Many thanks to Moonlight Reader and Obsidian Blue for hosting this game for the fourth year in a row, bigger and better than ever before!

Witih today's call, I've blacked out my card, in addition to collecting my final bingos (nos. 12 and 13).

Somewhat to my surprise, after completing my books for my official bingo card at the end of September, I even managed to read enough extra books to put together a supplemental inofficial card throughout the month of October, so this year's game has really exceeded my wildest expectations in every conceivable way!

My Official 2019 Bingo Card:

Weekly Status Updates and Reviews:

First Week

Second Week

Third Week

Fourth Week

The Books:

International Woman of Mystery: Margaret Atwood: The Handmaid's Tale and The Testaments - finished September 29, 2019.

Locked Room Mystery: Clayton Rawson: Death from a Top Hat - finished September 23, 2019

and: John Dickson Carr: The Hollow Man - finished October 25, 2019.

Murder Most Foul: Michael Gilbert: Smallbone Deceased - finished September 13, 2019.

Psych: Sofi Oksanen: Fegefeuer (The Purge) - finished September 17, 2019.

Read by Flashlight or Candle Light: The Lady Detectives: Four BBC Radio 4 Crime Dramatisations - finished September 20, 2019.

DeadLands: Terry Pratchett: Monstrous Regiment - finished September 26, 2019.

Fear the Drowning Deep: Delia Owens: Where the Crawdads Sing - finished September 25, 2019.

Relics and Curiosities: Patricia Wentworth: Eternity Ring - finished September 10, 2019.

Dark Academia: James Hilton: Was It Murder? - finished September 1, 2019.

Modern Noir: Joy Ellis: The Guilty Ones - finished September 21, 2019.

Ghost Stories: Nina Blazon: Siebengeschichten - finished September 1, 2019.

Gothic: Peter Ackroyd: Hawksmoor - finished September 9, 2019.

Free (Raven) Space: Agatha Christie: The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories - finished September 7, 2019.

Truly Terrifying: Bob Berman: Earth-Shattering - finished September 12, 2019.

Amateur Sleuth: Priscilla Royal: Wine of Violence - finished September 5, 2019.

Cryptozoologist: Terry Pratchett: Guards! Guards! - finished September 18, 2019.

Diverse Voices: Toni Morrison: Beloved - finished September 22, 2019.

Black Cat: Jim Butcher: The Aeronaut's Windlass - finished September 16, 2019.

Creepy Crawlies: Silvia Moreno-Garcia: Gods of Jade and Shadow - finished September 7, 2019.

Country House Mystery: Anthony Rolls: Scarweather - finished September 14, 2019.

Spellbound: Zen Cho: Sorcerer to the Crown - finished September 6, 2019.

A Grimm Tale: Ellen Datlow & Terry Windling (eds.): The Wolf at the Door and Other Retold Fairy Tales - finished September 4, 2019.

Creepy Carnivals: Fredric Brown: The Dead Ringer - finished September 12, 2019.

Paint It Black: Trudi Canavan: The Magicians' Guild - finished September 20, 2019.

Cozy Mysteries: Margery Allingham: The White Cottage Mystery - finished September 19, 2019.

My Square Markers for My Main / Official 2019 Bingo Card

Called but not read

Read but not called

Read and Called

Center Square: Read and Called

The Extra Squares / Card and Books:

13: Rex Stout: And Be a Villain - finished September 30, 2019.

Supernatural: Jennifer Estep: Kill the Queen - finished October 1, 2019.

New Release: Sara Collins: The Confessions of Frannie Langton - finished October 4, 2019.

Genre: Mystery: Catherine Louisa Pirkis: The Experiences of Loveday Brooke, Lady Detective - finished October 4, 2019.

Romantic Suspense: Georgette Heyer: The Unfinished Clue - finished October 5, 2019.

Terror in a Small Town: Ann Cleeves: Raven Black - finished October 6, 2019.

Halloween: Agatha Christie: Hallowe'en Party - finished October 7, 2019.

Monsters: Terry Pratchett: Pyramids - finished October 8, 2019.

Shifters: Joan D. Vinge: Ladyhawke - finished October 9, 2019.

Sleepy Hollow: Dennis Lehane: The Given Day - finished October 12, 2019.

Film at 11: J.B. Priestley: An Inspector Calls - finished October 13, 2019.

In the Dark, Dark Woods: Joseph Conrad: Heart of Darkness - finished October 13, 2019.

Free (Raven) Square: Various Authors: The Rivals: Tales of Sherlock Holmes' Rival Detectives - finished October 14, 2019.

Grave or Graveyard: Kathy Reichs: Grave Secrets - finished October 14, 2019.

Genre: Suspense: Tony Medawar (ed.) Various Authors: Bodies from the Library 2 - finished September 2019.

Southern Gothic: Sharyn McCrumb: The Unquiet Grave - finished October 17, 2019.

Baker Street Irregulars: Joanne Harris: Gentlemen & Players - finished October 18, 2019.

Darkest London: J.V. Turner: Below the Clock - finished October 18, 2019.

Magical Realism: Joanne Harris: Chocolat - finished October 18, 2019.

It was a dark and stormy night: Peter May: The Lewis Man - finished October 20, 2019.

Full Moon: Edmund Crispin: Glimpses of the Moon - finished October 21, 2019.

King of Fear: John Le Carré: Absolute Friends - finished October 22, 2019.

Serial / Spree Killer: Steven Kramer, Paul Holes & Jim Clemente: Evil Has a Name - finished October 23, 2019.

Classic Noir: Patricia Highsmith: Strangers on a Train - finished October 23, 2019.

Classic Horror: Matthew G. Lewis: The Monk - finished October 26, 2019.
 

Note: With regard to the extra squares, I added the image for the relevant square for every book completed (= "read"); and I am using my "called" markers for the main card to indicate "called and read".

My Spreadsheet:

My Book Preselections Post: HERE

My Transfiguration Spells

Not used.

My "Virgin" Bingo Card:

Posted for ease of tracking and comparison.

 BLACK OUT BLACK OUT BLACK OUT BLACK OUT BLACK OUT BLACK OUT

General Wrap-Up:

Another successful Halloween Bingo is in the books for me! I still have two finished squares to be called, but I've blacked out my card.

This year, I did a lot less planning and a lot more flying by the seat of the pants with my reading. I did miss the planning a tiny bit, but with my big vacation, and my daughter's wedding, things were pretty crazy. I'm just happy I managed to get the blackout!

Overall, I had a lot of fun with the game. This is probably my favorite reading game of the year, and I will be hosting it as long as both BL & I continue on the same plane of existence!

 BOOKS:

Film at 11: The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood. This was a reread for me. I can't call this book beloved because it's so horrifying that it's a struggle to read. But, I wanted to reread it before the release of the sequel, and I'm glad I did. Atwood really does know how to scare the shit out of us all.

Magical Realism: All The Bad Apples by Moira Fowley-Doyle. This was one of my favorite bingo reads of the year, with it's take on the brutality and misogyny of Catholic history in Ireland. It's deeply feminist and I highly recommend it to fans of magical realism.

Modern Noir: Fallen by Karin Slaughter. I do love the Will Trent novels by Karin Slaughter, in spite of their overwhelming violence. 

Dark Academia: The Cat Among the Pigeons by Agatha Christie. I had planned to read Gaudy Night for this one, but got sidetracked, so I listened to the Hugh Fraser narration. Even though this isn't one of Poirot's stronger mysteries, I love Miss Bulstrode and the setting, so it's a personal favorite. I also watched the Poirot adaptation, with Harriet Walter as Miss Bulstrode, and am reminded, again, what a stunning actress she is.

International Woman of Mystery: Shadow on the Fens by Joy Ellis. This was one of the Nikki Galena mysteries, as I had run out of Jackman and Evans. I can't say that I loved it the way that I love Richard Armitage's narration of the four (soon to be five!) Jackman and Evans books, but it was enjoyable.

Creepy Crawlies: Speaks the Nightbird by Robert McCammon. This was my first read of Halloween Bingo, and it was a really good one. I will definitely read more of this series.

Spellbound: Blood Bound by Patricia Briggs. I reread three (maybe four) of the Mercy Thompson books for the game. This is my second favorite UF series, behind Kate Daniels.

Darkest London: The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson. Another reread, set in London, with a Jack the Ripper copy-cat terrorizing the city. Also ghosts.

In the Dark, Dark Woods: The Hunting Party by Lucy Foley. Meh. A disappointment.

Paint it Black: Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn. I read the two remaining Gillian Flynn books that I'd never read. Very disturbing.

Gothic: The Singing Stones by Phyllis Whitney. I barely remember this one. Whitney is always good fun, though. There was a weird re-incarnation subplot that jarred.

Classic Horror: The Murders in the Rue Morgue by E.A. Poe. A great choice for classic horror - locked room mystery, suitably puzzling.

Free square: Hunted on the Fens by Joy Ellis. Another Nikki Galena.

A Grimm Tale: Bone Crossed by Patricia Briggs (transfiguration spell to Deadlands). Another Mercy Thompson. This one features vampires.

13: The Mystery on Cobbett's Island by Kathryn Kenney. This was the 13th Trixie Belden mystery. I checked it out of the library - it's not one of the best of the Trixies, but getting the gang back together is always comforting.

Country House Mystery: The Hollow by Agatha Christie. The Angkatells are a trainwreck. This is really more of a straight up psychological study, and Poirot seems out of his element, but it's a good choice for the category.

Fear Street: Help Wanted by Richie Tankersley Cusick. I meant to read a few more of these Cusick mysteries, but didn't get to them. Not horrible, but not great, either.

Locked Room Mystery: Murder on the Oxford Canal by Faith Martin (transfiguration spell to Murder Most Foul). Downloaded for free from the KU. Sort of meh, but I'm sufficiently interested to give the series a couple more chances.

Relics and Curiosities: The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman. The prequel to Practical Magic. I love the way that Alice Hoffman writes.

Psych: Dark Places by Gillian Flynn. Gillian Flynn's imagination is a dark place.

Cryptozoologist: Moon Called by Patricia Briggs. The first Mercy Thompson. Solid beginning to a belove series.

Black Cat: Iron Kissed by Patricia Briggs (transfiguration spell to Shifters). Another Mercy Thompson.

Sleepy Hollow: The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving. I mean, Tom Mison narration. That is all.

New Release: The Testaments by Margaret Atwood. A really good sequel, that delves into the backstory of Gilead while telling the story of how the regime fell.

Baker Street Irregulars: One of Us is Lying by Karen McManus. Basically the Breakfast Club with a murder. A fun YA mystery.

This is a reread, but I'm in sore need of a palate cleanser.  Nothing better to turn to than the most celebrated and tricky locked room mystery ever -- which definitely is a book that calls for being read a couple of times in order to yield all of its secrets.  And what really stands out to me upon this revisit is how much of the solution Dickson Carr actually presents in the first chapters of the book --

And yet, the "how" is so intricately constructed that I had to read the solution twice to take it all in when I read the book for the very first time.

I've long read my "Locked Room Mystery" bingo book, but I'm just going to count it towards that square as well.  For anyone who, at this late stage of the game, happens to still be looking for a book for the Deadlands square, though, I think it would qualify for that square as well, though (ditto "Darkest London" and, of course, "Murder Most Foul" and the two "Genre" squares (Mystery / Suspense)).