The Cozy Mystery List Blog

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

Upcoming Television Mystery Movies for February 2015

There are quite a few mystery movies that will be playing on television during February 2015, even though it’s such a short month! I have already set up my DVR for as far into the future as it allows me to go. I have many mystery movies already waiting for me on my DVR, and now I’m adding even more during February. How on earth will I ever watch all of these movies? Something’s gotta give!

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February 2015 Turner Classic Movies Channel Mystery Movies (Central time zone):

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Monday – February 2, 2015

7:00 PM
Little Women (1933)
The four March sisters fight to keep their family together and find love while their father is off fighting the Civil War.
Dir: George Cukor Cast:  Katharine Hepburn, Joan Bennett, Paul Lukas.BW-116 mins, CC
***I know I shouldn’t start a mystery movie list with this non-mystery movie, but I think this could be the best edition of Little Women. (Not a mystery.)***

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Tuesday – February 3, 2015

10:00 AM
The Fallen Sparrow (1943)
Nazi spies pursue a Spanish Civil War veteran in search of a priceless keepsake.
Dir: Richard Wallace Cast:  John Garfield, Maureen O’Hara, Walter Slezak.
BW-94 mins, CC

11:45 AM
Ice Station Zebra (1968)
A sub commander on a perilous mission must ferret out a Soviet agent on his ship.
Dir: John Sturges Cast:  Rock Hudson, Ernest Borgnine, Patrick McGoohan.
C-152 mins, CC

2:15 PM
Foreign Correspondent (1940)
An American reporter covering the war in Europe gets mixed up in the assassination of a Dutch diplomat.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock Cast:  Joel McCrea, Laraine Day, Herbert Marshall.
BW-120 mins, CC

4:30 PM
North By Northwest (1959)
An advertising man is mistaken for a spy, triggering a deadly cross-country chase.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock Cast:  Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, James Mason.
C-136 mins, CC

11:45 PM
The Thin Man (1934)
A husband-and-wife detective team takes on the search for a missing inventor and almost get killed for their efforts.
Dir: W. S. Van Dyke Cast:  William Powell, Myrna Loy, Maureen O’Sullivan.
BW-91 mins, CC

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Thursday – February 5, 2015

11:30 AM
‘G’ Men (1935)
A mob protege joins the FBI when a friend is gunned down.
Dir: William Keighley Cast:  James Cagney, Margaret Lindsay, Ann Dvorak.
BW-86 mins, CC

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Friday – February 6, 2015

7:00 AM
Little Women (1949)
The four daughters of a New England family fight for happiness during and after the Civil War.
Dir: Mervyn LeRoy Cast:  June Allyson, Peter Lawford, Margaret O’Brien.
C-122 mins, CC
***If you haven’t seen this Little Women edition, I think it’s a close second to the one above. (Not a mystery.)***

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Sunday – February 8

11:00 PM
Gaslight (1944)
A newlywed fears she’s going mad when strange things start happening at the family mansion.
Dir: George Cukor Cast:  Charles Boyer, Ingrid Bergman, Joseph Cotten.
BW-114 mins, CC

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Tuesday – February 10

12:00 AM
Laura (1944)
A police detective falls in love with the woman whose murder he’s investigating.
Dir: Otto Preminger Cast:  Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews, Clifton Webb.
BW-88 mins, CC

6:00 AM
Julie (1956)
A stewardess is stalked by her psychotic estranged husband.
Dir: Andrew L. Stone Cast:  Doris Day, Louis Jourdan, Barry Sullivan.
BW-98 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

8:00 AM
Crossfire (1947)
A crusading district attorney investigates the murder of a Jewish man.
Dir: Edward Dmytryk Cast:  Robert Young, Robert Mitchum, Robert Ryan.
BW-86 mins, CC

9:30 AM
Suspicion (1941)
A wealthy wallflower suspects her penniless playboy husband of murder.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock Cast:  Cary Grant, Joan Fontaine, Sir Cedric Hardwicke.
BW-100 mins, CC

11:30 AM
Mystery Street (1950)
Criminal pathologists try to crack a case with nothing but the victim’s bones to go on.
Dir: John Sturges Cast:  Ricardo Montalban, Sally Forrest, Bruce Bennett.
BW-93 mins, CC

1:15 PM
The Fallen Idol (1948)
A neglected child thinks the servant he idolizes has committed murder.
Dir: Carol Reed Cast:  Ralph Richardson, Michele Morgan, Bobby Henrey.
BW-95 mins, CC

3:00 PM
After the Thin Man (1936)
Married sleuths Nick and Nora Charles try to clear Nora’s cousin of a murder charge.
Dir: W. S. Van Dyke Cast:  William Powell, Myrna Loy, James Stewart.
BW-112 mins, CC

5:00 PM
Charade (1963)
A beautiful widow tries to find her husband’s lost fortune while eluding the killers who want it themselves.
Dir: Stanley Donen Cast:  Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, Walter Matthau.
C-113 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

9:15 PM
The Killers (1946)
An insurance investigator uncovers a string of crimes when he tries to find a murdered boxer’s beneficiary.
Dir: Robert Siodmak Cast:  Burt Lancaster, Ava Gardner, Edmond O’Brien.
BW-102 mins, CC

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Thursday – February 12

8:30 PM
The Third Man (1949)
A man’s investigation of a friend’s death uncovers corruption in post-World War II Vienna.
Dir: Carol Reed Cast:  Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Orson Welles.

BW-104 mins, CC

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Friday – February 13

12:30 AM
Born Yesterday (1950)
A newspaper reporter takes on the task of educating a crooked businessman’s girlfriend.
Dir: George Cukor Cast:  Judy Holliday, Broderick Crawford, William Holden.
BW-102 mins, CC
***Judy Holliday! (Not a mystery.)***

4:30 AM
The Lavender Hill Mob (1951)
An overlooked gold transporter with twenty years service plots to steal a million pounds of gold.
Dir: Charles Crichton Cast:  Alec Guinness, Stanley Holloway, Sidney James.
BW-81 mins, CC

8:00 AM
The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945)
A man remains young and handsome while his portrait shows the ravages of age and sin.
Dir: Albert Lewin Cast:  George Sanders, Hurd Hatfield, Donna Reed, Angela Lansbury.
BW-110 mins, CC

10:00 AM
The Bad Seed (1956)
A woman suspects that her perfect little girl is a ruthless killer.
Dir: Mervyn LeRoy Cast:  Gage Clarke, Jesse White, Joan Croyden.
C-129 mins, CC

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Saturday – February 14

12:30 PM
Adam’s Rib (1949)
Husband-and-wife lawyers argue opposite sides in a sensational women’s rights case.
Dir: George Cukor Cast:  Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Judy Holliday.
BW-101 mins, CC
***Judy Holliday! (Not a mystery.)***

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Sunday – February 15

8:00 AM
T-Men (1948)
U.S. agents infiltrate a deadly counterfeiting ring.
Dir: Anthony Mann Cast:  Dennis O’Keefe, Mary Meade, Alfred Ryder.
BW-92 mins, CC

9:45 AM
The Naked City (1948)
A step-by-step look at a murder investigation on the streets of New York.
Dir: Jules Dassin Cast:  Barry Fitzgerald, Howard Duff, Dorothy Hart.
BW-96 mins, CC

11:30 AM
The Asphalt Jungle (1950)
A gang of small time crooks plots an elaborate jewel heist.
Dir: John Huston Cast:  Sterling Hayden, Louis Calhern, Jean Hagen.
BW-112 mins, CC

1:30 PM
The Blue Dahlia (1946)
A veteran fights to prove he didn’t kill his cheating wife.
Dir: George Marshall Cast:  Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake, William Bendix.
BW-99 mins, CC

3:15 PM
The Maltese Falcon (1941)
Hard-boiled detective Sam Spade gets caught up in the murderous search for a priceless statue.
Dir: John Huston Cast:  Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Gladys George.
BW-100 mins, CC

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Monday  – February 16

7:00 PM
Anatomy of a Murder (1959)
A small-town lawyer gets the case of a lifetime when a military man avenges an attack on his wife.
Dir: Otto Preminger Cast:  James Stewart, Lee Remick, Ben Gazzara.
BW-161 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

10:00 PM
Pillow Talk (1959)
A man and woman carry their feud over the telephone line they share into their real lives.
Dir: Michael Gordon Cast:  Rock Hudson, Doris Day, Tony Randall.
C-102 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
***A Doris Day and Rock Hudson movie! (Not a mystery.)***

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Tuesday – February 17

12:45 PM
In Cold Blood (1967)
Two vagrants try to outrun the police after committing a savage crime in this real-life shocker.
Dir: Richard Brooks Cast:  Robert Blake, Scott Wilson, John Forsythe.
BW-134 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

5:00 PM
Bullitt (1968)
When mobsters kill the witness he was assigned to protect, a dedicated policeman investigates the case on his own.
Dir: Peter Yates Cast:  Steve McQueen, Robert Vaughn, Jacqueline Bisset.
C-114 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

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Thursday – February 19

7:15 AM
Twilight of Honor (1963)
A struggling lawyer takes on a controversial murder case that could make or break him.
Dir: Boris Sagal Cast:  Richard Chamberlain, Joey Heatherton, Nick Adams.
BW-104 mins, Letterbox Format

11:30 AM
Witness for the Prosecution (1958)
A British lawyer gets caught up in a couple’s tangled marital affairs when he defends the husband for murder.
Dir: Billy Wilder Cast:  Tyrone Power, Marlene Dietrich, Charles Laughton.
BW-116 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

4:00 PM
Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)
An aging American judge presides over the trial of Nazi war criminals.
Dir: Stanley Kramer Cast:  Spencer Tracy, Burt Lancaster, Richard Widmark.
BW-179 mins, CC, Letterbox Format
***Capt. Kirk before he was Capt. Kirk!***

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Sunday – February 22

3:00 AM
Klute (1971)
A small-town detective searches for a missing man linked to a high-priced prostitute.
Dir: Alan J. Pakula Cast:  Jane Fonda, Donald Sutherland, Charles Cioffi.
C-114 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

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Saturday – February 28

5:00 AM
The Window (1949)
A boy who always lies witnesses a murder but can’t get anyone but the killer to believe him.
Dir: Ted Tetzlaff Cast:  Barbara Hale, Arthur Kennedy, Paul Stewart.
BW-74 mins, CC

6:15 AM
Night Must Fall (1937)
A charming young man worms his way into a wealthy woman’s household, then reveals a deadly secret.
Dir: Richard Thorpe Cast:  Merle Tottenham, Kathleen Harrison, Dame May Whitty.
BW-116 mins, CC

8:15 AM
Kind Lady (1951)
A con artist and his criminal cohorts hold an old lady hostage in her own home.
Dir: John Sturges Cast:  Ethel Barrymore, Maurice Evans, Angela Lansbury.
BW-78 mins, CC

9:45 AM
Wait Until Dark (1967)
A blind woman fights against drug smugglers who’ve invaded her home.
Dir: Terence Young Cast:  Audrey Hepburn, Alan Arkin, Richard Crenna.
C-108 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

11:45 AM
The Narrow Margin (1952)
A tough cop meets his match when he has to guard a gangster’s moll on a tense train ride.
Dir: Richard Fleischer Cast:  Charles McGraw, Marie Windsor, Jacqueline White.
BW-72 mins, CC

1:00 PM
Strangers on a Train (1951)
A man’s joking suggestion that he and a chance acquaintance trade murders turns deadly.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock Cast:  Farley Granger, Ruth Roman, Robert Walker.
BW-101 mins, CC

2:45 PM
Shadow of a Doubt (1943)
A young girl fears her favorite uncle may be a killer.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock Cast:  Teresa Wright, Joseph Cotten, MacDonald Carey.
BW-108 mins, CC

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(All of the above TCM descriptions were copied from the TCM site.)

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February 2015 PBS Masterpiece Mystery! Shows Grantchester (Central time zone):

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Sunday – February 1, 2015

8:00 PM
Grantchester – Part 3

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Sunday – February 8, 2015

8:00 PM
Grantchester – Part 4

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Sunday – February 15, 2015

8:00 PM
Grantchester – Part 5

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Sunday – February 22, 2015

8:00 PM
Grantchester – Part 6

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February 2015 Hallmark Movies & Mystery Channel Mystery Movies (Central time zone):

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Sunday – February 1, 2015

8:00 AM – 11:59 PM
Matlock marathon

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Saturday – February 7, 2015

8:00 AM – 11:59 PM
Mystery Woman marathon

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Monday – February 9, 2015

8:00 AM
Jane Doe: Yes, I Remember It Well
Cathy’s mom, Polly, a former CSA agent, comes for a visit. When a British agent with some top secret information is kidnapped, Cathy and Polly set aside their mother/daughter angst to uncover a plot which has global implications. Stars Lea Thompson, Joe Penny, and Donna Mills.

10:00 AM
McBride: Semper Fi
On a quiet street, in a seemingly ordinary home, a horrific crime has occurred, and a fireman and former marine medic is accused of killing his wife and daughters. Stars John Larroquette, Marta Dubois, and Matt Lutz.

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Tuesday – February 10, 2015

8:00 AM
Jane Doe: Ties That Bind
Though CEO Everett Myers is accused of murdering his partner, CSA puzzle solver Cathy Davis is certain he’s innocent, despite witnesses, surveillance cameras, and a surefire motive. Stars Lea Thompson, Joe Penny, and Robert Carradine.

10:00 AM
McBride: The Doctor is Out…Really Out
When therapist George Prescott is murdered, investigator Jim McBride is summoned to questions the doctor’s biggest head cases, including vindictive lovers, jealous colleagues, and vengeful rivals. Stars John Larroquette, Marta Dubois,and Matt Lutz.

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Wednesday – February 11, 2015

8:00 AM
Jane Doe: The Wrong Face
Cathy is brought in to find the U.S. Attorney’s missing wife and to ensure a money laundering investigation does not fall apart at a crucial point. Stars Lea Thompson and Joe Penny.

10:00 AM
McBride: Anybody Here Murder Marty?
When Tracy, an aspiring singer breaks up with her longtime boyfriend Joe on the set of a popular talk show, everyone assumes it’s nothing more than tv tabloid hijinks. But when the talk show host turns up dead, all evidence points to Joe. McBride must take center stage and clear his client of murder. Stars John Larroquette, Marta Dubois, and Matt Lutz.

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Thursday – February 12, 2015

8:00 AM
Jane Doe: How To Fire Your Boss
When a fellow agent kills his mentor in cold blood and can’t remember the crime, puzzle-solver Cathy Davis is enlisted to discover the motive. What she uncovers is a government experiment in mind-control developed to weed out terrorists. But the man behind the brainstorm could have other, more insidious motives. Stars Lea Thompson, Joe Penny and Erin Gray.

10:00 AM
McBride: Fallen Idol
McBride and Phil represent a young man accused of murdering a famous and success lawyer, who is also McBride’s mentor. Stars John Larroquette, Marta DuBois, and Matt Lutz.

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Friday – February 13, 2015

8:00 AM
Jane Doe: The Harder They Fall
Horning Cereal is dumping contaminated food on 3rd World countries. When former CSA agent Jim Monroe is found hovering over the drowned CEO of Horning Cereal, he is immediately the prime suspect. Cathy and Frank try to find out who framed Jim. Stars Lea Thompson, Joe Penny, and Billy Moses.

10:00 AM
McBride: Requiem
In life, Ava Fletcher was a virtuoso classical violinist and a darling of the critics, if not her peers. In death, she’s McBride’s new puzzle, and she’s got a grieving father eager to nail her low-class fiancé. McBride isn’t convinced, especially with an orchestra pit full of suspects all of who have solid motives for snipping Ava’s strings. Stars John Larroquette, Marta Dubois and Matt Lutz

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Sunday – February 22, 2015

8:00 AM –
Hart to Hart marathon begins

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Monday – February 23, 2015

1:59 AM
Hart to Hart marathon ends

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(All of the above Hallmark Movies & Mysteries descriptions were copied from the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries site.)

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If you know of any other mystery themed movies that are going to be aired on television during February 2015, please post a comment.

If you would like to see more Television and Movies ideas, click on this link.

Here is the Upcoming Mystery Movies for January 2015 entry, in case you want to see what is playing the rest of this month.

Death In Paradise – Fun Cozy Mystery TV

I recently discovered the British TV mystery series, Death in Paradise. This is currently one of my favorite TV shows and one of the few that falls well within the bounds of the Cozy Mystery genre.

The show is set in the fictional tropical island of Saint-Marie which is a British possession and filmed on the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe. The setup of the first episode is that a murder has occurred on the island, and because the murder is that of the local British detective, a new detective from London is brought in to investigate.

The London detective, Detective Inspector Richard Poole, played wonderfully by Ben Miller, is not happy to be sent to the island. His character is very much a “fish out of water” type character, much in the mold of the Doc in Doc Martin. The London detective refuses to adopt the casual island clothing, for example. He goes everywhere in a suit and tie despite the tropical heat (which bothers him quite a bit.)  And, for some reason, he always carries a briefcase no matter where he goes. I like that the character is quirky, but not over-the-top zany.

Other characters include a few members of the local police force. The refreshing thing about the additional characters is that they are all intelligent, and they all provide great help to the main detective in gathering the facts for each episode’s mystery. They make a great team both in the stories and with their great chemistry on the screen.

Besides the characters and the settings (which are beautiful, by the way), I really like that the mysteries are well plotted. All the clues that are necessary to solve the crime are actually presented to the viewer. One of my pet peeves is when the writer of a mystery saves one important clue for the detective to disclose during the final scene’s “reveal”. I always feel cheated when the clues remain hidden until after the sleuth has solved the case. One of the fun things I like about good Cozy Mysteries is that they provide a puzzle to solve. Holding back a clue until the end strikes me the same as keeping some of the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle off the table. Frustrating — and not fun!

I have not yet finished watching seasons one and two, but I understand (from Ian) that something big happens during the first episode of season three. Hmmm… I hope it’s something good! I can’t attest to the quality of the later seasons (yet), but I have really enjoyed what I have seen so far. And (again, from Ian) they are currently watching season 4 across the pond, so good news for us!

(Note – this show is not based on the Robert B. Parker Jesse Stone novel Death in Paradise nor is it related to the mystery novel of the same name by Carolyn Hart. Death in Paradise is a popular title among mystery writers!)

P.S. Thank you so much, Ian, for all the Death In Paradise information, including this fun fact:

Ian:

(Fun fact – Ben Miller found it so hot that whenever his feet were out of shot he took his shoes off, and his shirt was only a front and cuffs).

Grantchester: New Masterpiece Mystery! Starting Sunday

Good grief! I feel like saying “We interrupt your schedule with this breaking news about Cozy Mystery television viewing!” I feel like I have to hurry up and tell you about this, so you can set up your DVRs or rearrange your schedules in order to make sure you’re in front of your televisions this coming Sunday night!

It looks like we are in for a Cozy Mystery television movie treat! A new mystery series will be starting up soon >>> this time another entry in the PBS Masterpiece Mystery! series. Grantchester will begin airing starting this Sunday (January 18, 2015), with a total of six weekly episodes airing through the rest of January and February. Starring Masterpiece veterans James Norton as young vicar Sidney Chambers and Robson Green as Inspector Geordie Keating, Grantchester looks like it’s going to be good Cozy Mystery fun!

From the Cozy perspective, Grantchester looks very promising >>> it’s got a lot of the standard Cozy Mystery hallmarks – such as being set in an idyllic village with a surprising number of dark secrets, amateur sleuthing, and best of all >>> it’s British! It’s based on the Grantchester Mysteries written by James Runcie.

In the New York Times Sunday Book Review, James Runcie’s first mystery in his Grantchester Series (Sidney Chambers and the Shadow of Death) was said to be “the coziest of cozy murder mysteries … set in a quaint English village during the 1950s and featuring a young Anglican vicar who finds spiritual inspiration in criminal investigation.”

I’ve not yet had time to read it. Well, now I’ll at least be able to enjoy the TV adaptation!

So, as I mentioned above, go set your DVRs! Right now!

Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel : Joanne Fluke – Hannah Swensen, Charlaine Harris – Aurora Teagarden, & Peter King – Gourmet Detective

So, I recently got messages from Donna Mc and Alfred, and rather than just respond to them in the comments I thought I’d share their messages and my own response as it’s own post, since it seems like such big news for Cozy Mystery lovers!

From Donna Mc:

… did you hear that the Hallmark Channel is producing a series based on the Joanne Fluke cookie mysteries AND that a gorgeous blond is portraying Hannah? That is wild! But apparently true! Excited about the show, puzzled about the gorgeous blond.

From Alfred (40 minutes later):

… Allison Sweeney … it looks like they are going to be doing a mystery series featuring Joanne Fluke’s Chocolate Chip cookie mystery series on Hallmark – thought you might like to make a column out of it.

Thank you , Donna and Alfred! I rely on Cozy Mystery readers like the two of you to get wind of this fantastic Cozy Mystery news. I did some searches and found out that the good news doesn’t stop there! Apparently as part of Hallmark Movie Channel’s transition into Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, Hallmark is going to be putting out a whole bunch of Cozy Mystery movie adaptations, all of them set to air some time in 2015! I can’t wait!

As Donna and Alfred mentioned, one of these is going to be the adaptation of Joanne Fluke‘s Hannah Swensen Mystery Series, starting with Sugar Cookie Murder – though other sources have reported that the first movie will be Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder. Either way, the movies will star actress Alison Sweeney, 13-season veteran of Days Of Our Lives as well as a host of The Biggest Loser.  Admittedly, Hannah is supposed to have very curly red hair, not blonde – but I suppose every movie adaptation will need to make whatever changes they think are necessary. (Also, as those of us who follow Hannah’s sleuthing adventures know, Hannah is not slim, and rarely wears makeup…)

But as I said this is just the start of the good news! Two other Cozy movie adaptation series have been announced! The first is an adaptation of Charlaine Harris‘s Aurora Teagarden books, starring Candace Cameron Bure. I’ll admit, I’ve already got high expectations since the Teagarden series holds a very special place in my heart. I followed the series and was very disappointed when Charlaine Harris moved on to newer series, though those are also very well written. Some of you may remember Candace Cameron Bure from her days as Donna Jo “D.J.” Tanner from the long-running sitcom Full House. Well now she’ll be playing librarian Aurora Teagarden!

The third is an adaptation of Peter King‘s Gourmet Detective Mystery Series, starring Hallmark movie regular Dylan Neal. As with Sweeney, most viewers are likely to recognize Neal from soap operas – specifically his 119 episode run on The Bold and the Beautiful. Neal will be playing food consultant Goodwin Harper. Dylan Neal has been a cast member of the (regular) Hallmark channel’s Cedar Cove series.

It’s looking like this might be a really good year to be a fan of Cozy movie adaptations of some of our popular Cozy Mystery series! So, I guess now I’ve got a question for all of you – of these three terrific mystery series, which are you most looking forward to seeing a movie adaptation? Please make sure to leave a comment below!

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