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Medical Examiner's Mystery Reading Challenge 2026

Medical Examiner Reading Challenge text Titles

Welcome to the Medical Examiner's Mystery Reading Challenge for 2026! Your goal as Medical Examiner is to read murder mysteries and attach toe tags to the unfortunate victim(s). Just read the obscure General Information page and then file your death certificate.
M U R M U R S from the M O R G U E:
The Gold Gurney, Silver Scalpel, and Bronze Body Bag honorary badges (for most toe tags, titles, and authors, respectively) will begin posting on February 1!
updated Jan 30: OutsmartYourShelf (United Kingdom) grips the garish Garnet Gloves for gaining 50 toe tags!
updated Jan 30: Tina Hilbert (Ohio) and JenneB (Pennsylvania) finagle the Fuschia Forceps for fastening 200 toe tags!
 

Review previous challenges: 2019202020212022202320242025

Who else examined my book? Enter Author or Title:

BUREAU of VITAL STATISTICS updated FRI JAN 30 2026 @ 7.00 PM EST
Medical Examiners
2 3
Authors Titles
1 5 1
Toe Tags
1 2 3 5
Autopsy
notes
Personal effects
JenneB Pennsylvania
Fuchsia Forceps (200 Toe Tags) @1/29
14 17 252 Goodreads profile Storygraph profile Instagram
updated Tina Hilbert Ohio
Lavender Lab Coat (100 Toe Tags) @1/22
Fuchsia Forceps (200 Toe Tags) @1/30
12 21 239 Goodreads profile tracker page Blog
moved up updated Susan Jensen Arizona
Garnet Gloves (50 Toe Tags) @1/24
9 10 96 Goodreads profile tracker page Blog
moved up updated Tracy House New York
Garnet Gloves (50 Toe Tags) @1/25
6 9 90 Goodreads profile
Beth M North Carolina 4 4 79 Goodreads profile tracker page
Vallery Louisiana
Garnet Gloves (50 Toe Tags) @1/29
8 8 72 Goodreads profile
moved up updated Goodreads librarian Rick Mills Maine
Chief Medical Examiner
Garnet Gloves (50 Toe Tags) @1/21
9 11 66 Goodreads profile tracker page Blog PaperBack Swap  Titleshelf
moved up updated OutsmartYourShelf The United Kingdom
Garnet Gloves (50 Toe Tags) @1/30
8 9 63 Goodreads profile
Linda B Kentucky 7 7 48 Goodreads profile
Goodreads librarian Bev "Quincy" Hankins Indiana 7 7 35 Goodreads profile tracker page My Reader's Block All Covered Up Storygraph profile
Medical Examiner Authors Titles Toe Tags Notes Personal effects
Horror Girl Texas 7 7 34 Goodreads profile
Goodreads librarian Colleen Illinois 6 8 33 Goodreads profile
Jjean Texas 6 6 28 Goodreads profile
Tara Taylor Illinois 5 5 27 Goodreads profile
batkat West Virginia 2 2 20 Goodreads profile tracker page
Erika Morris California 3 4 13 Goodreads profile Instagram
SueC Utah
2 3 10 Goodreads profile tracker page Blog
Shannon The Netherlands 2 3 9 Goodreads profile Instagram
Traci L. Illinois 4 4 9 Goodreads profile tracker page Blog
Jace Boyer . 2 2 6 Goodreads profile
Tari Hann Ohio 2 2 4 Goodreads profile Blog
Dianne Lebold Ontario 1 1 1 Goodreads profile
Jules Vandemberg Italy 1 1 1 Goodreads profile Blog
2025 morgue staff resting below this line
Sanacrow Tennessee 0 0 0 Goodreads profile tracker page Blog
Karen A New Mexico 0 0 0 Goodreads profile
Terry M. Minnesota 0 0 0 Goodreads profile
AfterPlague Florida 0 0 0 Goodreads profile
Karen Baroness Texas 0 0 0 Goodreads profile tracker page Blog Instagram
Jen McFarren Texas 0 0 0 Goodreads profile
Medical Examiner Authors Titles Toe Tags Notes Personal effects

      Ambiguous instructions and arbitrary rules are found on the General Information page.

Key to symbols
Moved up a position(s)
888updated New or updated today
Update pending
Goodreads librarian
kill-o-tag Kill-o-tag, 1000+ toe tags
High column stat
2nd place column stat
tracker page Tracker page
Blog
Goodreads profile Goodreads profile
Mystillery group on Goodreads
Instagram
Paperback Swap
medical examiner

Chief Medical Examiner's journal

Mystillery Morgue
Friday, January 30 :

It was almost midnight, and the pathology room in the basement of All Saints Hospital was deserted except for Masuto, Dr. Sam Baxter, and Dr. Alvin Levine, the resident pathologist whom Masuto had dragged out of bed and pressed into service. Naked and white and sliced open, Saunders's corpse lay on the table. Baxter, washing his hands, said to Levine, "You don't have to close. Just put him on ice. He'll hold."
"You'll be back tomorrow to close him?"
"Why? He's dead, isn't he? Any damn fool can sew him up."

E.V. Cunningham (pseudonym of Howard Fast), writing in The Case of the Sliding Pool, 1981.

Honorary badges
Gold Gurney
Most Toe Tags
Silver Scalpel
Most Titles
Bronze Body Bag
Most Authors
Magenta Magnifier
500 Toe Tags
Scarlet Sponge
400 Toe Tags
Brass Bone Saw
300 Toe Tags
Fuchsia Forceps
200 Toe Tags
Lavender Lab Coat
100 Toe Tags
Garnet Gloves
50 Toe Tags


A Mystillery challenge
hosted by Goodreads librarian Rick Mills
rickmills9@gmail.com
The Mystillery Reading Challenge Addict Susan Jensen's reading challenges