Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge 2012

I have just recently discovered the “My Reader’s Block” blog and their Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge for 2012.

“Once again, I [Bev Hankins] will be sponsoring the Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge–but with a bit of a twist. I wanted to mix things up a bit to keep it interesting for all of you who have joined me in Vintage fun for 2011. This year it’s all about Vintage Themes. In order to participate, you will need to choose at least one Vintage Theme listed below (minimum 8 book commitment).

Vintage Themes:

1. Colorful Crime: 8 books with colors in the title
2. Murder by the Numbers: 8 books with a number in the title
3. Occupational Hazards: 8 books with a “detective” who is not a P.I.; Police Officer; Official Investigator
4. Perilous Policemen: 8 books with a policeman as the primary investigator
5. Lethal Locations: 8 books that are all about place (for instance: country houses, hospitals, schools or even particular cities/countries)
6. Dangerous Beasts: 8 books with an animal in the title
7. Deadly Decades: 8 books, one from each time period plus one of your choice (Pre-1900s; 1900-09; 1910-19; 1920-1929; 1930-1939; 1940-1949; 1950-59)
8. Golden Age Girls: 8 books by female authors OR 8 books with female detectives
9. Cherchez le Homme: 8 books by male authors OR 8 books with male detectives
10. Murderous Miscellany: Choose your own theme. Get creative–surprise us! The only stipulation is that the theme cannot be reading books by a single author.”

For more information, see the My Reader’s Block blog site.

I enjoy reading mysteries and vintage mysteries. I’m particularly interested in vintage Canadian mysteries. Theme wise, I think I’ll start with the Cherchez le Homme category. I believe that I’ll also try my hand at Murderous Miscellany, with the miscellany being at least one book from each of the other nine themes. I have not sorted out what titles I will read, but that will come over the course of the year. Part of the fun will be finding new authors and titles from other participants as the year progresses.

Some Projected Titles:

Cherchez le Homme
Fire-Tongue. Sax Rohmer (1921)
The House Without a Key. Earl Derr Biggers (1925)
Blood on Biscayne Bay. Brett Halliday (1946)
Exit in Green. Martin Brett (1953)
Mr Chang of Scotland Yard. A.E. Apple (1926)
Bulldog Carney. W.A. Fraser (1919)
Mr. Chang’s Crime Ray. A.E. Apple (1928)
Murder at Calamity House. Ann Cardwell (1947)
The Scorpion. Douglas Carey (1931)

Other Potential Titles:
The Second Confession. Rex Stout (1949)
The Crime on Cote Des Neiges. David Montrose (1951)
Spiderweb. Robert Bloch (1954)
The Great Mistake. Mary Roberts Rinehart (1940)
The Chinese Maze Murders. Robert Van Gulik (1956)
The House of the Arrow. A.E.W. Mason (1924)
The Cask. Freeman Wills Crofts (1920)
The Adventures of Jimmie Dale. Frank L. Packard (1917)