Task #3: Read a mystery where the victim(s) is not a woman

[Candace]

Rachel wrote: "Would Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore count for this prompt?"

This book looks interesting and I think it fits the task!

[Hope]

I just finished listening to Darkwater Bride, an audible original I got for free. The mystery centers around the death of the protagonist’s father but it gets murky depending on how you interpret the category. I’m choosing to count it in spite of the murkiness because I don’t love mysteries in general and don’t want to read/listen to another. 🤷🏻‍♀️

[Jessica]

Looks like another Agatha Christie that fits the bill is Crooked House, which I've got downstairs.

[Stacy]

Would My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithewaite count for this prompt? I haven't read it yet, but I know the murder victims aren't women.

[Natalie Piccotti]

My sister the serial killer would definitely count - read it recently- good read!

[Jason]

I finished up the Goldie Vance series by Hope Larson. It was a lot of fun, definitely a break from the bummer feeling I had after reading Sing, Unburied, Sing.

[Cheryl]

I read Black Coffee by Agatha Christie. It's a short, but engaging, story.

[Alyssa]

I don’t know if this has been mentioned yet but I just finished reading “Big Little Lies” by Liane Moriarty and I believe it fits the prompt.

[Bonnie G.]

Natalie Piccotti wrote: "My sister the serial killer would definitely count - read it recently- good read!"

I think this prompt is for a mystery, which My Sister the Serial Killer is not at all. But I agree, it was a super fun read.

[Bookstacksandalatte]

I've read this before and last year it was turned into a TV miniseries. I'd recommend The Alienist by Caleb Carr. The victims are young boys and it can be a bit graphic. Be forewarned. This would also satisfy #21: main character or protagonist with a disability. If I recall correctly, the Alienist, Dr Kreizler, had a deformed hand/arm.

Edit: This would also satisfy #7: historical fiction not set in WWII. The story is set in the late 1890's in New York.

[Brittany]

Some options I have on my TBR are

The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace: A Brilliant Young Man Who Left Newark for the Ivy League

LAbyrinth: A Detective Investigates the Murders of Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G., the Implication of Death Row Records' Suge Knight, and the Origins of the Los Angeles Police Scandal

Killer Clown: The John Wayne Gacy Murders

Sweet Revenge

[Bonnie G.]

I was just looking at my bookshelf, and realized A Wild Sheep Chase would totally work for this. The victim is a sheep, and while I can't remember if it was a ewe or a ram, I think it counts as not being a woman either way. Also, its a great book.

[Lacey ♡☆]

Read the Sundown Motel....I think it counts 🤔🤔🤔

[Carol]

Does the victim(s) have to be of the human form? Or could an inanimate object count?

[Christi]

The latest in Rita Mae Brown's Sister Jane books, Homeward Hound would count. Victims are all male.

It's the 11th in the series, but I think you can read this one without reading the others. You might miss a few nuances, but overall it would work.

[Sherri]

I read, The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey. I really enjoyed it.

[Renata]

I read The Murder of Roger Ackroyd because it had been in my to-read list since forever. It's a good book, I enjoyed it, however I've read so many Agatha Christie novels that I don't find the books as mysterious and fun as I did before.

[Christa]

I read One Of Us Is Lying for this one. Really good book.

[Tanu]

Would Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore count for this one? The blurb implies that the female protagonist may be targeted as well, but can anyone who’s read it please tell me if she becomes a victim?

[Carly]

Would you guys count Broken Harbor by Tana French? I’m reading it for my English class and it would be great if I could use it to cross off a challenge.

[Catie]

Carly wrote: "Would you guys count Broken Harbor by Tana French? I’m reading it for my English class and it would be great if I could use it to cross off a challenge."

It's been a while since I read it, but I believe in that one the central crime is the attempted murder of a family of four (including a mother and young daughter). But if you enjoy Tana French's writing after reading Broken Harbor and want to read another of the Dublin Murder Squad books, the next book in the series, The Secret Place, is about the murder of a teen boy at a boarding school. (Someone please correct me if I'm forgetting something about that book that would make it unsuitable for this challenge!)

[Becky]

Would My sister the serial killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite count for this category as all the victims in this are men?

[Leslie]

Becky wrote: "Would My sister the serial killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite count for this category as all the victims in this are men?"

While the victims are all men, the book is not classified as a mystery (we know who does it!). Good read, though!

[Tiffany]

Ilana wrote: "I’m thinking about Jane Harper’s “The Dry,” for this one"

I have started this and don't think it qualifies. There are at least two women victims. (and male victims as well.)

[Bonnie G.]

Brittany wrote: "Some options I have on my TBR are

The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace: A Brilliant Young Man Who Left Newark for the Ivy League

[book:LAbyrinth: A Detective Investigates th..."

None of these except the last are mysteries.

[Rebecca]

I read The Sentence Is Death by Anthony Horowitz. It is the second book in his Hawthorne Series. Horowitz has created his own character, Private Investigator Daniel Hawthorne, who closely resembles Sherlock Holmes. Along with Hawthorne comes his sidekick, Anthony, who is the writer that Hawthorne requested follow him through his day and write a book about him. Could Anthony be the new Watson? The victim is a successful celebrity-divorce lawyer, Richard Price, who is bludgeoned to death in his bachelor pad with an expensive bottle of wine...but he doesn't drink.

[Ilana]

I’m not sure how to respond to a particular comment, but Tiffany is right. I finished “Dry” by Jane Harper and it’s a great read but there are multiple victims including a woman. So I read “The Blank Wall,” by Elizabeth Sanxay Holding - it’s a 1940s noir reissued by Persephone books which is an awesome UK publisher and bookstore that reissues out of print books written by women in the 20th century.

[Charlotte]

I've just read JD kirk's A Litre of Bones the vitamin is a boys and the DCI is a man I'm presuming this works

[Shar]

I'd like to read Stillhouse Lake by Rachel Caine. It doesn't seem to be a mystery where a woman is a victim. Can someone tell me if this book will fit this prompt? Thanks!

[Megan]

I recently finished Cave of Bones by Anne Hillerman and am using it for this prompt.

[Allison]

So, would True Crime fit this prompt? or must it be a novel?

[Tammy]

Allison wrote: "So, would True Crime fit this prompt? or must it be a novel?"

I didn't think of it that way, but I would say it could work if the true story is told in the style of a mystery. I believe Killers of the Flower Moon was like that (though wouldn't work for the second part of this task). Part of why I enjoyed that book was not knowing who the perpetrators were until the end.

[Kathleen]

I just read The Ruin by Dervla McTiernan; a police procedural, so several things going on (several victims) but the main plot line fits the bill here. Really good read!

[Christopher]

Without spoiling it, does anyone know if Arthur Conan Doyle’s “The Hound of Baskerville” fall into this category?

[Ariel]

Christopher wrote: "Without spoiling it, does anyone know if Arthur Conan Doyle’s “The Hound of Baskerville” fall into this category?"

I want to say it does, but it's been a long time since I've read it so I'm not 100% sure.

[Sean]

Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead was fantastic!

[Stephanie]

I read He's Gone by Deb Caletti. Quick read and keeps your wondering!

[Shelley]

I went with The Silent Corner. It was just ok, but the main character's husband was the one who died, so it definitely works.

[Stina]

I went with Deadly Scandal, the first in Kate Parker's Deadly series set in the lead-up to WWII. For the purposes of this prompt, I'm considering only murder victims. When Nazis are involved, pretty much everybody is a victim.

[Shannon]

Just finished Deck the Hounds based on a recommendation from this thread. It was a cute story and a good way to fulfill this requirement without an overly dark crime story.

[Alyssa]

Would "My Sister, the Serial Killer" work for this task?

[Alyssa]

nvm should have checked previous answers lol

[Eric]

I think I’m going to read The Shadow of the Wind (by Carlos Ruiz Zafón) for this one. I think it aligns with the prompt.

[Dorothy]

I just finished Book Riot's suggestion of Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk. I recommend it - a little too much Astrology for me, but I could skim over those sections. If you liked A Man Called Ove - it has a similar feel - quirky characters, takes place in Poland. Once the library opens, will try author's book Flights.

[Deb]

I just read The Lost Man by Jane Harper and it was excellent. It's a slow-paced mystery with great characters.

[Zoe]

I scrolled through my library's audiobook collection and have been listening to The Case of the Man who Died Laughing by Tarquin Hall for this prompt. The Delhi setting is scratching my travel itch!

[Wellington]

I read Fake ID by Lamar Giles for this prompt.

[Tiffany]

I read The Whisper Man not knowing it fit this prompt but it definitely does. Super creepy too.

[Alinea]

I just finished reading The 7 1/2 deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle and I’m thinking it would fit in this category. Or am I reaching too far?

[Tiffany]

Alinea wrote: "I just finished reading The 7 1/2 deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle and I’m thinking it would fit in this category. Or am I reaching too far?"
nope, definitely a female victim in this story.