The indefatigable and always welcoming Bev of My Reader’s Block regularly corrals us mystery buffs with her Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge, which focuses on mystery fiction published pre-1960 to be eligible for inclusion. I’ve had a great time this year with her current challenge, which fiendishly introduced a new wrinkle by creating a series of categories into which the books also had to fit. Below you will find a complete list of the categories and review links – just time to take a breath before embarking on her 2014 challenge! Here is my completed list of the suggested Vintage Themes for 2013 and links to my reviews – I had madly hoped to somehow be able to do one for each of Bev’s 37 categories but just couldn’t manage – but at least I managed to go over my initial target of 13! Thanks Bev, as always.
Vintage Categories:
- Colorful Crime: The Green Plaid Pants (1951) by Margaret Scherf
- Murder by the Numbers: The Four Just Men (1905) by Edgar Wallace
- Amateur Night: Someone is Bleeding (1953) by Richard Matheson
- Yankee Doodle Dandy: Blackmailer (1952) by George Axelrod
- World Traveler: Maigret Sets a Trap (1955) by Georges Simenon
- Dangerous Beasts: The Case of the Late Pig (1937) by Margery Allingham
- A Calendar of Crime: The Winter Murder Case (1939) by SS Van Dine
- Wicked Women: The Girl Who Had to Die (1940) by Elisabeth Sanxay Holding
- Murderous Methods: The Drowning Pool (1950) by Ross Macdonald
- Staging the Crime: Deadly Weapon (1946) by Wade Miller
- Locked Rooms: Death in Captivity (1952) by Michael Gilbert
- Country House Criminals: Think Twice (1939) by Ayn Rand
- Size Matters: The Big Clock (1946) by Kenneth Fearing
- Book to Movie: Badge of Evil (1956) by Whit Masterson
- The Old Bailey: If I Die Before I Wake (1938) by Sherwood King
- Killed in Translation: The Living and the Dead (1954) by Boileau-Narcejac
- Get Out of Jail Free: Shakespeare: Dreadful Summit (1948) by Stanley Ellin
Tipping My Fedora 
Sergio – Well done! You’ve chosen some great books, too. And thanks for adding links, as I mean to archive this and go back and savour your reviews again.
Thanks for all the great encouragement and feedback Margot – makes it all worthwhile.
Congratulations, Sergio
Many thanks Jose Ignacio – it was great fun – are you taking part in 2014?
I’m afraid not, Sergio. I rather read the book I fancy at each moment, and I’ve decided to participate in very few reading challenges.
Fair enough chum!
Congratulations! That’s quite a haul, and every one a good write-up.
Cheers mate – it’s been great fun so of course I’m lining up for 2014 – sheer madness!
Wow! Those are quite some categories – and some authors I’ve not heard of (I think there’s only two of your list that I’ve actually read). Your breadth of reading over the crime genre is huge, so many thanks for serving up so many recommendations. Best of luck for 2014!
Thank you Ela – you are very kind and it was great fun!
Your choices are great, as they’re never the obvious ones.
Thanks Kelly – you’re a pal!
Congrats Sergio. Like Margot, I intend to savour the reviews.
That is very kind indeed Neeru – thanks, as always.
Good show, Sergio! Do you know I haven’t read any of these 17 novels? No surprises there. What I have read are nearly every one of your 17 reviews except for, I think, “The Case of the Late Pig” by Margery Allingham and “Badge of Evil” by Whit Masterson. An excellent mix of pre-1960 mystery fiction. I expect you’ll be rubbing it in in 2014 again! Well, I can only be the richer for it.
Thanks Prashant – you are very kind and I hope to review some books you have read next year!
That is a very varied list, and Of Course I expect that from you. We will both enjoy next year’s challenge and I look forward to more reviews for vintage mysteries. I did not complete 16 vintage mysteries myself this year. But I got close.
What I find fascinating is looking at the fact that I did nearly double the number of reviews when Bev first started so clearly old age is catching up with me, though Katie’ Book to Movie Challenge probab’y had somethign to with it too …
Yay! All linked up…and you get a prize. I’ll send you the list ASAP.
Brill – thanks Bev, you’re hostess with the mostest!
there is a least one book missing on the list and it is Gaston Leroux’s “le Mystere de la Chambre Jaune” or “Le Parfum de la Dame en noir”… 🙂
I would definitely go with Yellow Room – I need to re-read it though as it;s been about 30 years since I last looked at it – I did like it a lot though! Thanks for the reminder – must do something about it!
to be honest it was a little a tongue in cheek from me because I also read these 2 books when I was 10-12, that is more than 30 years ago, and I was really impressed and moved. But experience has taught me that sometimes it’s better to keep it that way. 30 years changes a man (or a woman indeed) and maybe some dear memories should be left for what they are. For example I was a great fan of “Captain Scarlet” when I was 5 or 6, and few years ago I was able to rent a dvd of it and watched… Well that was a big mistake 🙂
Weirdly I recently saw some episodes from the CGI version of Captain Scalet and thought it was surprisingly good! But I should re-read Leroux, it;s been too long.
Hi! I just found your web site here and I’m going through your reviews – did you know that your #3 actually links to #5, the Maigret one? I’ll check back in a few days to see if I can read the actual #3 then…thanks for all your work, I’m loving this web site!
Thanks for pointing that out – I’ve just foxed it – and thanks also for the kind words.