Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge 2013: Wrap Up Post

In 2013, the theme for the Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge was Scattergories.  Bev at My Reader's Block came up with over 30 categories and challenged us to read vintage mysteries that fit the categories. The goal was to read eight mysteries that fit eight different categories. Once the 8 book minimum was met, any category (except the Get Out of Jail Free category) could be repeated any number of times. 

 
Listed below are the books I read for this challenge.

Vintage Categories:

Colorful Crime: a book with a color or reference to color in the title
    The Man in the Brown Suit by Agatha Christie
          
Leave It to the Professionals: a book featuring cops, private eyes, secret service, professional spies, etc.
    The Mugger by Ed McBain
    The Pusher by Ed McBain

Jolly Old England: one mystery set in Britain
    Crooked House by Agatha Christie

Yankee Doodle Dandy: one mystery set in the United States
     The Thin Man by Dashiell Hammett



World Traveler: one mystery set in any country except the US or Britain
    The Murder on the Links by Agatha Christie

Dangerous Beasts: a book with an animal in the title
    The Chinese Parrot by Earl Derr Biggers

Scene of the Crime: a book with the location of the crime in the title 
      Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie

Planes, Trains & Automobiles: a mystery that involves a mode of transportation.
     The Mystery of the Blue Train by Agatha Christie

Size Matters: a book with a size or measurement in the title 
    The Big Sleep by Raymond  Chandler

A Calendar of Crime: a mystery with a date/holiday/year/month/etc. in the title
     Hercule Poirot's Christmas by Agatha Christie

Psychic Phenomena: a mystery featuring a seance, medium, hypnotism, or other psychic or "supernatural" characters/events
     Murder at Hazelmoor by Agatha Christie ("table-turning")

Serial Killers: Books that were originally published in serial format, probably from the pulp era.
      The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie

 Get Out of Jail Free: This is a freebie category.  One per customer. 
       The Caves of Steel by Isaac Asimov 
       (cross-genre mystery, sci fi)

I was disappointed not to read 16 vintage mysteries this year. But I did make progress and I did enjoy what I read.

You will notice that the majority of books that I read for the Vintage Mystery Challenge this year were by Agatha Christie, mainly because I am trying to read all her books, roughly in order, and am participating in the Agatha Christie Reading Challenge, hosted by Kerrie of Mysteries in Paradise. I haven't read an Agatha Christie that I did not enjoy since I started the challenge, so that is going well.