The Cozy Mystery List Blog

Cozy Mystery (and Other Favorite) Books, Movies, and TV

Dorothy L. Sayers : Busman’s Honeymoon : Haunted Honeymoon

A while back, Andie told us about the Turner Classics Movies magazine called Now Playing. Her comment was so positive about it, that I subscribed. I’m glad I did! I watch a lot of old movies, and this guide has helped me to check out, in advance, all of the movies the TCM channel is going to be playing any given month. I actually use a highlighter when going through the descriptions.

Recently, Andie wrote me to tell me that she thought some of us might enjoy a movie that will be airing early tomorrow morning, Wednesday, June 27, 2012. It’s called Haunted Honeymoon, and stars Robert Montgomery (yes, he’s Bewitched’s Elizabeth Montgomery’s dad) and Constance Cummings. It is based on the Dorothy L. Sayer‘s Lord Peter Wimsey Mystery Series.

This movie has Lord Peter Wimsey (Robert Montgomery) finally marrying Harriet Vane (Constance Cummings).  It is based on the Dorothy L. Sayers 1937 mystery book called Busman’s Honeymoon.

I’ve already set up my taping device!

Thank you, Andie!

Jessica Park: “How Amazon Saved My Life”

My husband sent me this article because he thought I might find it interesting. I am now passing it along to you all.

It is about independent authors who self-publish, and is written by Jessica Park  – aka Jessica Park-Conant, co author (with her mom, Susan Conant) of the Gourmet Girls Mystery Series.

The article is titled How Amazon Saved My Life, and is featured on IndieReader: The essential consumer guide to self-published books and the people who write them. 

I found the article quite interesting.

Classic British Cozy Mystery with Classic British Cozy Mystery Dialogue

A little while ago, I was driving somewhere, listening to Death in Ecstasy by Ngaio Marsh. (And, incidentally, loving it!) The only problem I have with audio books is that you can’t simply mark the spot with a bookmark so you can refer to it later. In this case, I thought some of the dialogue was so clever, I simply HAD to go find a place to park, in order to transcribe the words>>> which meant having to reverse and play my audio book several times. (So, these might not be the exact words, but if they aren’t, they are really close.)

For those of you who haven’t yet read any of the Ngaio Marsh Inspector Alleyn mysteries, shame on you! They are British Cozy Mystery classics, some of the best!

What I found endearing about the following conversation that occurs between Inspector Roderick Alleyn and Nigel Bathgate (a journalist cohort), is the way Marsh takes the reader along for a ride with these two fictional characters, discussing mystery books written by contemporary authors of Marsh’s. She is able to make the reader (just about!) forget he/she is reading about fictional characters.

Question regarding who the murderer could be:

“…  “let’s pretend it’s a detective novel. Where would we be by this time? About halfway through, I should think. Well, who’s your pick?”

Answer:

“It depends on the author. If it’s Agatha Christie, Miss Wades … guilt drips from every page. Dorothy Sayer’s Lord Peter would plump for … Inspector French would go for…”  (Inspector French was the fictional character in Freeman Wills Crofts’ mystery books, written at the same time.)

I found it to be quite clever that Marsh would have her fictional characters refer to current mystery authors, as if her fictional characters weren’t exactly that: fictional characters!

When I told my husband about this, he quickly responded that he thinks Agatha Christie had her fictional characters – Tommy and Tuppence – also name current mystery authors in their dialogue.

Can you think of any other Cozy Mystery authors’ fictional characters who refer to real Cozy Mystery authors?

2012 Nero (Wolfe) Award Nominees!

I finally posted the nominees for the 2012 Nero Awards. Most of you, I am sure, know exactly what the Nero Awards stand for:

The “Nero” is an annual award presented to an author for literary excellence in the mystery genre. The award is presented at the Black Orchid Banquet, which is traditionally held on the first Saturday in December in New York City. Past winners of the award include Fred Harris, Martha Grimes, Dennis Lehane, and Sharyn McCrumb.

(I copied the above statement from the Wolfe Pack site.)

Congratulations to all of the nominees!

2012: Guilt by Association by Marcia Clark 
The Silent Girl by Tess Gerritsen
The House of Silk by Anthony Horowitz
Spiral by Paul McEuen
Though Not Dead by Dana Stabenow
Black Orchid Blues by Persia Walker

(And, here’s a fun tidbit: Jane K. Cleland, author of the popular Josie Prescott Antiques Mystery Series,  is the Wolfe Pack’s literary awards chair!)

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