuring the mild-mannered, bland-looking Mr. J. G. Reeder. Reeder works for the Public Prosecutor and those who see him might mistake him for a simple office clerk. But those who attempt to operate outside the law do so at their peril. 

Mr. Reeder wore whiskers and a frock coat--he always carried an umbrella--his strongest expression was "Dear, dear!"--but he spread grim death through London's underworld.

Many a criminal has taken one look at Reeder and thought how easy it was going to be to put one over on the little man...only to find themselves inside a prison cell before they knew quite what had happened. He claims that his secret is simple: "You see, I have a criminal mind." Apparently, if he had wanted to he could have (as has been said about Holmes) made a formidable crook. Instead he uses his insight into the villainous mindset to help him trap the villains.

An interesting collection of stories from the early 20th Century. They lean a bit towards the Holmes style--not all (and sometimes not many) clues are displayed for the reader. But still an enjoyable, short read. ★★★

Observations: there is less murder going on in the "Murder Book" than one might suppose from the American title--fraud, theft, kidnapping, forgery abound and Mr. Reeder is more often investigating these less violent crimes. When murder does rear its ugly head its usually tangential to the crime which has initially caught Mr. Reeder's attention. Despite his preference for the "lesser" (if you will) crimes, he is perfectly up to the task of catching a murderer out...evidenced by the second story in this collection, "The Treasure Hunt." Reeder uses a criminal's intention to take revenge as a tool to (quite literally) dig up evidence of an ingenious murder.

Other stories:
"The Poetical Policeman": Despite evidence implicating the bank's manager, Mr. Reeder is convinced that there is another answer to the question of who masterminded the operation. A policeman's poetical tendencies help illuminate the problem.

"The Troupe": The investigator takes on a jewelry fraud with artistic ties to a theatrical group.

"The Stealer of Marble": A story about embezzlement and a housekeeper's inordinate interest in acquiring chips of marble.

"Sheer Melodrama": Two members of the criminal fraternity combine forces for a spot of forgery and an effort to do Mr. Reeder down. They should leave the melodrama behind in the theater when they ambush Mr. Reeder and his young lady one evening. 

"The Green Mamba": Mr. J. G. Reeder, outsmarts one of the leading master-criminals in London at the very moment when he is on the verge of his greatest criminal coup. Mo Lisky has held sway in London for quite some time, but when he crosses Mr. Reeder he finds that his power can't protect him from a strike as deadly as that of a poisonous snake.

"The Strange Case":When a wealthy government minister dies, suspicion falls on the man's heir who stood badly in need of money. But Mr. Reeder suspects a much deeper plot.

"The Investors": Mr. Reeder becomes curious about a number of mysterious disappearance--but he becomes very concerned when there are hints that the disappearances may be related to a certain investment opportunity. An investment opportunity that his young lady is now taking part in.


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Finished on 9/28/19
Deaths = (three poisoned; one shot)