Now that 2023 has come to a close, it’s time to take stock of my 2023 vintage mystery challenge! The goal was to read at least eight Golden Age mysteries, and they each had to have a specific item on the cover. I ended up reading 11 books that qualified:

1. W. Bolingbroke Johnson, The Widening Stain (1942) — library/books
2. Ngaio Marsh, Artists in Crime (1938) — just one person
3. J. Jefferson Farjeon, Seven Dead (1939) — boat
4. Patricia Wentworth, The Case Is Closed (1937) — shadowy figure
5. Ngaio Marsh, Death in a White Tie (1938) — timepiece (hourglass)
6. Baynard Kendrick, The Odor of Violets (1941) — dog
7. E.C.R. Lorac, Murder by Matchlight (1945) — flowers or plant
8. Mary Roberts Rinehart, The Red Lamp (1925) — red object
9. Agatha Christie, Death Comes as the End (1944) — brunette
10. John Dickson Carr, The Red Widow Murders (1935) — playing cards
11. Charlotte Armstrong, The Chocolate Cobweb (1948) — spiderweb

Of these, The Chocolate Cobweb was my definite favorite; it’s “domestic suspense” at its best, with characters who behave intelligently and edge-of-your-seat suspense. I also loved Death Comes as the End, a reread for me, and The Case Is Closed. I wasn’t as enamored of The Red Lamp or The Red Widow Murders, but I definitely want to read more by both Rinehart and Carr. Stay tuned for my sign-up post for the 2024 vintage mystery scavenger hunt!