Happy (belated) New Year! 2026 really sneaked up on me, and I’m scrambling to finish up my 2025 reviews and recaps. I had another very fun year of reading vintage mysteries with the Vintage Scavenger Hunt Challenge at My Reader’s Block. My goal was to read at least eight books in the “Golden Age” period (published before 1960) and find items from the scavenger hunt list on the covers. Here’s what I read in 2025:

1. Rupert Latimer, Murder After Christmas (1944): snowy scene
2. John Bude, The Lake District Murder (1935): body of water
3. Agatha Christie, The Seven Dials Mystery (1929): revolver
4. Agatha Christie, Towards Zero (1944): blunt instrument
5. Anthony Wynne, Murder of a Lady (1931): castle
6. Richard Hull, Excellent Intentions (1938): tree
7. Ngaio Marsh, Death at the Bar (1940): drinking glass
8. Delano Ames, Murder Begins at Home (1949): flower or plant

Another year, another Vintage Mystery Challenge completed! The 2024 challenge was a scavenger hunt, in which participants were asked to read at least eight books with specific objects on the covers. I read ten qualifying books for the Golden Age challenge, which dealt with books published before 1960. Here’s what I read:

1. Delano Ames, She Shall Have Murder (1948): shadowy figure
2. Richard Hull, The Murder of My Aunt (1934): body of water
3. Erle Stanley Gardner, The Bigger They Come (1939): door
4. Georgette Heyer, A Blunt Instrument (1938): redhead
5. Ngaio Marsh, Overture to Death (1939): blue object (ball of yarn)
6. Christianna Brand, Green for Danger (1944): nurse
7. Mignon G. Eberhart, Murder by an Aristocrat (1932): more than two people
8. J. Jefferson Farjeon, Thirteen Guests (1936): flower or plant (green plant)
9. Agatha Christie, And Then There Were None (1939): skull
10. Cornell Woolrich, The Bride Wore Black (1940): hat

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!

As 2022 comes to a close, it’s time to say goodbye to this year’s vintage mystery challenge, hosted by Bev at My Reader’s Block. This year we played Scattergories and had to read at least eight vintage mysteries to correspond with the various categories listed. I chose the Golden Age version of the challenge, which means all the mysteries I read had to be published before 1960, and I ended up reading 11 books:

1. Genuine Fakes: Nicholas Blake, Thou Shell of Death (1936) — The author’s name is a pseudonym for Cecil Day-Louis.
2. Staging the Crime: Leo Bruce, Case with Four Clowns (1939) — The book is set in a traveling circus, which is part of the entertainment world.
3. Repeat Offenders: Georgette Heyer, Death in the Stocks (1935) — Heyer is one of my favorite authors, and this book was a reread for me.
4. Jolly Old England: Agatha Christie, The Moving Finger (1942) — The novel is set in a quintessential English village.
5. World Traveler: Ngaio Marsh, Vintage Murder (1937) — The book is set in New Zealand, not the US or UK.
6. Murder by Numbers: Craig Rice, Eight Faces at Three (1939) — There are two numbers in the title.
7. Book to Movie: Agatha Christie, Why Didn’t They Ask Evans? (1934) — There’s a recent adaptation by Hugh Laurie, currently available to stream on BritBox, which I very much enjoyed.
8. Wicked Women: Francis Duncan, Behold a Fair Woman (1954) — The word “woman” is in the title.
9. Amateur Night: Anthony Berkeley, Jumping Jenny (1933) — Amateur detective and mystery novelist Roger Sheringham is the main sleuth, though he’s actually trying not to catch the murderer.
10. Things That Go Bump in the Night: John Dickson Carr, Castle Skull (1931) — The spooky word “skull” is in the title.
11. Calendar of Crime: Mary Kelly, The Christmas Egg (1958) — A holiday is in the title.

Of these, the clear winner for me is Eight Faces at Three, a delightful The Thin Man-esque romp whose wisecracking, hard-drinking protagonists more than make up for any issues with the plot. I also very much enjoyed both of the Agatha Christies, which were rereads for me and which I liked even though I remembered who the bad guys were. The worst book of the challenge was Case with Four Clowns, which is just a slog — the murder doesn’t even happen till the last 30 pages! But I did like most of my picks for this challenge, and I’m excited to explore more vintage mysteries in 2023!

One of my favorite reading challenges is the Vintage Mystery Challenge at My Reader’s Block. The 2021 challenge was Vintage Mystery Scattergories, in which participants had to read at least eight books that fit within various categories. I ended up reading nine books, all from the Golden Age era (pre-1960):

1. Mavis Doriel Hay, Death on the Cherwell — Murder Is Academic
2. Dorothy L. Sayers, Busman’s Honeymoon — Amateur Night
3. Elizabeth Daly, Murders in Volume 2 — Murder by the Numbers
4. Ellery Queen, The Chinese Orange Mystery — Colorful Crime
5. Charlotte Armstrong, The Unsuspected — Book to Movie
6. John Rowland, Murder in the Museum — Scene of the Crime
7. Ngaio Marsh, Death in Ecstasy — Leave It to the Professionals
8. Francis Duncan, So Pretty a Problem — Jolly Old England
9. Mavis Doriel Hay, The Santa Klaus Murder — Malicious Men

My favorite of these, by far, was Busman’s Honeymoon, which might even be my favorite of all the Lord Peter Wimsey books. I also really liked The Unsuspected. I didn’t hit any real duds, although I’d probably say Murder in the Museum was my least favorite because I don’t remember much about it now. Anyway, this challenge was a pleasure as always, and I’m looking forward to starting my 2022 challenge soon!