The Cozy Mystery List Blog

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

Cozy Mystery News – October 2019

I’ve got a fair amount of good news for Cozy Mystery news this month!

First, Donna Andrews has had six more books approved for the Meg Langslow Mystery Series! That will bring the series to a total of at least 32! (I say at least because I think she’s also already got a few more coming out that haven’t been given names yet, but weren’t part of this batch.) That’s quite an extension, but considering how long the series has been around and how popular it is, it’s hardly a surprise!

Next up, Rhys Bowen will be putting out two stand alone historical novels. Rhys Bowen has put out a few stand alone novels lately, but most site readers will probably know her more for the Molly Murphy Mystery Series, starring an Irish immigrand in the early 1900’s, and the Royal Spyness Mystery Series, starring the daughter of a duke in 1930’s London.

Finally, Gigi Pandian will be continuing the Jaya Jones Treasure Hunt Mystery Series with four more entries, bringing the series to a total of 10 entries. Gigi Pandian is also the author of the Accidental Alchemist Mystery Series, starring an alchemist in Portland, Oregon.

Kaitlyn Dunnett: Liss MacCrimmon Mystery Series

Vampires, Bones and Treacle Scones (A Liss MacCrimmon Mystery Book 7) This month I tried something a little different for my series talking about the most popular and recommended Cozy Mysteries – rather than start (or re-read, as the case is sometimes) a series from the beginning, I decided instead to jump right into the middle of an existing series so I could enjoy a little of the current “festive atmosphere” that Cozies are often so good at – specifically, Halloween. In doing so, I decided to read Vampires, Bones and Treacle Scones, the seventh entry in Kaitlyn Dunnett’s Liss MacCrimmon Mystery Series.

As a quick summary of how the novel starts, Liss MacCrimmon, now owner of a Scottish themed emporium in Moosetookalok, Maine, is heading up the town’s Halloween fundraiser, and as part of the festivities they plan to hold a haunted house at the old Chadwick mansion, an abandoned property long owned by the town after the death of the last of the Chadwick’s years ago. However, attempts to spruce up the old mansion are having mixed successes – the building is certainly creepy enough, still holding odd collections amassed by the eccentric residents over the decades they lived there, but a series of odd pranks and unexplained events within the mansion have unsettled everyone involved at least once. So, in classic Cozy fashion, it’s no surprise when a corpse turns up in the house – though it is more than a bit of a surprise that it turns out to be the body of someone Liss sent to jail in a previous mystery! (I don’t want to spoil which one for fans who may have read some previous entries in the series)

The good news is that I ended up liking the book quite a bit. Despite jumping into the middle of the series, all of the characters were quickly explained and made good impressions quickly enough that I had no trouble keeping them straight. Likewise, though the mystery connects to a previous case, I felt like it was explained well enough to make sure I had no trouble understanding the mystery at hand. In fact, both the identity of the victim and several other elements mentioned help make the book feel well connected to the series as a whole – a nice change to some series, where it feels like people shake off their friends, neighbors, and relatives killing each other perhaps just a bit too easily!

Unfortunately, the book did fail in one regard. I went into this book specifically to read a Halloween novel, so I was more than a bit surprised that only the first third or so of the book took place around Halloween! After that, there was a bit of a time skip, with the rest of the book taking place early in the following year. So, while the holiday theme was certainly strong for the first part, later elements certainly felt a lot less “Halloween-ey” – not entirely un-Halloween-ish, mind you, since a big spooky mansion was still featured prominently, but it was still a bit jarring.

That said, I do still strongly recommend this novel, and by extension the series as a whole. It does a good job showing continuity in a Cozy setting, something I’ve lacked lately as I’ve mostly been reading establishing novels for the site lately. It’s also quite well written, and the characters and setting are interesting and well fleshed out without feeling excessively “zany” to me. If you’re looking for a good Cozy read, feel free to pick this one up – just don’t be surprised if Halloween ends a little bit early.

New Releases – October 7 to October 13, 2019

Here is the list of new releases for October 7 to October 13!

Jenna Bennett (aka Jennie Bentley & Bente Gallagher): Right of Redemption (This will be the 18th in the Savannah Martin Mystery Series.)

Deborah Crombie: A Bitter Feast (This will be the 18th in the Duncan Kincaid & Gemma James Mystery Series.)

Nicola Upson: Sorry for the Dead (This will be the 8th in the Josephine Tey Mystery Series.)

Hallmark Christmas Movie Schedule 2019

As I mentioned in an earlier post, the Hallmark channels are starting their Christmas season in October this year. When I started getting this list together I thought I had made a mistake because the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel’s Christmas movies will be airing on Thursday and Friday nights, rather than the previous years when they aired on Saturday and Sunday nights. I am guessing that they have decided to alternate the nights (keeping the Hallmark Channel’s Christmas movies on Saturday and Sunday nights) so that those of us who enjoy watching the movies “live” can do so. I prefer watching them once I’ve DVR-ed them, so I can skip through the ads… (Also, I know these movies aren’t mystery movies, but I have many people who request that I post these yearly Christmas movies lists.)

Hallmark’s Countdown to Christmas

Saturday – October 26, 2019  8:00 PM
Christmas Wishes & Mistletoe Kisses
Stars: Jill Wagner, Matthew Davis, Donna Mills

Saturday – November 2, 2019  8:00 PM
Merry & Bright
Stars: Jodie Sweetin, Andrew Walker, Sharon Lawrence1

Sunday – November 3, 2019  8:00 PM
Christmas Scavenger Hunt
Stars: Kevin McGarry, Kim Shaw

Saturday – November 9, 20198:00 PM
Picture a Perfect Christmas
Stars: Merritt Patterson, Jon Cor

Sunday – November 10, 2019  8:00 PM
The Mistletoe Secret
Stars: Kellie Pickler, Tyler Hynes, Patrick Duffy

Saturday – November 16, 2019  8:00 PM
Christmas Under the Stars
Stars: Jesse Metcalfe, Autumn Reeser and Clarke Peters

Sunday – November 17, 2019  8:00 PM
Write Before Christmas
Stars: Torrey DeVitto, Chad Michael Murray, Grant Show, Lolita Davidovich, Drew Seeley

Saturday – November 23, 2019  8:00 PM
Christmas at Graceland: Home for the Holidays
Stars: Adrian Grenier, Kaitlin Doubleday, Priscilla Presley, Chase Bryant

Sunday – November 24, 2019  8:00 PM
A Gift to Remember 2: Cherished Memories
Stars: Ali Liebert, Peter Porte, Tina Lifford

Monday – November 25, 2019  8:00 PM
A Christmas Duet
Stars: Chaley Rose, Rome Flynn, Teryl Rothery

Tuesday – November 26, 2019  8:00 PM
The Christmas Club
Stars: Elizabeth Mitchell, Cameron Mathison

Wednesday – November 27, 2019  8:00 PM
Double Holiday Sense, Sensibility, & Snowmen
Stars: Kristoffer Polaha, Carly Pope Stars: Erin Krakow, Luke Macfarlane, Kimberley Sustad

Thursday – November 28, 2019  8:00 PM
Check Inn to Christmas
Stars: Rachel Boston, Wes Brown

Friday – November 29, 2019  8:00 PM
Christmas at the Plaza
Stars: Ryan Paevey, Elizabeth Henstridge

Saturday – November 30, 2019  8:00 PM
Christmas in Rome
Stars: Lacey Chabert, Sam Page

Sunday – December 1, 2019  8:00 PM
Christmas Town
Stars: Candace Cameron Bure, Tim Rozon, Beth Broderick

Saturday – December 7, 2019  8:00 PM
Hallmark Hall of Fame: A Christmas Love Story
Stars: Kristin Chenoweth, Scott Wolf, Keith Robinson, Kevin Quinn

Sunday – December 8, 2019  8:00 PM
Christmas at Dollywood
Stars: Danica McKellar, Niall Matter, Dolly Parton

Saturday – December 14, 2019  8:00 PM
Christmas in Evergreen: Tidings of Joy
Stars: Paul Greene, Maggie Lawson, Barbara Niven, Holly Robinson Peete, Rukiya Bernard, Colin Lawrence, Ashley Williams, Jill Wagner

Sunday – December 15, 2019  8:00 PM
Holiday Date
Stars: Brittany Bristow, Matt Cohen

Saturday – December 21, 2019  8:00 PM
It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas
Stars: Eric Mabius

Sunday – December 22, 2019  8:00 PM
Alice in Christmasland

Wednesday – December 25, 2019  8:00 PM
When Calls the Heart Christmas
Stars: Erin Krakow, Pascale Hutton, Jack Wagner, Kavan Smith, Kevin McGarry, Paul Greene, Chris McNally, Martin Cummins, Andrea Brooks

Saturday – December 28, 2019  8:00 PM
New Year, New Me
Stars: Aimee Teegarden

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Hallmark Movies & Mysteries

Friday – October 25, 2019  8:00 PM
A Merry Christmas Match
Stars: Ashley Newbrough, Kyle Dean Massey

Thursday – October 31, 2019  8:00 PM
Nostalgic Christmas
Stars: Brooke D’Orsay, Trevor Donovan

Friday – November 1, 2019  8:00 PM
Two Turtle Doves
Stars: Nikki DeLoach, Michael Rady

Thursday – November 7, 2019  8:00 PM
A Blue Ridge Mountain Christmas
Stars: Rachael Leigh Cook, Benjamin Ayres

Friday – November 8, 2019  8:00 PM
Holiday for Heroes
Stars: Marc Blucas, Melissa Claire Egan, Patti Murin

Thursday – November 14, 2019  8:00 PM
A Christmas Miracle
Stars: Tamera Mowry-Housley, Brooks Darnell, Barry Bostwick

Friday – November 15, 2019   8:00 PM
A Godwink Christmas: Meant For Love
Stars: Kathie Lee Gifford, Cindy Busby, Ben Hollingsworth

Thursday – November 21, 2019  8:00 PM
The Christmas Wish
Stars: Ashley Williams and Paul Campbell

Friday – November 22, 2019  8:00 PM
Our Christmas Love Song
Stars: Alicia Witt

Friday – November 29, 2019  8:00 PM
A Homecoming for the Holidays
Stars: Laura Osnes and Stephen Huszar

Thursday – December 5, 2019  8:00 PM
Sense, Sensibility & Snowmen
Stars: Erin Krakow

Friday – December 6, 2019  8:00 PM
Time for You to Come Home for Christmas
Stars: Alison Sweeney & Lucas Bryant

Thursday – December 12, 2019  8:00 PM
Christmas in Montana
Stars: Kellie Martin and Colin Ferguson

Friday – December 13, 2019  8:00 PM
Angel Falls: A Novel Holiday
Stars: Jen Lilley and Carlo Marks

Thursday – December 19, 2019  8:00 PM
Christmas on My Mind
Stars: Ashley Greene and Andrew Walker

Friday – December 20, 2019  8:00 PM
A Family Christmas Gift
Stars: Holly Robinson Peete and Dion Johnstone

I hope this list helps those of you who enjoy watching the Hallmark Christmas movies! Also, don’t forget to take a look at the various Christmas mystery books I have listed on my Cozy Mystery site.

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