The Cozy Mystery List Blog

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

Cozy Mystery Book Recommendations – July 2020

We’re just about at the end of July, so it’s time to discuss our favorite Cozies that we’ve read this month!

If you read a Cozy mystery this month and want to recommend it to the rest of us, be sure to post it here! For this month, I read the first entry of Eva Gates’s Lighthouse Library Mystery Series. For the reasons I want to recommend it, be sure to check out the blog entry!

So, what have you been reading that you can recommend in July? Please be sure to tell us why you liked these Cozies so much. I know we’re all always on the lookout for more particularly good Cozy Mystery authors! (If you have a lot of Cozies you think are great, please post the ones you like the most at the top of the list.)

As always, please do not tell us about the Cozy Mysteries you did not like.

What really good Cozy Mystery did you read during July 2020 that you want the rest of us to know about, and why did you enjoy it?

Ellery Adams (aka J. B. Stanley, Jennifer Stanley, & 1/2 of Lucy Arlington): Book Retreat Mystery Series

Ellie Alexander (aka Kate Dyer-Seeley): Bakeshop Mystery Series

David Bishop: Rick Carnes Mystery Series (first entry A Promise Kept)

Jacklyn Brady (aka Sherry Lewis & Sammi Carter): Piece of Cake Mystery Series

Julia Buckley: Hungarian Tea House Mystery Series

Eve Calder: Cookie House Mystery Series (first entry And Then There Were Crumbs)

Kate Carlisle: Bibliophile Mystery Series

Sheila Connolly (aka Sarah Atwell): Orchard Mystery Series

Cleo Coyle (aka Alice Kimberly): Coffeehouse Mystery Series

Elizabeth Daly: Henry Gamadge Mystery Series

Diane Mott Davidson: Goldy Bear Mystery Series

Krista Davis: Domestic Diva Mystery Series

Maddie Day (aka Edith Maxwell & Tace Baker): Country Store Mystery Series

Carola Dunn: Daisy Dalrymple Mystery Series

Lauren Elliot: Beyond the Page Bookstore Mystery Series (first entry Murder by the Book)

Alex Erickson: Bookstore Cafe Mystery Series (first entry Death by Coffee)

Amanda Flower (aka Isabella Alan): Magical Bookshop Mystery Series AND Magical Garden Mystery Series

Eva Gates: Lighthouse Library Mystery Series

Ann Granger: Cambell and Carter Mystery Series

Elly Griffiths: Ruth Galloway Mystery Series (first entry The Crossing Places)

H Y Hanna: Oxford Tearoom Mystery Series (first entry A Scone to Die For)

Libby Klein: Poppy McAllister Mystery Series

Elizabeth Logan (aka Jean Flowers, Camille Minichino, Margaret Grace, & Ada Madison): Mousse and Murder

Karen MacInerney: Snug Harbor Mystery Series

Carlene O’Connor: Irish Village Mystery Series

Spencer Quinn (aka Peter Abrahams): Chet and Bernie Mystery Series

Ann B. Ross: Miss Julia Mystery Series

Sarah Stewart Taylor: The Mountains Wild

Kirsten Weiss: Pie Town Mystery Series

I will list the authors and series that have been recommended, but I urge you to read the comments below so you can see the reasons other Cozy Mystery readers thought these were their best reads of the month.

♦To access more Cozy Mystery Books Recommendations, click on this link♦

P.S. I usually don’t comment on your recommendations since they speak for themselves.

Knives Out – A Modern Agatha Christie-Inspired Murder Mystery

Well, today I’m going to talk about something I don’t normally do on this blog… talk about a modern, theatrically released movie that doesn’t happen to be an adaptation of an existing mystery franchise. That said, it does have a definite tie to Cozies – it was actually the expressed intent of Rian Johnson, Director/Producer/Writer of Knives Out to produce “an old fashioned murder mystery. Like an Agatha Christie, I love her!” Well, I certainly agree with that sentiment! And I was incredibly pleasantly surprised to find that Johnson’s 2019 movie actually felt like a modernization of an Agatha Christie… and it’s better than most of those! 

To start off with, the plot is pure classic mystery. When wealthy, eccentric, cantankerous mystery novelist Harlan Thrombey (played by Christopher Plummer) is found dead after his 85th birthday party, it seems like a clear-cut case of suicide. However, there’s one thing that keeps the police from just signing it off as suicide – Benoit Blanc (played by Daniel Craig), a renowned private investigator. Benoit Blanc, the so-called “last of the gentlemen sleuths”, has been hired to look into the death. I don’t want to go too far into the plot beyond that, as the movie is far too new for spoilers… I can’t even tell you the other classic mystery that that this movie reminds me of, as I want it to be a surprise!

One thing I can talk about more is the cast, and I can’t say enough good things. As already mentioned, Christopher Plummer does an excellent job as Harlan Thrombey, as well as Daniel Craig, who plays the role of “southern fried detective” Benoit Blanc alternately as mysterious, ridiculous, or insightful, as the moment requires. Equally impressive were many of the other people I would consider “big names” of the cast, like Jamie Lee Curtis, who plays Thrombey’s dry, highly successful daughter Linda. But I was also surprised by many of the other actors and actresses, who are a bit too young for me to be as familiar with them (I am more of a “classic movies fan” than a “modern movie-goer”) such as Ana de Armas (playing the on-site nurse and confidante for Harlan Thrombey), Michael Shannon (as Harlan’s son and head of Harlan’s publishing house), Toni Collette (playing Harlan’s slightly hippy-dippy daughter Joni), and Chris Evans (playing a semi-estranged grandson). I need to stop here with the list, because, honestly, the entire cast does such an excellent job that it would just turn into a copy of the closing credits!

Note that there are a few details that some more sensitive readers should be warned of. First, it isn’t entirely bloodless. Let’s face it – when you stab someone, there’s blood, and while there aren’t exactly buckets of it in this mystery, there are a few moments that might put off squeamish viewers. Likewise, one character does have a particular tell when she lies – violent vomiting, which in practice I personally found more off-putting than the blood. Depending on how seriously you view swearing, there are a few instances of it here – though personally, I wasn’t bothered by either the frequency or severity. And as I said earlier, I’ve seen more extreme examples of most of this in actual modern Christie adaptations than here. There are a few depictions of drug use, though nothing particularly strong. There are also some brief political discussions.

This would normally be a great moment to say “They don’t make ’em like this any more”… except, they did. They just made this one in 2019, and there’s word that there’s a follow-up starring Daniel Craig as Benoit Blanc already in the works. I’m certainly looking forward to it, and aside from those who are particularly sensitive to the above issues in their Cozies, I heartily recommend it.

PS: At least as of the time of this posting, Knives Out is available on Amazon Prime streaming.

New Releases – July 27 to August 2, 2020

Here is the list of new releases for July 27 to August 2!

Sandra Bretting: What the Hatmaker Heard (This will be the 6th in the Missy DuBois Mystery Series.)

Catherine Bruns: It Cannoli Be Murder (This will be the 2nd in the Italian Chef Mystery Series.)

Bailey Cates (aka Bailey Cattrell & Cricket McRae): Witches and Wedding Cakes (This will be the 9th in the Magical Bakery Mystery Series.)

Vicki Delany (aka Eva Gates): Tea & Treachery (This will be the 1st in the NEW Tea by the Sea Mystery Series.)

A.L. Herbert: Murder with Honey Ham Biscuits (This will be the 4th in the Mahalia Watkins Mystery Series.)

Lee Hollis: Death of a Wicked Witch (This will be the 13th in the Haylee Powell Mystery Series.)

Alexander McCall Smith: The Geometry of Holding Hands (This will be the 13th in the Isabel Dalhousie Series.)

Upcoming Television Mystery Movies for August 2020

I have to say, for anyone who considers Barbara Stanwyck one the best actresses of all time, August is starting out with a big bang! Saturday, August 1, 2020 is an all-day celebration of Barbara Stanwyck movies >>> and I’m all in! I’ve seen most of them several times, but I enjoy them each and every time I watch them. (As if that isn’t enough, Sunday, August 23 will feature movies with Bette Davis in them!)

Unfortunately, August also brings us a month on the Turner Classic Movies channel that we won’t be seeing Eddie Muller or his film noir movies on Noir Alley. I real drag for many of us. 

***** ***** ***** *****

TURNER CLASSIC MOVIES CHANNEL MYSTERY MOVIES – AUGUST 2020

***** ***** ***** *****

Saturday – August 1

5:00 AM
GAMBLING LADY (1934)
Two gamblers fall in love but one is already married to a possible murderer.
Dir:  Archie Mayo Cast:  Barbara Stanwyck, Joel McCrea, Pat O’Brien.
BW- 66 mins, CC

10:00 AM
CRIME OF PASSION (1957)
An executive’s wife barters sex for her husband’s business success.
Dir:  Gerd Oswald Cast:  Barbara Stanwyck, Sterling Hayden, Raymond Burr.
BW- 86 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

11:30 AM
THE MOONLIGHTER (1953)
A former jailbird makes good after the wrong man is accused for his crime.
Dir:  Roy Rowland Cast:  Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray, Ward Bond.
BW- 78 mins, CC

3:00 PM
THE TWO MRS. CARROLLS (1947)
A woman slowly discovers that her artist husband is a deranged killer.
Dir:  Peter Godfrey Cast:  Humphrey Bogart, Barbara Stanwyck, Alexis Smith.
BW- 99 mins, CC

9:00 PM
DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944)
An insurance salesman gets seduced into plotting a client’s death.
Dir:  Billy Wilder Cast:  Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward G. Robinson.
BW- 108 mins, CC

***** ***** ***** *****

Sunday – August 2

1:15 AM
THE MAD MISS MANTON (1938)
A daffy socialite gets her friends mixed up in a murder investigation.
Dir:  Leigh Jason Cast:  Barbara Stanwyck, Henry Fonda, Sam Levene.
BW- 80 mins, CC

9:00 AM
A FINE PAIR (1969)
A detective gets involved with a beautiful jewel thief.
Dir:  Francesco Maselli Cast:  Rock Hudson, Claudia Cardinale, Tomas Milian.
C- 89 mins, CC

4:15 PM
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- 149 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

7:00 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
*****This is not a mystery movie, but it is a terrific Doris Day/Rock Hudson comedy.*****

***** ***** ***** *****

Monday – August 3

2:45 AM
PRETTY MAIDS ALL IN A ROW (1971)
A young man’s first sexual explorations are threatened by a string of murders.
Dir:  Roger Vadim Cast:  Rock Hudson, Angie Dickinson, Telly Savalas.
C- 91 mins, CC

5:00 AM
RENEGADE RANGER (1938)
A Texas Ranger discovers the man he’s chasing for murder is a woman.
Dir:  David Howard Cast:  George O’Brien, Rita Hayworth, Tim Holt.
BW- 59 mins, CC

11:30 AM
THE HAPPY THIEVES (1962)
A worldly art thief gets mixed up with murder.
Dir:  George Marshall Cast:  Rex Harrison, Rita Hayworth, Joseph Wiseman.
C- 89 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

***** ***** ***** *****

Friday – August 7

12:00 PM
MARY BURNS, FUGITIVE (1935)
Dir:  William K. Howard Cast:  Sylvia Sidney, Melvyn Douglas, Alan Baxter.
BW- 84 mins

1:30 PM
YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE (1937)
When he’s framed for murder, an escaped convict returns to crime to protect his wife and child.
Dir:  Fritz Lang Cast:  Sylvia Sidney, Henry Fonda, Barton MacLane.
BW- 85 mins, CC

3:15 PM
DEAD END (1937)
A killer returns to his childhood home to plot his escape from the law.
Dir:  William Wyler Cast:  Sylvia Sidney, Joel McCrea, Humphrey Bogart.
BW- 92 mins, CC

10:15 PM
SABOTAGE (1936)
An unhappily married woman discovers her husband is an enemy agent.
Dir:  Alfred Hitchcock Cast:  Sylvia Sidney, Oscar Homolka, Desmond Tester.
BW- 77 mins, CC

***** ***** ***** *****

Saturday – August 8

11:45 AM
MONSIEUR VERDOUX (1947)
A man woos and murders rich widows to support his invalid wife.
Dir:  Charles Chaplin Cast:  Charles Chaplin, Mady Correll, Allison Roddan.
BW- 124 mins, CC

***** ***** ***** *****

Sunday – August 9

7:00 PM
FOUL PLAY (1978)
An innocent woman stumbles onto a plot to murder the pope.
Dir:  Colin Higgins Cast:  Goldie Hawn, Chevy Chase, Burgess Meredith.
C- 116 mins, CC

***** ***** ***** *****

Monday – August 10

1:00 AM
$ (DOLLARS) (1971)
A bank security expert plots with a call girl to rob a high-tech security bank.
Dir:  Richard Brooks Cast:  Warren Beatty, Goldie Hawn, Gert FrObe.
C- 121 mins, CC

***** ***** ***** *****

Tuesday – August 11

8:00 AM
JOHNNY COOL (1963)
A deported gangster trains an Italian convict to take over his operations in the U.S.
Dir:  William Asher Cast:  Henry Silva, Elizabeth Montgomery, Richard Anderson.
BW- 102 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

4:45 PM
OCEAN’S 11 (1960)
A group of friends plot to rob a Las Vegas casino.
Dir:  Lewis Milestone Cast:  Peter Lawford, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra.
C- 127 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

***** ***** ***** *****

Wednesday – August 12

10:00 PM
MADAME X (1966)
A fallen woman on trial for murder is defended by the son she abandoned years earlier.
Dir:  David Lowell Rich Cast:  Lana Turner, John Forsythe, Ricardo Montalban.
C- 100 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

12:00 AM
THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE (1946)
Illicit lovers plot to kill the woman’s older husband.
Dir:  Tay Garnett Cast:  Lana Turner, John Garfield, Cecil Kellaway.
BW- 113 mins, CC

***** ***** ***** *****

Thursday – August 13

3:30 PM
BULLDOG DRUMMOND COMES BACK (1937)  
An old enemy kidnaps Bulldog Drummond’s fiancée.
Dir:  Louis King Cast:  John Barrymore, John Howard, Louise Campbell.
BW- 59 mins, CC

9:00 PM
DINNER AT EIGHT (1933)
 A high-society dinner party masks a hotbed of scandal and intrigue.
Dir:  George Cukor Cast:  Marie Dressler, John Barrymore, Wallace Beery.
BW- 111 mins, CC
*****Not a mystery – but very funny.*****

***** ***** ***** *****

Friday – August 14

12:30 AM
ARSENE LUPIN (1932)
A gentleman thief risks his life in an attempt to steal the Mona Lisa.
Dir:  Jack Conway Cast:  John Barrymore, Lionel Barrymore, Karen Morley.
BW- 84 mins, CC

3:15 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

7:00 PM
THE THOMAS CROWN AFFAIR (1968)
A bored tycoon turns to bank robbery and courts the insurance investigator assigned to bring him in.
Dir:  Norman Jewison Cast:  Steve McQueen, Faye Dunaway, Paul Burke.
C- 102 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

***** ***** ***** *****

Saturday – August 15

6:15 AM
ESCAPE IN THE FOG (1945)
A nurse recovering from a breakdown keeps dreaming about murder.
Dir:  Oscar Boetticher Jr. Cast:  Otto Kruger, Nina Foch, William Wright.
BW- 63 mins, CC

9:15 PM
MY NAME IS JULIA ROSS (1945)
A young girl finds herself entrenched in a murder cover-up when she goes to work for a wealthy widow.
Dir:  Joseph H. Lewis Cast:  Nina Foch, Dame May Whitty, George Macready.
BW- 65 mins, CC

10:30 PM
ILLEGAL (1955)
A DA falls apart when his machinations send an innocent man to the chair.
Dir:  Lewis Allen Cast:  Edward G. Robinson, Nina Foch, Hugh Marlowe.
BW- 88 mins, CC

***** ***** ***** *****

Sunday – August 16

2:00 AM
I LOVE A MYSTERY (1945)
A detective tries to protect a man who has predicted his murder will take place in three days.
Dir:  Henry Levin Cast:  Jim Bannon, Nina Foch, George Macready.
BW- 69 mins, CC

2:45 PM
ARSENIC AND OLD LACE (1944)
A young man about to be married discovers the two aunts who raised him have been poisoning lonely old men.
Dir:  Frank Capra Cast:  Cary Grant, Priscilla Lane, Raymond Massey.
BW- 118 mins, CC

7:00 PM
TO CATCH A THIEF (1955)
A retired cat burglar fights to clear himself of a series of Riviera robberies committed in his style.
Dir:  Alfred Hitchcock Cast:  Cary Grant, Grace Kelly, Jessie Royce Landis.
C- 106 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

9:00 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

***** ***** ***** *****

Monday – August 17

3:00 AM
ONCE UPON A HONEYMOON (1942)
A radio correspondent tries to rescue a burlesque queen from her marriage to a Nazi official.
Dir:  Leo McCarey Cast:  Cary Grant, Ginger Rogers, Walter Slezak.
BW- 115 mins, CC

5:00 AM
JAMAICA INN (1939)
A young woman on the British coast stumbles onto a ring of bloodthirsty scavengers.
Dir:  Alfred Hitchcock Cast:  Charles Laughton, Horace Hodges, Hay Petrie.
BW- 99 mins, CC

11:00 PM
THIS LAND IS MINE (1943)
A soft-spoken school teacher tries to prove he’s not a Nazi collaborator.
Dir:  Jean Renoir Cast:  Charles Laughton, Maureen O’Hara, George Sanders.
BW- 103 mins, CC

***** ***** ***** *****

Thursday – August 20

6:30 AM
THE KENNEL MURDER CASE (1933)
Society sleuth Philo Vance investigates a murder tied to a Long Island dog show.
Dir:  Michael Curtiz Cast:  William Powell, Mary Astor, Eugene Pallette.
BW- 73 mins, CC

11:00 AM
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

1:00 PM
ANOTHER THIN MAN (1939)
Not even the joys of parenthood can stop married sleuths Nick and Nora Charles from investigating a murder on a Long Island estate.
Dir:  W. S. Van Dyke II Cast:  William Powell, Myrna Loy, Virginia Grey.
BW- 103 mins, CC

***** ***** ***** *****

Sunday – August 23

5:00 AM
MARKED WOMAN (1937)
A crusading DA fights to get a nightclub hostess to testify against her gangster boss.
Dir:  Lloyd Bacon Cast:  Bette Davis, Humphrey Bogart, Lola Lane.
BW- 97 mins, CC

12:45 PM
A STOLEN LIFE (1946)    
A twin takes her deceased sister’s place as wife of the man they both love.
Dir:  Curtis Bernhardt Cast:  Bette Davis, Glenn Ford, Dane Clark.
BW- 107 mins, CC

11:30 PM
WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? (1962)     
A crazed, aging star torments her sister in a decaying Hollywood mansion.
Dir:  Robert Aldrich Cast:  Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Victor Buono.
BW- 134 mins, CC

***** ***** ***** *****

Monday – August 24

3:45 AM
SATAN MET A LADY (1936)      
In the second screen version of The Maltese Falcon, a detective is caught between a lying seductress and a lady jewel thief.
Dir:  William Dieterle Cast:  Bette Davis, Warren William, Alison Skipworth.
BW- 74 mins, CC

8:30 AM
JOHNNY ANGEL (1946)    
A sailor sets out to solve his father’s murder.
Dir:  Edwin L. Marin Cast:  George Raft, Claire Trevor, Signe Hasso.
BW- 79 mins, CC

10:00 AM
RACE STREET (1948)       
A night-club owner takes on the crooks who killed his best friend.
Dir:  Edwin L. Marin Cast:  George Raft, William Bendix, Marilyn Maxwell.
BW- 79 mins, CC

1:30 PM
RED LIGHT (1949)
An embezzler’s revenge on the businessman who turned him in leads to a bloody vendetta.
Dir:  Roy Del Ruth Cast:  George Raft, Virginia Mayo, Gene Lockhart.
BW- 83 mins, CC

7:00 PM
THEY DRIVE BY NIGHT (1940)
Truck driving brothers are framed for murder by a lady psycho.
Dir:  Raoul Walsh Cast:  George Raft, Ann Sheridan, Ida Lupino.
BW- 95 mins, CC

10:45 PM
NOCTURNE (1946)  
A police detective refuses to believe a composer’s death was suicide.
Dir:  Edwin L. Marin Cast:  George Raft, Lynn Bari, Virginia Huston.
BW- 87 mins, CC

***** ***** ***** *****

Tuesday – August 25

12:00 AM
MURDER, MY SWEET (1944)    
Detective Philip Marlowe’s search for a two-timing woman leads him to blackmail and murder.
Dir:  Edward Dmytryk Cast:  Dick Powell, Claire Trevor, Anne Shirley.
BW- 95 mins, CC

***** ***** ***** *****

Wednesday – August 26

8:00 AM
21 DAYS (1940)        
After accidentally killing his mistress’ husband, a man must decide whether to let another man hang for his crime.
Dir:  Basil Dean Cast:  Vivien Leigh, Leslie Banks, Laurence Olivier.
BW- 75 mins, CC

***** ***** ***** *****

Friday – August 28

7:00 AM
DECEPTION (1946)  
A woman tries to protect her refugee husband from her rich and powerful ex-lover.
Dir:  Irving Rapper Cast:  Bette Davis, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains.
BW- 112 mins, CC

***** ***** ***** *****

Saturday – August 29

7:00 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

***** ***** ***** *****

Sunday – August 30

7:00 PM
TOUCH OF EVIL (1958)    
A narcotics agent risks his wife’s life to investigate a crooked cop.
Dir:  Orson Welles Cast:  Charlton Heston, Janet Leigh, Orson Welles.
BW- 111 mins, CC

***** ***** ***** *****

Monday – August 31

7:05 AM
SCORPIO (1973)      
A CIA hit man is stalked by a former partner when the agency turns on him.
Dir:  Michael Winner Cast:  Burt Lancaster, Alain Delon, Frederick Jaeger.
C- 114 mins, CC

***** ***** ***** *****

If you’re really looking forward to these or other mystery-themed tv specials coming up in August, be sure to leave a comment below!

In case you’re interested in seeing the rest of this month’s television mystery movies, here’s the July 2020 television mystery movies schedule:

Upcoming Television Mystery Movies for July 2020 on Turner Classic Movies channel

And here is the page on my site with plenty of entries about movies and television shows you may enjoy:

Cozy Mystery List TV and Movie Section – all you have to do is click on the link to go to that page on my site.

(The above movie descriptions were taken off the TCM website.)

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