The 2021 Medical Examiner's Mystery Reading Challenge has closed. Here is the 2022 edition of this challenge.

Morgue:

Welcome to the Morgue. We have a full staff of 37 competent Medical Examiners ready to examine mystery readings. You may refer to their autopsy notes by clicking on their clipboard icons.

Honorary badges are conferred to autopsy leaders as follows. Each badge is handed off from person-to-person as earned.

• Groaning Golden Gurney: Most Toe Tags Issued
• Slippery Silver Scalpel: Most Books Read
• Bulging Bronze Body Bag: Most Authors Read
• Massive Magnesium Magnifier: Most recent 500th Toe Tag
• Squishy Scarlet Sponge: Most recent 400th Toe Tag
• Bent Brass Bone Saw: Most recent 300th Toe Tag
• Floppy Fuschia Forceps: Most recent 200th Toe Tag
• Lavender Lab Coat: Most recent 100th Toe Tag

Morgue Annual Report

	2019	2020	2021
Medical Examiners	8	14	37
Total toe tags issued	1444	2719	10822
Total books read	441	806	1883
Average toe tags per book	3.27	3.37	5.74
Average toe tags per examiner	180	194	292
Average books read per examiner	55	57	51

Who else examined my book? Enter Author or Title:

BUREAU of VITAL STATISTICS updated SAT DEC 25 2021 @ 10.00 am EST convert sorted by toe tags issued. highest stats highlighted in green. 2nd highest in yellow.
Medical Examiners 3 7		Toe Tags tied 1 0 8 2 2	/ Books read 1 8 8 3	= TPB* 5. 7 4	Autopsy notes	Personal effects
	Laura Marlane Nebraska Groaning Golden Gurney (most toe tags @ 1782)	1782	115	15.49
	Sanacrow Tennessee	1310	128	10.23
	C0NTENTH0MEB0DY USA	1291	132	9.78
	Bev Hankins Indiana Slippery Silver Scalpel (most books @ 194) Bulging Bronze Body Bag (most authors @ 128)	832	194	4.28
	OutsmartYourShelf The United Kingdom	802	143	5.60
	Tracy New York	689	109	6.32
	Jjean Missouri	591	110	5.37
	Tina Hilbert Utah	584	109	5.35
	SueC Utah Massive Magnesium Magnifier (500th toe tag)	510	109	4.67
	Avid Series Reader New Mexico	475	80	5.93
	Susan Jensen Arizona Squishy Scarlet Sponge (400th toe tag) Bent Brass Bone Saw (300th Toe Tag)	433	82	5.28
	Rick Mills Maine	377	123	3.06
	Scott Nickels Georgia	352	64	5.50
	Traci L. Illinois Floppy Fuschia Forceps (200th toe tag)	205	115	1.78
	Erika California Lavender Lab Coat (100th toe tag)	199	38	5.23
	Guatemala Paula Texas	112	30	3.73
	Jen Alaska	101	15	6.73
	sk888888 New Jersey	96	24	4.00
	Simone C Alabama	70	32	2.18
	Tara Illinois	55	18	3.05
	Karen Baroness Montana	46	34	1.35
	BobbeyM Texas	36	10	3.60
	Kirstin B. Massachusetts	33	27	1.22
	Shannon The Netherlands	22	4	5.50
	DrDoom Alberta	20	4	5.00
	Sarah Whitten Texas	19	2	9.50
	Tari Hann Ohio	17	8	2.12
	Cheyenne McQuain Upstate New York	16	6	2.66
	Leonie Koch New York	16	5	3.20
	Penelope Piebaker Ohio	15	5	3.00
	Dr. Kate Michigan	11	6	1.83
	Anna Marten Wisconsin	10	4	2.50
	Angel Nebraska	6	1	6.00
	Rachel Roy Vermont	5	2	2.50
	Sharon Angle-Boyer North Carolina	3	1	3.00
	Laura United Kingdom	2	1	2.00
	Brandi Wyoming	1	1	1.00

Key to symbols
	Moved up
	New or updated today
	Honorary badge
	High column stat
	2nd place column stat
	Tracker page
	Blog
	Goodreads profile
	Paperback Swap bookshelf

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

How to:

1. No advance signup necessary.
2. Read a murder mystery. Note the victim(s) and cause(s) of death. If unsure what counts, see the Frequent Autopsy Questions (FAQ) page.
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. See the Frequent Autopsy Questions (FAQ) page for examples.
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 Bureau of Vital Statistics; as summarized above. Generally, you should see your submission posted within 24 hours. If you do not see it, click the REFRESH button on your web browser to reload the page.

Rules:

1. This challenge is open from Jan 1 2021 - Dec 24 2021.
2. Genres: You get to decide what is a 'mystery'. Traditional murder mysteries, thrillers, police procedurals, short stories, true crime, romances, all are welcome.
3. Formats: Print books, audio books, radio dramatizations, or e-books may be used.
4. 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 Frequent Autopsy Questions (FAQ) page.
5. 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.
6. Bloggers are welcome to copy the toe tag image from the header (or any image that catches your fancy) for your blog.

Archive:

• 2019 Medical Examiner's Reading Challenge
• 2020 Medical Examiner's Reading Challenge

M.E.'s notebook: The County Coroner arrived. A smallish man, Mr. Munson, and an inefficient looking chap. But his looks belied him, for he fairly sprang to his job, and before he had been in the house ten minutes, he had organized his plan of inquiry and set to work. He chose Barry's library for his headquarters, and asked for a bridge table, which he placed in front of a large easy chair, and then called his witnesses. Carolyn Wells, writing in The Beautiful Derelict, 1935.

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