News:

• The 2019 Medical Examiner's Mystery Reading Challenge is now closed. Thank you for your participation! Here is a link to the 2020 Medical Examiner's Mystery Reading Challenge.

• Here is the Morgue's Annual Report:
  Morgue Annual Report for 2019

  Medical Examiners	8
  Total toe tags issued	1444
  Average toe tags per book	3.27
  Average toe tags per examiner	180
  Total books read	441
  Average books read per examiner	55

Morgue:

Welcome to the Morgue. We currently have 8 Medical Examiners on staff. You may refer to their autopsy notes by clicking on their clipboards below.

BUREAU of VITAL STATISTICS as of TUE DEC 31 2019 sorted by toe tags issued Medical Examiner Toe Tags issued Books read TTPB* Autopsy notes Personal effects Bev Hankins Indiana 341 95 3.58 sk888888 New Jersey 321 71 4.52 Rick Mills Maine 275 79 3.48 Tari Hann Ohio 140 66 2.12 Susan Jensen Arizona 140 53 2.64 Ahcop India 118 35 3.37 Avid Series Reader New Mexico 107 41 2.60 LuAnn Braley Kentucky 2 1 2.00 Totals 1444 441 3.27

indicates vital statistics and autopsy notes updated

* TTPB = Toe Tags Per Book (average). This is a measure of how lethal your reading preferences are.

Goal:

• You are the Medical Examiner, and your goal is to issue as many Toe Tags as you can during 2019, by reading murder mysteries and determining the cause of death of the unfortunate victim(s).

How to:

1. No advance signup needed.
2. Read a murder mystery. Note the victim(s) and cause(s) of death.
3. Submit one Death Certificate per book, identifying the Cause(s) of Death of the victim(s). Any death (accidental, natural causes, homicide, suicide) counts, as long as the person is significant enough to be named in the book.
4. This page does not update in real time. Your submission generates an email to the Chief Medical Examiner, who will fill in the data.

Rules:

1. The challenge has closed.
2. Formats: Print books, audio books, or e-books may be used.
3. You get one Toe Tag per victim. What counts? If the person is significant enough to be given a name, and includes a cause of death you can cite, then it counts. Examples:
   • Sophia was convicted of shooting her barista, Arabica Simpson, for messing up her coffee order. - COUNTS, NAMED and CAUSE OF DEATH cited

   • While in the Chicago mob, Dwayne drowned 7 guys in the bay for messing up his alibi.- DOES NOT COUNT (CAUSE OF DEATH cited, but victims not named)

   • He murdered his wife's asthmatic lover, Elmont Q. Thorpmeister III for messing up their relationship. - DOES NOT COUNT (NAMED, but no CAUSE OF DEATH cited).

4. Reviews: You do not need to write reviews, but you are welcome to. If you supply a link to your blog or Goodreads review, I will link to it.
5. Bloggers are welcome to copy the toe tag image from the header for your blog.
6. Cross-entries from other challenges are encouraged.
7. For more details on what counts and what doesn't, see the FAQ page.

Prizes!

• Toe Tags will be counted for prizes on or about Dec. 31 2019. A running tally is shown above. Top Ten Toe Taggers Treat Themselves To a (used but still with exciting words) book. Since we had less than 10 examiners, everyone wins. See the prize list for details.

The Medical Examiner arrived while I was still standing there. I saw his gay little car come in, and he himself emerge, dapper as usual. I have sometimes thought that his bright car and his dandied dress were a sort of defense which he set up against what was often a gruesome business. Mary Roberts Rinehart in Miss Pinkerton, 1932 The Medical Examiner, a cheerful man with a roly-poly figure, came in briskly, bobbed his head, beamed, threw down his black bag, unloosened the dead hands, propped the body into a sitting position, and addressed himself to Kelly. "Officer, would you be so kind as to hold up his head while I make my examination?" Edward J. Doherty in The Broadway Murders, 1929