Dawn's 2022 Scatter Mysteries

[Dawn]

Dawn's books for the 2022 Scatter Mysteries challenge.

[Dawn]

Scatter- Mysteries
Duration: January 1, 2022 - December 31, 2022

This year's challenge is based on the game "Scattegories" in which players name objects within a set of categories, given an initial letter, within a time limit.

The objective in the historical mysteries version of the game is to choose a random letter each month and read X number of books from X number of categories depending on the level that you select.

*Choose the random letter using a random letter generator. Pickerwheel (dot) com has a neat letter generator. Unfortunately, Goodreads no longer allows external links, so I am unable to link to a random generator here.

The random letter must be the first letter of one of the following:
1. Author first or last name
2. Books title (excluding A, An, The)
3. Series name

*If you would like to make things more challenging, you could have the random letter meet all of the criteria.

*** See below for an example***

GENERAL RULES:
1) Participants may join at any time during the challenge.
2) Definition of historical mystery for this challenge: Any book whose central plot involves a crime of any type (murder, robbery, etc.) and takes place at any point that is at least 50 years in the past. This includes works set in a time period that is historical from the author’s perspective (for example, The Cadfael Chronicles by Ellis Peters) as well as books written in the past from our perspective and set during the author’s lifetime (for example, Hercule Poirot by Agatha Christie).
*** Please note: A thriller focusing on espionage does not work for the challenge. A historical mystery must contain a crime that is investigated.
3) Re-reads and audiobooks are acceptable
4) All books begun on January 1st count toward the challenge
5) Create a personal thread in the challenge folder to keep track of your shelves and books. Please make a new post for every shelf that contains:
A. Level
B. The random letter for the month
C. The Category chosen
D. The book to be read.
E. Once you have finished the book, create a new post with all the details above AND the date read. You can also add a few comments about the book if you want (this is not compulsory).

Example:
Level: #1 - Master of History
Random Letter: D
Category: Historical Cozy Mystery
Book: Damsel in Distress by Carola Dunn (Daisy Dalrymple)

LEVELS & CATEGORIES:
Each participant should choose a level and complete the number of categories for that level. The books chosen must be from the lists or shelves next to the category name. Feel free to add books to the lists or shelves.

LEVELS:

Level #1: Bachelor of History - 3 to 5 books from at least 3 categories
Level #2: Master of History - 5 to 10 books in at least 5 categories
Level #3: Doctor of History - 10 to 15 books in at least 10 categories
Level #4: History with Honors - 15-20 books in at least 15 categories

If you choose level 1, you can read:

a) 3-5 books per month in at least 3 categories. In this case, you could, for example, read a total of 3 books x 12 months for a total of 36 books across any 3 categories you choose.

b) 3-5 books for the entire year in at least 3 categories.
For this option, you could also accumulate levels so begin with reading 3-5 books for level one, and then move on to reading 5-10 books in level 2 and so on. Here you would read anywhere between 3-50 books for the year.

c) 3-5 books per category. So, you would read, for example, 3 books x 3 categories for a total of 9 books for the year.
Again, you could accumulate levels.

d) 3-5 books per category per month. So, you would read, for example, 3 books x 3 categories for a total of 9 books a month.

You can also increase or decrease your level at any point in the challenge.

[Dawn]

Categories

* You can choose your book from any of the lists or shelves next to the category. See links from Rules & Questions Message 2.

** Please make sure that your choice of book meets the criteria for a historical mystery as per the rules of the challenge.

1. Historical Mysteries - List #1 / List #2 / Shelf #1
2. Historical Mysteries 2014 - List #1
3. Regency and Victorian Mysteries - List #1 / List #2 / Shelf #1 / Shelf #2
4. Historical Ghost Fiction - List #1
5. Historical Mysteries 2015 - List #1
6. Sleuths in Silks (Female Detectives) - List #1 / List #2 / List #3
7. Historical Mysteries 2016 - List #1
8. Historical Mysteries in Ancient Times (Greece & Rome) - List #1 / List #2 / Shelf #1
9. YA Historical Mysteries - List #1
10. Historical Mysteries 2017 - List #1
11. Dual Time Mysteries - List #1
12. Mysteries with Literary Authors - List #1
13. Sherlock Holmes - List #1 / List #2 / List #3 / Shelf #1
14. Historical Mysteries 2018 - List #1
15. Historical Cozy Mysteries - List #1 / Shelf #1
16. Historical Mysteries 2019 - List #1
17. Best Historical Crime Fiction - List #1 / List #2 / Shelf #1
18. Historical Mysteries 2020 - List #1
19. Medieval Mysteries - List #1 / Shelf #1
20. Great War Veterans as Detectives - List #1

[Dawn]

Categories Read Summary:

1. Historical Mysteries - The Dead Shall Not Rest by Tessa Harris, 02/27 - 04/24/2022, Letter H
2. Historical Mysteries 2014 -
3. Regency and Victorian Mysteries -
4. Historical Ghost Fiction -
5. Historical Mysteries 2015 - Satan's Lullaby by Priscilla Royal, 06/10-08/25/2022, Letter R
6. Sleuths in Silks (Female Detectives) - Murder at Mallowan Hall by Colleen Cambridge, 10/12-11/08/2022, Letter C
7. Historical Mysteries 2016 - Land of Shadows by Priscilla Royal, 11/08-12/02/2022, Letter P
8. Historical Mysteries in Ancient Times (Greece & Rome) - Fires of Alexandria by Thomas Carpenter, 05/15-06/22/2022, Letter F
9. YA Historical Mysteries - The Body at the Tower by Y.S. Lee, 04/25-05/14/2022, Letter Y
10. Historical Mysteries 2017 - The Lopez Affair by Ann Swinfen, 12/03-12/20-2022, Letter A
11. Dual Time Mysteries -
12. Mysteries with Literary Authors -
13. Sherlock Holmes - The Last Moriarty by Charles Veley, 01/01-01/23/2022, Letter V
14. Historical Mysteries 2018 -
15. Historical Cozy Mysteries -
16. Historical Mysteries 2019 -
17. Best Historical Crime Fiction -
18. Historical Mysteries 2020 - Death in Delft by Graham Brack, 07/31 - 10/12/2022, Letter G
19. Medieval Mysteries - The Wayward Apprentice by Jason Vail, 01/25 - 02/27/2022, Letter V
20. Great War Veterans as Detectives -

[Dawn]

Book Information Summary:

A. Level:
B. Random Letter for the Month:
C. Category Chosen:
D. Book Read:
E. Date Read:
F. Comments:

[Dawn]

My Challenge Level: Level #1: Bachelor of History - 3 to 5 books in at least 3 categories

Jan - V
Feb - H
Mar - S
Apr - Y
May - F
June - R
July - G
Aug - E
Sep - M
Oct - C
Nov - P
Dec - A

[Dawn]

Book 1:

A. Level: Level 1 - Bachelor of History
B. Random Letter for the Month: V
C. Category Chosen: 13. Sherlock Holmes
D. Book Read: The Last Moriarty by Charles Veley
E. Date Read: January 1 - January 23, 2022
F. Comments: I enjoyed this way more than I expected! I am not a huge Holmes fan but I found this interesting with many twists and strong female characters.

[Dawn]

Book 2:

A. Level: Level 1 - Bachelor of History
B. Random Letter for the Month: V
C. Category Chosen: 19. Medieval Mysteries
D. Book Read: The Wayward Apprentice by Jason Vail
E. Date Read: January 25 - February 27, 2022
F. Comments: I really enjoyed this mystery. It had so many mysteries and they kept you guessing until the end. They definitely did not give you any help in solving the mysteries.

[Dawn]

Book 3:

A. Level: Level 1 - Bachelor of History
B. Random Letter for the Month: H
C. Category Chosen: 1. Historical Mysteries
D. Book Read: The Dead Shall Not Rest by Tessa Harris
E. Date Read: February 27 - April 24, 2022
F. Comments: I enjoyed this book very much and really enjoyed all the characters which were drawn from actual historical figures. I was a little disappointed that it felt like we weren't given clues needed to solve the mystery.

[Dawn]

Book 4:

A. Level: Level 1 - Bachelor of History
B. Random Letter for the Month: Y
C. Category Chosen: 9. YA Historical Mysteries
D. Book Read: The Body at the Tower by Y.S. Lee
E. Date Read: April 25, 2022 - May 14, 2022
F. Comments: This is a great series. I enjoy this mystery series with just a little bit of romance.

[Dawn]

Book 5:

A. Level: Level 1 - Bachelor of History
B. Random Letter for the Month: F
C. Category Chosen: 8. Historical Mysteries in Ancient Times
D. Book Read: Fires of Alexandria by Thomas Carpenter
E. Date Read: May 15, 2022 - June 22, 2022
F. Comments: This book was okay. It wasn't my favorite but I probably would read another one in this series sometime.

[Dawn]

Book 6:

A. Level: Level 1 - Bachelor of History
B. Random Letter for the Month: R
C. Category Chosen: 5. Historical Mysteries 2015
D. Book Read: Satan's Lullaby by Priscilla Royal
E. Date Read: June 10, 2022 - August 25, 2022
F. Comments: I love this series! I always look forward to reading another story from this author.

[Dawn]

Book 7:

A. Level: Level 1 - Bachelor of History
B. Random Letter for the Month: G
C. Category Chosen: 18. Historical Mysteries 2020
D. Book Read: Death in Delft by Graham Brack
E. Date Read: July 31, 2022 - October 12, 2022
F. Comments: I really enjoyed this book! The story line was good and I didn't guess the ending. In addition, it had Vermeer as one of the primary characters. I love when real people are characters!

[Dawn]

Book 8:
A. Level: Level 1 - Bachelor of History
B. Random Letter for the Month: C
C. Category Chosen: 6. Sleuths in Silks (Female Detectives)
D. Book Read: Murder at Mallowan Hall by Colleen Cambridge
E. Date Read: October 12, 2022 - November 8, 2022
F. Comments: I enjoyed this first installment of the series. It had some twists and turns that I didn't expect but was definitely more of a cozy mystery than a hard-hitting mystery. The main character is the head housekeeper for Agatha Christie so there are a lot of Agatha Christie references.

[Sandy]

I hope to get to that book soon.

[Dawn]

Book 9:
A. Level: Level 1 - Bachelor of History
B. Random Letter for the Month: P
C. Category Chosen: 7. Historical Mysteries 2016
D. Book Read: Land of Shadows by Priscilla Royal
E. Date Read: November 8, 2022 - December 2, 2022
F. Comments: I just love this series! It is my favorite time period and the characters are complex. There are not always easy answers to what the characters are dealing with in their lives.

[Dawn]

Book 10:
A. Level: Level 1 - Bachelor of History
B. Random Letter for the Month: A
C. Category Chosen: 10. Historical Mysteries 2017
D. Book Read: The Lopez Affair by Ann Swinfen
E. Date Read: December 3, 2022 - December 20, 2022
F. Comments: I believe this is the last one in this series. I really like the series so I hope she decides to write a few more.

[Dawn]

I finished this challenge with a Level #3: Doctor of History - 10 to 15 books in at least 10 categories. I finished 10 books in 10 categories.

[Sandy]

Dawn wrote: "Book 10:
A. Level: Level 1 - Bachelor of History
B. Random Letter for the Month: A
C. Category Chosen: 10. Historical Mysteries 2017
D. Book Read: The Lopez Af..."

I'm afraid the author died in 2018, according to Goodreads