2020 Medical Examiner's Mystery Reading Challenge

News:

• The 2020 Medical Examiner's Mystery Reading Challenge has now closed. Thank you to all who participated! Here is a link to the 2021 Medical Examiner's Mystery Reading Challenge.

• Book credits have been added for our Top Ten Toe Taggers (Avid Series Reader, Bev Hankins, Jjean, sk888888, Tari Hann, Traci L., Ahcop, Susan Jensen, and Rretzler. See the prize list for details.
  Morgue Annual Report

  Year	2019	2020
  Medical Examiners	8	14
  Total toe tags issued	1444	2719
  Total books read	441	806
  Average toe tags per book	3.27	3.37
  Average toe tags per examiner	180	194
  Average books read per examiner	55	57

Morgue:

Welcome to the Morgue. We currently have 14 overworked Medical Examiners on staff. You may refer to their autopsy notes by clicking on their clipboards below.

Who else has read my book? Enter Author or Title:

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BUREAU of VITAL STATISTICS updated THU DEC 24 2020 @ midnight EST convert sorted by toe tags issued. highest stats highlighted in green.
Medical Examiner		Toe Tags tied	Books read	TPB*	Autopsy notes	Personal effects
	Avid Series Reader New Mexico	425	101	4.20		<-- books for you!
	Bev Hankins Indiana	415	100	4.15
	Jjean Missouri	382	94	4.06
	Rick Mills Maine	287	81	3.54		<-- books for you!
	sk888888 New Jersey	269	78	3.44
	Tari Hann Ohio	247	133	1.85
	Traci L. Illinois	219	93	2.35
	Ahcop India	167	48	3.47
	Susan Jensen Arizona	167	44	3.79
	Rretzler Ohio	93	24	3.87
	Deanie Georgia	25	3	8.33
	Kari Woods Tennessee	18	4	4.50
	Jane Reads South Carolina	3	2	1.50
	Nessa Maine	2	1	2.00
	Morgue Totals	2719 toe tags	806 books read

vital statistics and autopsy notes updated on date indicated

examiner has moved up a row

highest stats per column

* TPB = 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 2020, by reading murder mysteries and documenting the cause of death of the unfortunate victim(s).

How to:

1. You can sign up at this page.
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 review the data and submit it to the Department of Vital Statistics.

Rules:

1. The 2020 challenge has closed.
2. Maintenance: Between Dec 25-31 2020, your host will be resetting the challenge for the next opening. Submissions made during that period will be held for the 2021 challenge.
3. 2021 open: The 2021 challenge will open January 1, 2021.
4. Genres: You get to decide what is a 'mystery'. Traditional murder mysteries, thrillers, police procedurals, romances, all are welcome.
5. Formats: Print books, audio books, radio dramatizations, or e-books may be used.
6. 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. For more details on what counts and what doesn't, see the FAQ page.
7. 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.
8. Bloggers are welcome to copy the toe tag image from the header (or any image that catches your fancy) for your blog.

Prizes!

• Toe Tags will be counted for prizes on or about Dec. 31 2020. A running tally is shown above. Top Ten Toe Taggers Treat Themselves To a (used but still with exciting words) book. See the prize list for details.

Archive:

• 2019 Medical Examiner's Reading Challenge
• The Missing Challenge Reader Case

Inspirational quotes:

Harry Perkins, the Medical Examiner, was a tall, thin, bony-faced individual who moved with a certain lanky grace. He radiated homely efficiency, and regarded corpses with detatched impartiality. His hobby was trout fishing. Erle Stanley Gardner, writing in The D.A. Holds a Candle, 1938.

Need more challenges?