The Cozy Mystery List Blog

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

Wait ‘Til Spring Begins…

Spring Fever. Spring Break. Spring Forward. Spring Bouquet. Spring Cleaning. Spring-in -your-step. Spring Flowers. Spring Semester. Well, you get the picture…

I actually just went over to my calendar to see when Spring will begin, so that I could wish you all great Spring times. Lo and behold, I missed it! Spring actually began last week, and I was totally oblivious to that fact. You would think that after changing/reprogramming several clocks in the house, it would have occurred to me! Perhaps that would explain why I have been in a springtime type of mood. (No, that doesn’t include Spring Cleaning!)

I prepared our Hummingbird feeder at the very beginning of March since we were having such spring-like weather. I knew it was too early, but with it being so warm, I thought perhaps the Hummingbirds hadn’t gotten the same memo they do about when to fly to San Antonio. I wanted to be sure that everything was ready for the little fellows. I knew they had traveled quite a distance to get here.

Of course, nature being what it is, the little birds didn’t appear until they were actually supposed to appear, regardless of our unusually warm weather for this time of year. The only thing that happened with our Hummingbird feeder is that it got very yucky, since the nectar was stagnate for so long. (That’s right, “It’s not nice to fool Mother Nature.”!)

This past Thursday, I bought two red hanging geraniums to catch the attention of the Hummingbirds and then I cleaned and re-fueled the Hummingbird feeder. I don’t know why I chose Thursday, it just felt like the right day to (again) get ready for the Hummingbirds. Within hours, our first Hummingbird arrived.

As I said, I just checked my calendar to see when Spring will arrive this year. Imagine my surprise when I saw that Spring sprang last Thursday. It appears like that little, tiny Hummingbird knew a whole lot more than I did!

Hope you ALL have wonderful Spring times!

No Sooner Had I Joined Facebook, When My Husband Talked Me Into Pinterest!

After talking about going on Facebook for a while, my husband finally convinced me to take the plunge. On December 17, 2013 I finally started my Cozy Mystery on Facebook. I should have known that my husband was simply having me test the water (so to speak) because it seemed like I had no sooner said yes, I’d give Facebook a try, when he started talking about the Cozy Mystery site going on Pinterest.

I have to admit that I had absolutely no knowledge of what Pinterest is about. I guess that I knew about Facebook because it had been around for so long… ten years? Over those ten years I had heard from people who tried to get me to go on Facebook. I would repeatedly answer that I was afraid I would spend way too much time looking up old high school, college, babysitting coop friends. I already felt like I spent enough time on the computer without having more distractions.

Fast forward ten years (since Facebook started) and now that I have the site on Facebook, I feel like, why not? Sure I can take another brave, new step and join Pinterest. So, the Cozy Mystery site is now on Pinterest. I am trying to get some of my major themes on my Cozy Mystery Pinterest page, but am finding that it is taking a little time for me to organize them the way I want them to be.

By the way, the Cozy Mystery Pinterest page has only been up about two weeks, and just this morning my husband asked me how I would feel about a Cozy Mystery Tweet? Now I have to go find out what the heck that’s all about!

What I’m Reading Now >>> Conrad Allen is a New-to-Me Author Who I Just Added to My “Favorite Authors” List

OK, I know this is a little early, but here is the book/author who I will be recommending for my February 2014 Cozy Mystery Book Recommendation. I am enjoying my current mystery so much that I just have to tell you about it now.

I’m currently reading the first mystery in Conrad Allen‘s (aka Edward Marston & Keith Miles) Dillman Mystery Series. The first book in the series is Murder on the Lusitania. We are introduced to George Porter Dillman, the main sleuth in this series. He hails from a family of yacht builders, but has decided on a different career path. He is a detective on a ship, which, from the titles of Allen’s books must change to different ships in the line’s fleet.

The series takes place in the very early 1900s, so it’s not a “cruise” ship as they are known today. This ship is the mode of transportation for people going from Europe to North America. Don’t expect the “Las Vegas glitzy shows” or the many planned activities that one might expect on a cruise ship today. A major source of fun is walking on the decks, and socializing with others before, during, and after each meal.

So, is this a Cozy Mystery? I am 63% through this book, and I would say that I definitely would call it a Cozy Mystery. Hmmm, you may say. How can you do that? The main sleuth is currently a detective (after being a Pinkerton agent for a while) >>> not an amateur detective. My answer is this: Let’s not lose sight of Hercule Poirot, a police-trained detective, who is among the Coziest of Cozies.

This mystery (as I said I’ve only read 63% of it) takes place on a cruise ship, where everyone seems to become familiar with each other. It’s like a small, contained “village” – so to speak. Allen has been able to make the characters into a small community of sorts.

While reading this Conrad Allen mystery, I have been struck several times by how much it reminds me of an Agatha Christie mystery. It is well written; the words seem to flow seamlessly.  The writing is crisp. Allen doesn’t make the reader wait to get answers. He actually moves from one puzzle piece to the next. (I get quite annoyed by authors who make you wait two or three chapters to get an answer to a question that has been posed!)

The characters, of which there are quite a few, are very well-developed. They are “identifiable” >>> I didn’t find myself having to scan back to try to remember who is who. I think that’s pretty significant, because to me, when I can “remember” a character, it’s like that character has been fleshed out and has become a person, rather than a “character.” (I sure hope that makes sense!) Allen treats us to a few quirky people amongst the “normal” ones.

Also, (again based on the first 63% of the first mystery in the series) there has been no gratuitous/superfluous violence/sex/profanity. (That’s a lot of “/”!) This is not to say that there isn’t implied violence/sex/profanity. Allen gets his point across when he tells one character to “lock the door” to another. A lot of us can get the drift as to what is going to be happening behind those locked doors.) Also, when the “bad guy/gal” (No spoilers here!) is hit several times and stabbed, we don’t actually need a blow-by-blow description of all of his/her injuries, do we? Also, Allen mentions when one of his characters uses “expletives” without us having to hear (read) them.

I would not have found Conrad Allen‘s Dillman Mystery Series if some of you Cozy Mystery readers hadn’t mentioned him. I thank you! I get so very excited when I find a new-to-me author who I can add to my list of favorite authors. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

If you’re interested in reading more of these brief revisits of some of the more popular Cozy Mystery Series that I’ve written in the past, you can find them at the Most Recommended Cozy Mystery Series page on my site.

I Don’t Want to Toot My Own Horn, BUT…

The first thing I do every morning when I come downstairs, is check my Cozy Mystery blog comments. You cannot imagine my surprise to find the following comment posted by Allison:

Nothing to do with this blog post, but… did you see? Jim Parsons from Big Bang Theory was on Craig Ferguson tonight. Turns out he loves cozy mysteries, and he mentioned your website!! How cool is that!

Allison, I agree, “How cool is that!”

I have to admit that I was so excited that I immediately found the link to CBS’s The Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson. Being mentioned on TV is beyond exciting (even if the “dot com” was bleeped from “Cozy Mystery dot com”). Hearing these two men talk about the books they read, well, that in itself was exciting. I think it’s especially “cool” when people today are willing to let it be known that they love to read. I mean, when was the last time you watched a talk show where the love for reading was a topic? (And the reason for the guest appearing on the talk show wasn’t to plug his/her book?)

Of course, when my husband finally came downstairs, I made him sit down and watch the clip on my computer. That’s right! Even before he drank his first cup of coffee, which, by the way, is a time when I try not to bother him. (He’s not a morning person, but coffee does tend to help a bit…)

My husband has been telling me all day that I should write this. I was hesitant to do so because I truly didn’t want to toot my own horn, and most importantly, I didn’t want to appear to be a “paparazzi” type of exploiter of celebrities. (I don’t buy “paparazzi” magazines at the check out, and surely, I wouldn’t want Mr. Parsons to feel like I’m exploiting him.)

Nevertheless, I’m so excited about my “fifteen seconds of fame” that I just could not contain myself.

(I just found out the link is no longer active, sorry!)

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