The Cozy Mystery List Blog

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

New Releases – May 25 to May 31, 2020

Here is the list of new releases for May 25 to May 31!

Bree Baker (aka Jacqueline Frost, Julie Chase, & Julie Anne Lindsey): A Call for Kelp (This will be the 4th in the Seaside Cafe Mystery Series.)

Michael Connelly: Fair Warning (This will be the 3rd in the Jack McEvoy Mystery Series.)

“Jessica Fletcher” (with Donald Bain and Jon Land): The Murder of Twelve (This will be the 52nd in the Murder, She Wrote Mystery Series.)

Amanda Flower (aka Isabella Alan): Marshmallow Malice (This will be the 6th in the Amish Candy Shop Mystery Series.)

Linda Reilly: The Girl With the Kitten Tattoo (This will be the 5th in the Cat Lady Mystery Series.)

Karen Rose Smith: Murder with Clotted Cream (This will be the 5th in the Daisy’s Tea Garden Mystery Series.)

British Father Brown TV Mystery Series – 2013 Version

I previously wrote an entry about the 1970 Father Brown TV mystery series – which my husband and I enjoyed. The 2013 series is quite a bit different. The current Father Brown mystery series is quite a bit Cozy-er than the original G.K. Chesterton‘s Father Brown television series. The current series does not concentrate on presenting the Chesterton stories although it is based on the original Father Brown character.

Mark Williams stars as Father Brown – a Catholic parish priest in Anglican England. When you watch this show you’ll have to suspend reality and think of England as a very, very Catholic country. It seems like everyone is a parishioner of Father Brown! (There are a few times when the shows focus on the Anglican church.)

This Father Brown series is produced by the BBC and, for those of you vintage lovers like me, the Cotswolds 1950 costumes, artifacts, and settings are terrific to see. A lot of the characters are recurring, however the Detective Inspectors changed a few times before seeming to settle on the current Inspector (Jack Deam) who has a very complicated relationship with the “Padre” (as he refers to Father Brown), the other meddling amateur sleuths, and also the Inspector’s underlings. 

One of my favorite characters in the show is Mrs. McCarthy (Sorcha Cusack). She’s the parish secretary and one of the Father’s crime-solving accomplices. She is the mother hen of the tight group of crime-solving friends. She is also a town gossip, good cook (especially of strawberry scones) and a wearer of terrific looking 1950 hats, necklaces, dresses, and sweaters. There are other fleshed-out regular characters: Lady Felicia (Nancy Carroll), Sid (Alex Price), Bunty (Emer Kenny), and Sergeant Goodfellow (John Burton).

If you have watched the 1970 version, you will notice that the majority of the current shows take place in the small, Cozy village. The actual G.K. Chesterton stories had Father Brown traveling the world. This series takes full advantage of the beautiful Cotswold settings. (My husband and I have also watched Footloose in the Cotswolds on our Amazon Prime and we think we have spotted a few of the show’s locations.)

My husband and I started watching this version of Father Brown on Netflix but are now watching the current season on our local PBS station. (I’m so glad I set up our DVR!) It is also available on BritBox.

If you’re looking for a truly Cozy Mystery series to watch – look no more. You’ve found it!

P.S. If you would like some other ideas about shows to watch, make sure to take a look at my TV and Movies page on my Cozy Mystery site.

New Releases – May 18 to May 24, 2020

Here is the list of new releases for May 18 to May 24!

Christy Barritt: The Perks of Meddling (This will be the 2nd in the Sidekick’s Survival Guide Book Mystery Series.)

Rita Mae Brown: Furmidable Foes (This will be the 29th in the Mrs. Murphy Mystery Series.)

L.B. Hathaway: Murder on the White Cliffs (This will be the 8th in the Posie Parker Mystery Series.)

M. Louisa Locke: Lethal Remedies (This will be the 7th in the Victorian San Francisco Mystery Series.)

Kirsten Weiss: Hostage to Fortune (This will be the 2nd in the Tea and Tarot Cozy Mystery Series.)

Four New Cozy Mystery Series Coming June 2020

June will be a good month for new series by Cozy Mystery site authors – we’ll be seeing at least four new series starting next month!

First, Victoria Gilbert will be putting out the first in Book Lover’s Library Mystery Series, titled Booked for Death. Charlotte Reed is owner and manager of the Chapters Bed-and-Breakfast in Beaufort North Carolina, a historic and newly renovated inn that hosts a number of special events centered around literary themes such as author signings and conventions. Charlotte inherited the B&B from her great-aunt Isabella, but when a book dealer turns up dead and the victim’s daughter accuses Charlotte’s aunt of being a thief, Charlotte will need to solve this mystery herself. Gilbert is also the author of the Blue Ridge Library Mystery Series, which stars a former university librarian now managing a public library in Virginia.

Cheryl Hollon will be releasing Still Knife Painting, the first in her new Paint & Shine Mystery Series. This novel will star Miranda Trent, who has just inherited her uncles’ Red River Gorge homestead in the Daniel Boone National Forest in Eastern Kentucky. She plans on converting it into a summer tourist spot, with activities such as outdoor painting classes and local moonshine tastings. The Paint & Shine is a success, at least until her cook is killed. As an outsider and the victim’s employer, Miranda seems like a natural suspect, so she will need to solve the mystery herself. Hollon is also the author of the Webb’s Glass Shop Mystery Series, which stars a glass shop owner in Florida.

Next up, Barbara Ross will be starting her Professional Busybody Mystery Series, with first entry Jane Darrowfield, Professional Busybody. Jane has just started retirement a year ago, and has already earned a reputation of a helpful problem solver by assisting others at her bridge club. She is asked to help arbitrate a feud at a local seniors condo community, but the situation escalates rather alarmingly when one of the residents is bludgeoned to death with a golf club. Ross is also the author of the Maine Clambake Mystery Series, starring the owner of a clambake business in Maine.

Finally, Karen MacInerney will be starting the Snug Harbor Mystery Series with first entry A Killer Ending. Recent divorcee and bookseller Max Sayers has decided to begin a new phase of her life by purchasing the Seaside Cottage Books in Snug Harbor, Maine, but shortly after the grand opening her dog Winston finds a dead man on the beach behind the shop. Unfortunately, the murder weapon appears to be one of Max’s antique bookends, forcing her to get involved in the case. Karen MacInerney is also the author of the Gray Whale Inn Mystery Series, starring an inn owner in Maine, and the Dewberry Farm Mystery Series, starring the owner of a dairy farm in Texas.

For more new Cozy Mystery Series, check out the New Cozy Mystery Book Series page on the site.

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