Some 1944 Titles (for Past Offences)

The latest monthly challenge over at Past Offences is to read a book in July, published in 1944. Here are some British/European crime titles to choose from, first published in English in 1944, pulled from my database. This information is correct to the best of my knowledge however please do double check dates before spending any cash!:

Emery Bonett - High Pavement (apa Old Mrs Camelot)
Christianna Brand - Green for Danger
Agatha Christie - Death Comes As the End
Agatha Christie - Towards Zero
Joan Coggin - Who Killed the Curate?
Edmund Crispin - The Case of the Gilded Fly
Ngaio Marsh - Died in the Wool (1944 in NZ, 1945 in UK)
Gladys Mitchell - My Father Sleeps
Georges Simenon - Maigret's Rival (apa Inspector Cadaver)
Georges Simenon - Maigret and the Toy Village
Georges Simenon - To Any Lengths (apa Maigret and the Fortuneteller) (apa Signed, Picpus)
Georges Simenon - The Gendarme's Report
Patricia Wentworth - The Clock Strikes Twelve
Patricia Wentworth - The Key

There are more suggestions in the comments on the Past Offences page.

Some 1929 Titles (for Past Offences)

The latest monthly challenge over at Past Offences is to read a book in June, published in 1929. Here are some British/European crime titles to choose from, first published in English in 1929, pulled from my database:

Margery Allingham - The Crime at Black Dudley (apa The Black Dudley Murder)
Anthony Berkeley - The Poisoned Chocolates Case
E M Channon - The Chimney Murder
Agatha Christie - Partners in Crime (Short Stories)
Agatha Christie - The Seven Dials Mystery
Clemence Dane - Enter Sir John (with Helen Simpson)
C H B Kitchin - Death of My Aunt
Beryl Symons - The Leering House
Josephine Tey - The Man in the Queue (apa Killer in the Crowd)
Patricia Wentworth - Fool Errant

My list is rather short but there are longer lists in the comments on the Past Offences page.

Some 1957 Titles (for Past Offences)

The latest monthly challenge over at Past Offences is to read a book in May, published in 1957. Here are some British/European crime titles to choose from, first published in English in 1957, pulled from my database:

Catherine Arley - Woman of Straw
Josephine Bell - Double Doom
Gwendoline Butler - Dead in a Row
Agatha Christie - 4.50 from Paddington (apa What Mrs McGillicuddy Saw!)
Katherine Farrer - Gownsman’s Gallows
Ian Fleming - From Russia With Love
Alan Hunter - Landed Gently
Alan Hunter - Gently Down the Stream
Austin Lee - Miss Hogg and the Squash Club
Osmington Mills - No Match for the Law
Georges Simenon - The Negro
Georges Simenon - The Son
Georges Simenon Maigret's - Little Joke (apa None of Maigret's Business)
Clark Smith - The Case of Torches
Margaret Yorke - Summer Flight

There are more suggestions in the comments on the Past Offences page.

Some 1947 Titles (for Past Offences)

The latest monthly challenge over at Past Offences is to read a book in March, published in 1947. Here are some British/European crime titles to choose from, first published in English in 1947, pulled from my database:

Margery Allingham - The Case Book of Mr Campion
Dorothy Bowers - The Bells at Old Bailey
Agatha Christie - The Labours of Hercules (Short Stories)
Joan Coggin - Dancing with Death
Ernest Dudley - Menace for Dr Morelle
Francis Durbridge - Paul Temple And The Sullivan Mystery
Ngaio Marsh - Final Curtain
Georges Simenon - Maigret in New York's Underworld (apa Maigret in New York/Inspector Maigret in New York's Underworld)
Georges Simenon - Three Beds in Manhattan
Georges Simenon - Act of Passion
Georges Simenon - The Fate of the Malous
Georges Simenon - The Ostenders
Georges Simenon - Maigret in Retirement
Georges Simenon - Maigret's Pipe
Georges Simenon - The Stowaway
Showell Styles - Traitor’s Mountain
Beryl Symons - Jane Carberry's Weekend
Patricia Wentworth - Latter End
Patricia Wentworth - Spotlight (apa Wicked Uncle)

Some 1950 Titles (for Past Offences)

The latest monthly challenge over at Past Offences is to read a book in January, published in 1950. Here are some British/European crime titles to choose from, first published in English in 1950, pulled from my database:

Margery Allingham - Mr Campion and Others (NB. the revised edition)
Joanna Cannan - Murder Included (apa Poisonous Relations & The Taste of Murder)
Agatha Christie - Three Blind Mice and Other Stories
Agatha Christie - A Murder Is Announced
Carter Dickson - Night at the Mocking Widow
Elbur Ford - Poison in Pimlico
Elbur Ford - Flesh and the Devil
Richard Hull - A Matter of Nerves
Georges Simenon - The Heart of a Man
Georges Simenon - The Burial of Monsieur Bouvet
Georges Simenon - Madame Maigret's Own Case (apa Madame Maigret's Friend)
Josephine Tey - To Love and Be Wise
Patricia Wentworth - The Ivory dagger
Patricia Wentworth - The Brading Collection (apa Mr. Brading´s Collection)
Patricia Wentworth - Through the Wall

Some 1941 Titles (for Past Offences)

The latest monthly challenge over at Past Offences is to read a book in December, published in 1941. Here are some British/European crime titles to choose from, first published in English in 1941, pulled from my database:

Margery Allingham - Traitor's Purse (apa The Sabotage Murder Mystery)
Dorothy Bowers - Fear and Miss Betony
Christianna Brand - Heads You Lose
Joanna Cannan - Death at the Dog
Agatha Christie - Evil Under the Sun
Agatha Christie - N or M?
Manning Coles - They Tell No Tales
Patrick Hamilton - Hangover Square
Georgette Heyer - Envious Casca (apa A Christmas Party)
Ngaio Marsh - Death and the Dancing Footman
Ngaio Marsh - Death of a Peer, published in 1940 in the US, but published as Surfeit of Lampreys in 1941 in the UK (I believe).
Georges Simenon - Black Rain
Georges Simenon - Justice
Georges Simenon - The Outlaw
Georges Simenon - Strange Inheritance
Georges Simenon - The Country Doctor
Beryl Symons - Magnet for Murder
Patricia Wentworth - Danger Point (apa In the Balance)
Patricia Wentworth - Unlawful Occasions (apa Weekend with Death)

Some 1922 Titles (for Past Offences)

The latest monthly challenge over at Past Offences is to read a book in November, published in 1922. Here are 4(!) British/European crime titles to choose from, first published in English in 1922, pulled from my database:

Agatha Christie - The Secret Adversary
Freeman Wills Crofts - The Pit Prop Syndicate
A A Milne - The Red House Mystery
E R Punshon - The Bittermeads Mystery

Some 1969 Titles (for Past Offences)

The latest monthly challenge over at Past Offences is to read a book in October, published in 1969. Here are 34 British/European crime titles to choose from, first published in English in 1969, pulled from my database:

Catherine Aird - The Complete Steel
Rennie Airth - Snatch!
Peter Alding - Murder Among Thieves
James Anderson - Assassin
Anders Bodelsen - Think of a Number (apa The Silent Partner)
W J Burley - Death in Willow Pattern
Gwendoline Butler - Coffin's Dark Number
Philip Youngman Carter - Mr Campion's Farthing
Agatha Christie - Hallowe'en Party
David Craig - Message Ends
Dick Francis - Enquiry
James Fraser - Cockpit of Roses
Nicolas Freeling - Tsing Boum
Romain Gary - The Dance of Genghis Cohn
Alan Hunter - Gently Coloured
Stanley Hyland - Top Bloody Secret
Sebastien Japrisot - One Deadly Summer
H R F Keating - Inspector Ghote Plays a Joker
Bill Knox - The Tallyman
Osmington Mills - Many a Slip
Peter O'Donnell - A Taste for Death
Ellis Peters - The House of Green Turf
Ellis Peters - Mourning Raga
Stella Phillips - Death in Arcady
Ruth Rendell - A New Lease of Death (apa Sins of the Fathers)
Ruth Rendell - The Best Man to Die
Leonardo Sciascia - Man's Blessing
Leonardo Sciascia - Salt in the Wound (apa Death of an Inquisitor)
Georges Simenon - Maigret and the Killer
Georges Simenon - November
Sjöwall & Wahlöö - The Fire Engine That Disappeared
Frank Smith - Corpse in Handcuffs
Malcolm Torrie - Churchyard Salad
Margaret Yorke - The Limbo Ladies

Some 1976 Titles (for Past Offences)

The latest monthly challenge over at Past Offences is to read a book in September, published in 1976. Here are 52 British/European crime titles to choose from, first published in English in 1976, pulled from my database:

Ted Allbeury - The Only Good German (aka Mission Berlin)
Ted Allbeury - Moscow Quadrille
Meg Elizabeth Atkins - Samain
Robert Barnard - A Little Local Murder
Maisie Birmingham - The Heat of the Sun
Anders Bodelsen - Operation Cobra
Anders Bodelsen - Consider the Verdict
Kyril Bonfiglioli - Something Nasty in the Woodshed
Paul Bonnecarrere - Ultimatum
Simon Brett - So Much Blood
W J Burley - Wycliffe and the Schoolgirls
Gwendoline Butler - Vesey Inheritance
Margaret Carr - Blindman's Bluff
Margaret Carr - Sharendel
Agatha Christie - Sleeping Murder
Peter Conway - Cradle Snatch
Peter Conway - Flight of Fear
Peter Conway - Devil to Pay
David Craig - Faith, Hope and Death
Eileen Dewhurst - After the Ball
Colin Dexter - Last Seen Wearing
Madelaine Duke - Death at the Wedding
Frederick Forsyth - The Shepherd
Dick Francis - In the Frame
James Fraser - Who Steals My Name?
Nicolas Freeling - Lake Isle (apa Sabine)
John Harvey - Amphetamines and Pearls
John Harvey - The Geranium Kiss
Tim Heald - Let Sleeping Dogs Lie
Veronica Heley - Cry for Kit
Reginald Hill - Another Death in Venice
Alan Hunter - Gently Where the Birds Are
Roderic Jeffries - Two-Faced Death
H R F Keating - Filmi, Filmi, Inspector Ghote
H R F Keating - Murder by Death
Maurice Leblanc - The Exploits of Arsene Lupin
Peter Lovesey - Swing, Swing Together
Jessica Mann - The Eighth Deadly Sin
Michael Molloy - The Kid from Riga
Hubert Monteilhet - Murder at the Frankfurt Book Fair
Hubert Monteilhet - Dead Copy
Torben Nielsen - A Gallowsbird's Song
Ellis Peters - Never pick up Hitch-hikers!
Ruth Rendell - The Fallen Curtain: And Other Stories
Ruth Rendell - A Demon in My View
Hester Rowan - Overture in Venice
Gerald Seymour - The Glory Boys
Leslie Thomas - Dangerous Davies
Janwillem Van de Wetering - Tumbleweed
Janwillem Van de Wetering - The Corpse on the Dike
David Williams - Unholy Writ
Margaret Yorke - Cast for Death

Some 1980 Titles (for Past Offences)

The latest monthly challenge over at Past Offences is to read a book in August, published in 1980. Here are 50 British/European crime titles to choose from, first published in English in 1980, pulled from my database:

Catherine Aird - Passing Strange
Ted Allbeury - The Reaper (aka The Stalking Agent)
James Anderson - Assault and Matrimony
Alex Auswaks - A Trick of Diamonds
Robert Barnard - Death in a Cold Climate
Michael Bar-Zohar - The Deadly Document
Josephine Bell - A Question of Inheritance
Michael Bradford - Counter-Coup
Simon Brett - The Dead Side of the Mike
W J Burley - Wycliffe in Paul's Court
Anna Clarke - Last Voyage
Liza Cody - Dupe
Peter Conway - Nut Case
Peter Conway - Pulling String
Peter Conway - Repent at Leisure
Eileen Dewhurst - Drink This
Umberto Eco - The Name of the Rose
Ron Ellis - Murder First Glass
Barry Fantoni - Mike Dime
Ken Follett - The Key To Rebecca
Dick Francis - Reflex
Nicolas Freeling - Castang's City
Andre Gide - Lafcadio's Adventures
Gerald Hammond - Reward Game
S T Haymon - Death and the Pregnant Virgin (apa Death of a Pregnant Virgin)
Tim Heald - Caroline R
Reginald Hill - A Killing Kindness
Reginald Hill - The Spy's Wife
Timothy Holme - The Neapolitan Streak
Alan Hunter - The Honfleur Decision
Jacquemard-Senecal - The Body Vanishes
Donald James - A Spy at Evening
P D James - Innocent Blood
Dan Kavanagh - Duffy
H R F Keating - The Murder of the Maharajah
Valerie Kershaw - Rosa
Peter Lear - Spider Girl
Max Marquis - Traitor Machine
Ngaio Marsh - Photo Finish
Michael Parker - North Slope
Anne Perry - Callander Square
Ellis Peters - Monk's-Hood
Ruth Rendell - The Lake of Darkness
Ruth Rendell - The Copper Peacock: And Other Stories
Ruth Rendell - Talking to Strange Men
Gerald Seymour - The Contract
Frank Smith - Dragon's Breath
June Thomson - Alibi in Time
David Williams - Murder for Treasure
Margaret Yorke - The Scent of Fear

Some 1987 Titles (for Past Offences)

The latest monthly challenge over at Past Offences is to read a book in July, published in 1987. Here are quite a few crime titles to choose from, first published in English in 1987, pulled from my database. 1987 was a good year for the beginnings of series, including: Rebus (Rankin), Inspector Banks (Robinson), Elvis Cole (Crais), Kemal Kayankaya (Arjouni) and Lindsay Gordon (McDermid):

Anthology - Murder in Japan: Japanese Stories of Crime and Detection
Peter Ackroyd - Chatterton
Douglas Adams - Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency
Marcel Allain & Pierre Souvestre - The Silent Executioner
Evelyn Anthony - No Enemy But Time
Jakob Arjouni - Happy Birthday, Turk!
Campbell Armstrong - Jig
Robert Barnard - Death in Purple Prose (apa The Cherry Blossom Corpse)
Robert Barnard - The Skeleton in the Grass
George Baxt - The Tallulah Bankhead Murder Case
M C Beaton - Death of a Cad
Carole Berry - The Letter of the Law
Michael Bond - Monsieur Pamplemousse Takes the Cure
Kjell-Olof Bornemark - The Messenger Must Die
Lilian Jackson Braun - The Cat Who Played Brahms
Lilian Jackson Braun - The Cat Who Played Post Office
Simon Brett - The Three Detectives and the Knight in Armor
Simon Brett - What Bloody Man Is That
W J Burley - Wycliffe and the Winsor Blue
Gwendoline Butler - Coffin in Fashion
Robert Campbell - Alice in La-La Land
Ann Cleeves - Come Death and High Water
Anthea Cohen - Ministering Angel
Robert Crais - The Monkey's Raincoat
Clare Curzon - Trail of Fire
Eileen Dewhurst - A Nice Little Business
Eileen Dewhurst - A Private Prosecution
Margaret Duffy - Murder of Crows
Susan Dunlap - A Dinner to Die For
Clare Francis - Wolf Winter
Dick Francis - Hot Money
John Francome - Riding High (with James MacGregor)
Antonia Fraser - Your Royal Hostage
Sue Grafton - D is for Deadbeat
Caroline Graham - The Killings at Badger's Drift
Lesley Grant-Adamson - Wild Justice
Gerald Hammond - Adverse Reports
Gerald Hammond - The Worried Widow
Carolyn G Hart - Death on Demand
S T Haymon - Death of a God
Tim Heald - Brought to Book
Joan Hess - Malice in Maggody
Joan Hess - Dear Miss Demeanor
Reginald Hill - Death of a Dormouse (written as Patrick Ruell)
Reginald Hill - There Are No Ghosts in the Soviet Union
Reginald Hill - The Collaborators
Reginald Hill - Child's Play
Timothy Holme - At the Lake of Sudden Death
Alan Hunter - Strangling Man
Bill James - Halo Parade
Roderic Jeffries - Relatively Dangerous
Dan Kavanagh - Going to the Dogs
H R F Keating - The Body in the Billiard Room
Stephen Leather - Pay Off
Gillian Linscott - A Whiff of Sulphur
Peter Lovesey - Bertie and the Tinman
Peter MacAlan - The Valkyrie Directive
Marion Mainwaring - Murder in Pastiche
Margaret Maron - The Right Jack
Lia Matera - Where Lawyers Fear to Tread
J K Mayo - Wolf's Head
Val McDermid - Report for Murder
Jill McGown - Record of Sin
Jill McGown - Stalking Horse
Keith Miles - Bullet Hole
Martin Millar - Milk, Sulphate and Alby Starvation
Paul Myers - Deadly Aria
Paul Myers - Deadly Sonata
Amy Myers - Murder in the Limelight
Magdalen Nabb - The Marshal and the Murderer
Shizuko Natsuki - The Third Lady
Fridrikh Neznansky - The Body in Sokolniki Park
Frank Parrish - Caught in the Birdlime (apa Bird In The Net)
Daniel Pennac - Fairy Gunmother
Anne Perry - Cardington Crescent
Ellis Peters - The Hermit of Eyton Forest
Andrew Puckett - Bloodstains
Sheila Radley - Who Saw Him Die?
Ian Rankin - Knots and Crosses
Ruth Rendell - Collected Short Stories (apa Collected Stories)
Ruth Rendell - Heartstones
Gillian Roberts - Caught Dead in Philadelphia
Peter Robinson - Gallows View
Joseph Roth - Confession of a Murderer
Julian Semyonov - Tass Is Authorized to Announce...
Gerald Seymour - At Close Quarters (apa An Eye for an Eye)
John Sherwood - Flowers of Evil
Dorothy Simpson - Element of Doubt
Gillian Slovo - Death Comes Staccato
Joan Smith - A Masculine Ending
Andrew Taylor - The Second Midnight
Andrew Taylor - Freelance Death
Leslie Thomas - Dangerous in Love
June Thomson - No Flowers by Request
Lesley Thomson - Seven Miles from Sydney
Edward Topol - Red Snow
M J Trow - Lestrade and the Hallowed House
M J Trow - Lestrade and the Leviathan
Janwillem Van de Wetering - The Sergeant's Cat: And Other Stories
Barbara Vine - A Fatal Inversion
Timothy Williams - Persona Non Grata (apa The White Audi)
David Williams - Divided Treasure
Margaret Yorke - Evidence to Destroy
Eve Zaremba - Beyond Hope

Some 1955 Titles (for Past Offences)

The latest monthly challenge over at Past Offences is to read a book in February, published in 1955. Here are a few classic crime titles to choose from, first published in English in 1955, pulled from my database:

Margery Allingham - The Beckoning Lady (apa The Estate of the Beckoning Lady)
Margot Bennett - The Man Who Didn't Fly
Boileau & Narcejac - Faces in the Dark
Agatha Christie - Hickory Dickory Dock (apa Hickory Dickory Death)
Ian Fleming - Moonraker
Erle Stanley Gardner - T.C.O.T. Sunbather's Diary
Erle Stanley Gardner - T.C.O.T. Glamorous Ghost
Erle Stanley Gardner - T.C.O.T. Cautious Coquette
Alan Hunter - Gently Does It
M M Kaye - Death in Berlin (revised 1985) (originally published as Death Walked in Berlin)
Austin Lee - Sheep's Clothing
Ngaio Marsh - Scales of Justice
Osmington Mills - Unlucky Break
Georges Simenon - The Witnesses
Georges Simenon - Maigret Sets a Trap
Georges Simenon - Maigret and the Headless Corpse
Clark Smith - The Speaking Eye
Patricia Wentworth - Poison in the Pen
Patricia Wentworth - The Listening Eye

Some 1946 Titles (for Past Offences)

The latest monthly challenge over at Past Offences is to read a book in November, published in 1946. Here are a few classic crime titles to choose from, first published in English in 1946, pulled from my database:

Margery Allingham - Wanted: Someone Innocent
Margot Bennett - Away Went the Little Fish
Agatha Christie - The Hollow (apa Murder After Hours)
Joan Coggin - Penelope Passes Or Why Did She Die?
Joan Coggin - The Mystery at Orchard House
Edmund Crispin - Holy Disorders
Elizabeth Daly - Somewhere in the House
Elizabeth Daly - The Wrong Way Down
Erle Stanley Gardner - The Case of the Borrowed Brunette
Erle Stanley Gardner - The DA Breaks a Seal
Richard & Frances Lockridge - Murder Within Murder
Georges Simenon - The Couple from Poitiers
Josephine Tey - Miss Pym Disposes
Boris Vian - I Spit on Your Graves
Patricia Wentworth - Pilgrim's Rest (apa Dark Threat)

Some 1932 Titles (for Past Offences)

The latest monthly challenge over at Past Offences is to read a book in October, published in 1932. Here are a few classic crime titles to choose from, first published in English in 1932, pulled from my database:

Edward Acheson - Murder by Suggestion (apa Red Herring)
Christopher Bush - Cut Throat
Agatha Christie - Peril at End House
Agatha Christie - The Thirteen Problems (apa The Tuesday Club Murders)
Clemence Dane - Re-Enter Sir John (with Helen Simpson)
Georgette Heyer - Footsteps in The Dark
Gladys Mitchell - The Saltmarsh Murders
Dorothy L Sayers - Have His Carcase
Georges Simenon - Death of a Harbour Master (apa Maigret and the Death of a Harbor Master)
Georges Simenon - Liberty Bar (apa Maigret on the Riviera)
Georges Simenon - The Flemish Shop (apa Maigret and the Flemish Shop)
Georges Simenon - The Madman of Bergerac
Georges Simenon - The Mystery of the 'Polarlys'
Georges Simenon - The Saint-Fiacre Affair (apa Maigret and the Countess/Maigret Goes Home/Maigret on Home Ground)
Georges Simenon - The Shadow in the Courtyard (apa Maigret Mystified)
Beryl Symons - The Opal Murder Case
Patricia Wentworth - Nothing Venture
Patricia Wentworth - Red Danger (apa Red Shadow)
T H White - Darkness at Pemberley

Some 1952 Titles (for Past Offences)

The latest challenge over at Past Offences is to read a book in August, published in 1952. Here are a few classic crime titles to choose from, pulled from my database:

Margery Allingham - The Tiger in the Smoke
Georges Arnaud - The Wages of Fear
Margot Bennett - The Widow of Bath
Joanna Cannan - The Body in the Beck
Glyn Carr - The Youth Hostel Murders
Agatha Christie - They Do It With Mirrors (apa Murder With Mirrors)
Agatha Christie - Mrs McGinty's Dead (apa Blood Will Tell)
Marten Cumberland - Fade Out the Stars
Katherine Farrer - The Missing Link
Elbur Ford - The Bed Disturbed
Edward Grierson - Reputation for a Song
Georges Simenon - Maigret and the Gangsters (apa Inspector Maigret and the Killers)
Georges Simenon - Maigret's Revolver
Georges Simenon - The Girl with a Squint
Georges Simenon - Belle
Georges Simenon - The Brothers Rico
Josephine Tey - The Singing Sands
Patricia Wentworth - Ladies' Bane

Reading Challenges 2011

Here are a few reading challenges for 2011 which might appeal to fans of British and other European crime fiction.

1. Dorte has set up the Global Reading Challenge for 2011 which has an easy, medium and expert level. In a slight change to last year there is a "seventh continent" category (here you can either choose Antarctica or your own ´seventh´ setting, eg the sea, the space, a supernatural/paranormal world, history, the future – you name it).

Sign up on the blog.

2. Amy of The Black Sheep Dances is following 2010's Scandinavian Reading Challenge with the Eastern European Reading Challenge:

Regions: Choose titles about or by an author from any of the following regions: Croatia, Ukraine, Bosnia, Serbia, Montenegro, Hungary, Belarus, Estonia, Albania, Bulgaria, Georgia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Poland, Czech Rep., Latvia, Lithuania, Russia, Romania, Moldova, and Kosovo.

Titles: Can be any genre: crime, poetry, literary fiction, history, historical fiction, memoirs, etc.

Levels:

tourist: 4 books over the 12 months

ambassador: 8 books over 12 months

scholar: 12 books over 12 months

Sign up on the blog where there are already some suggestions as to titles to try. Crime wise, I have short pages for authors born in Czech Republic, Poland, Russia and the catch-all of Eastern Europe. Non European authors setting their books in Eastern Europe include Michael Genelin (Slovakia), Olen Steinhauer (fictional Eastern Europe country) and Dan Fesperman's Vlado Petric series (Sarajevo).

3. There is also an Ireland Reading Challenge, run by Books and Movies:

Any book written by an Irish author, set in Ireland, or involving Irish history or Irish characters, counts for the challenge – fiction, non-fiction, poetry, audiobooks, children’s books – all of these apply.

~ Choose your commitment level:

Shamrock level: 2 books
Luck o’ the Irish level: 4 books
Kiss the Blarney Stone level: 6 books

I have lists of Irish and Northern Irish crime writers.

Sign up on the blog.

4. Or you could sign up for the Vintage Mystery Reading Challenge at My Reader's Block:

All books must have been written before 1960 and be from the mystery category.

*No matter what level you choose, please try at least two different vintage authors.

Challenge Levels:

In a Murderous Mood: 4-6 Books
Get a Clue: 7-9 Books
Hot on the Trail: 10-12 Books
Capture the Criminal: 13-15 Books
Take 'Em to Trial: 16+ Books

OR

The Golden Age Girls*: Read 5-7 books from female authors from the vintage years

Cherchez Le Homme: Read 5-7 books from male authors from the vintage years

Sign up on the blog.

5. Being a Jane Austen Mystery Reading Challenge over at Austenprose which involves reading various numbers of Stephanie Barron's Jane Austen series. (hat tip Maxine)

6. Becky at The Bookette is hosting the British Books Challenge 2011:

So what is the British Books Challenge?
The BBC (hee hee) is a reading challenge where bloggers sign up to read books by British writers throughout 2011.

The books can be in print or out. Old or new titles. They can be from any genre and for any age. My blog is obviously focused on YA and children's literature but you are welcome to read adult novels if you wish.

There are two entry categories for the challenge:

Home Grown

This is for British bloggers who have access to many British books via their public libraries, fit-to-bursting bookshelves at home etc. The target is to read 12 novels. Thanks to The Story Siren for creating a formula with the Debut Author Challenge that really works - one British book a month should be easy peasy!

International Friend
For any wonderful bloggers living overseas who wish to support British writers.
You can choose to between:

Winston Churchill - Read 6 books by British authors in 2011

The Royal Family - Read 12 books by British authors in 2011

There will also be the chance to earn yourselves a Crown if you manage to read 50 books by British writers in the year. This is open to everyone because I want to give special treats to people who love to support British talent. You don't need to decide now if you are aiming to meet this target. I'll post about this much later in 2011.

I have separate lists for crime authors born in : England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

The instructions on how to enter are on the blog.

7. There is also the Nordic Challenge at Notes from the North:

Levels
There will be 5 levels. The levels are
Huginn and Muninn: Read 2 books
Freya: Read 3-5 books
Tor: Read 6-10 books
Odin: Read 11-20 books
Valhalla: Read 20+ books


The Rules
There is no need to make a list before hand. Any book by any author born in a Nordic country (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and/or Sweden) or a book set in a Nordic country.
They can be from any genre (I will be reading a mixture of classics, children’s books, YA and mystery).

Sign up at the blog.

8. Kerrie at Mysteries in Paradise has set up the Agatha Christie Reading Challenge. Her intention "is to read her books in order, so that I can get some idea of what she is doing, problems she is attempting to solve, and her development as a writer".

Mystery Reader Cafe - Reading Challenge

From Reading Challenges:

The yahoo group, Mystery Reader Cafe, is running the following challenge for 2009:

1. Read a mystery with the word "murder" in the title
2. Read a mystery set in your region
3. Read a mystery that has been on your shelf for at least a year
4. Read a mystery from a "new to you" author

• Please remember that each challenge above should be a different book.
• Although this was created for the Yahoo reading group, anyone can participate.
• Reading challenges are personal and self-policed.
• You make the decisions if you want to change the books as the year goes on, etc.
• What's important is that it's fun and that you get to books you want to read.
  

In 2008 I read:
1. An Expert in Murder by Nicola Upson
2. Bad Press by Maureen Carter (Birmingham setting)
3. Larkspur by Sheila Simonson (US cozy bought in 1997)
4. Most of what I read was by new to me authors so picking one I enjoyed a lot - The Eye of Jade by Diane Wei Liang.

re. No.3. I made a concerted effort to read some of the older books I had with a view that if I disliked the one I'd read I'd be able to remove the rest of the series from my shelves. Unfortunately it didn't work out that way and I ended up buying the sequel to Larkspur to fill in the gap in the books I'd got of that series!

I'll have to give some thought to 2009's choices but I plan to read more of Maureen Carter's series for no.2.