I love mysteries!So it should have been a cinch to finish the four mystery reading challenges I entered in 2012. Instead, I am batting .500.

Bev at My Reader’s Block is a great fan of mysteries published before 1960, as am I. These are the dime novels my dad read and that I cut my reading teeth on. For 2012, she offered a variety of ways to meet her Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge and I took on the Lethal Location theme.

FAILURE!

I am dismayed that I did not complete this but there are a couple of mitigating factors: I had trouble locating a number of my original picks, AND somewhere through the year, I lost sight of the ‘prior to 1960’ stipulation and read at least two books by a vintage author published too late.

Here’s what I managed:

1. The Crime at Black Dudley by Margery Allingham (1929)

2. Murder at Hazelmoor by Agatha Christie (1931)

3. The Cape Cod Tavern Mystery by Phoebe Atwood Taylor (1934)

4. Halfway House by Ellery Queen (1936)

5. Death at the President’s Lodging by Michael Innes (1936)

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Last year when I compiled my year list of books I read in 2011, I was astounded at the number of mysteries I’d consumed: about 35% of my reading. That, combined with the fact that I had already signed up for the Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge, made Cruisin’ through the Cozies, hosted by Yvonne at Socrates’ Book Reviews an easy fit.

I wasn’t going to enter at the Super Sleuth level but after compiling those stats, I thought it would be a piece of cake to read 13 or more cozy mysteries in 2012. And I was right!

SUCCESS!

For the complete list of the 19 qualifying titles, please see my sign-up page.

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The Smooth Criminals 2012 Challenge, hosted by Ben at Dead End Follies is a mystery reading challenge with an edge. Participants were required to read books in each of the following categories. For those unfamiliar with the tougher mysteries, the distinctions between genres can be fine. One of Ben’s goals was to make us do some research – and that’s what I did.

FAILURE!

I had the books – I just ran out of time.

To see the great categories – and their definitions – and what I read and what I intended to read, please visit my sign-up page.

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To complete the second annual Criminal Plots Reading Challenge, I had to read six books, one to fit into each of the following categories.

SUCCESS!

1. Book published at least 10 years ago: Crime at the Black Dudley by Margery Allingham

2. Book written by an author from the state/province/etc. where I live: Murder: a Crafty Business by Lila Phillips of Truro, Nova Scotia

3. Book written by an author using a pen name: The Dog Who Knew Too Much by Spencer Quinn, a pseudonym used by Peter Abrahams

4. Crime novel whose protagonist is the opposite gender of the author: I Am Half-Sick of Shadows (Flavia deLuce) by Alan Bradley

5. A stand-alone novel written by an author who writes at least one series: Murder at Hazelmoor by Agatha Christie

6. Novel with a weapon in the title: Sign of the Broken Sword by G.K. Chesterton

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Just a few more to wrap up and I can get on with my life…