The Cozy Mystery List Blog

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

Cozy Mystery Book Recommendations – February 2018

February is almost over, so it’s time to talk about our favorite Cozy Mysteries that we read in the last 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! I haven’t had as much time to read this much as I would have liked, so unfortunately I don’t have a series to recommend this month.

That said, for previously recommended series, you can go to the Most Popular & Recommended Cozy Mystery Series page on my Cozy-Mystery site for my full write-ups on each of these great Cozy series.

So, what have you been reading that you can recommend in February? 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 February 2018 that you want the rest of us to know about, and why did you enjoy it?

Here are the current recommended authors who some of you have read and recommended this past month:

Ellery Adams (aka J. B. Stanley, Jennifer Stanley, & 1/2 of Lucy Arlington): Books by the Bay Mystery Series AND Supper Club Mystery Series

Winnie Archer (aka Melissa Bourbon & Misa Ramirez): Bread Shop Mystery Series

Lillian Bell: Funeral Parlor Mystery Series (first entry A Grave Issue)

Stephanie Blackmoore: Wedding Planner Mystery Series

Ginger Bolton: Deputy Donut Mystery Series (first entry Survival of the Fritters)

Laura Bradford (aka Elizabeth Lynn Casey):  Emergency Dessert Squad Mystery Series AND Tobi Tobias Mystery Series

Alan Bradley: Flavia de Luce Mystery Series

Duffy Brown: Consignment Shop Mystery Series

Ann Charles: Jackrabbit Junction Mystery Series AND Deadwood Mystery Series

Sheila Connolly (aka Sarah Atwell): County Cork Mystery Series

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

Vicki Delany (aka Eva Gates): Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mystery Series

Kaitlyn Dunnett   (aka Kathy Lynn Emerson): Liss MacCrimmon Mystery Series

Warren Esby: Odd Girl Out

A.L. Herbert: Mahalia Watkins Soul Food Mystery Series

Mary Ellen Hughes: Keepsake Cove Mystery Series

Maddy Hunter: Passport to Peril Mystery Series

Miranda James  (aka Dean James,  Jimmie Ruth Evans, & Honor Hartman): Cat in the Stacks Mystery Series

Laurie R. King: Mary Russell Series

Molly MacRae: Highland Bookshop Mystery Series

Sharon Pape: Crystal Shop Mystery Series

Louise Penny: Chief Inspector Gamache Mystery Series

Anne Perry: William Monk Series

Deanna Raybourn: Veronica Speedwell Mystery Series

Sofie Ryan (aka Sofie Kelly & Darlene Ryan for Young Adult): Second Chance Cat Mystery Series

Paige Shelton: Dangerous Type Mystery Series

Karen Rose Smith: Daisy’s Tea Garden Mystery Series

[If you click on the author’s name (blue) link, it will take you to his/her page on the Cozy Mystery site. The pages have all of the authors’ books listed chronologically.]

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.

New Releases – February 26 to March 4, 2018

Here is the list of new releases for February 26 to March 4!

Krista Davis: Color Me Murder (This will be the 1st in the NEW Pen & Ink Mystery Series.)

Amanda Flower (aka Isabella Alan): Lethal Licorice (This will be the 2nd in the Amish Candy Shop Mystery.)

Joanne Fluke: Raspberry Danish Murder (This will be the 22nd in the Hannah Swensen Mystery Series.) (This is a Thanksgiving themed mystery.)

Sherry Harris: I Know What You Bid Last Summer (This will be the 5th in the Sarah Winston Garage Sale Mystery.)

Carlene O’Connor: Murder in an Irish Churchyard (This will be the 3rd in the Irish Village Mystery Series.)

Carol J. Perry: It Takes a Coven (This will be the 6th in the Witch City Mystery Series.)

Annelise Ryan (aka Allyson K. Abbott & Beth Amos): Dead Calm (This will be the 9th in the Mattie Winston Mystery Series.)

Four New-to-the-Site Cozy Authors

I’m adding four more new authors to the site. As usual, these are authors I’ve heard of from visitors to the site, either through comments or by email.

 V. M. Burns Valerie is from South Bend, Indiana, and has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science and Urban Studies from Northwestern University in Evanston, as well as a Master of Science in Administration from the University of Notre Dame and a Master of Fine Arts in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill university. She now lives in Chattanooga, Tennessee. She is the author of the Samantha Washington Bookshop Mystery Series, the Lilly Echosby Mystery Series, and the RJ Franklin Mystery Series.

 J.C. Eaton is the penname for Ann I. Goldfarb and James E. Clapp. Ann is the author of a number of young adult mysteries, while James is a former winery tasting room manager. They live in Arizona. They are the authors of the Sophie Kimball Mystery Series, and the Wine Trail Mystery Series.

 

 Victoria Gilbert grew up in the Blue Ridge Mountains, and holds a Bachelors in theatre, a Master’s degree in library science, and a second Master’s in liberal studies. She’s worked in libraries in many roles, including as a reference librarian, research librarian, and library director. She now lives in North Carolina. She’s the author of the Blue Ridge Mystery Series.

Leigh Hearon is a former journalist who opened a private investigator agency in 1992.  She has a master’s degree from The American University in Washington, D. C., and a bachelor’s in communications from Lewis & Clark College, Portland, Oregon. She has worked for the American News Service, and owns a 55-acre farm. She’s the author of the Carson Stables Mystery Series.

Upcoming Television Mystery Movies for March 2018

The month is coming to an end, so it’s time to discuss the upcoming TCM mystery movies for March!

March 2018 Turner Classic Movies Channel Mystery Movies (Central time zone):

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

Thursday – March 1, 2018

10:15 AM
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

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

Friday – March 2, 2018

2:00 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- 121 mins, CC

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

Sunday – March 4, 2018

9:00 AM
THE BIG HEAT (1953)
A police detective whose wife was killed by the mob teams with a scarred gangster’s moll to bring down a powerful gangster.
Dir:  Fritz Lang Cast:  Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame, Jocelyn Brando.
BW- 90 mins, CC

3:00 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 – March 5, 2018

3:15 AM
ZOU ZOU (1934)
A singing star tries to clear a childhood friend of murder charges.
Dir:  Marc AllTgret Cast:  Josephine Baker, Jean Gabin, Pierre Larquey.
BW- 85 mins

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

Tuesday – March 6, 2018

4:00 PM
CAUSE FOR ALARM (1951)
A woman fights to intercept a letter in which her husband tries to prove her guilty of murder.
Dir:  Tay Garnett Cast:  Loretta Young, Barry Sullivan, Bruce Cowling.
BW- 74 mins, CC

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

Wednesday – March 7, 2018

3:30 AM
SHOCK CORRIDOR (1963)
A reporter fakes insanity to crack a murder committed in an asylum.
Dir:  Samuel Fuller Cast:  Peter Breck, Constance Towers, Gene Evans.
C- 101 mins, CC

7:00 PM
DICK TRACY (1945)
Dick is faced with a series of murders in which the victims all come from different social and economic backgrounds.
Dir:  William Berke Cast:  Morgan Conway, Anne Jeffreys, Mike Mazurki.
BW- 61 mins, CC

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

Thursday – March 8. 2018

2:30 AM
STEP BY STEP (1946)
The FBI trails a young couple suspected of stealing government plans.
Dir:  Phil Rosen Cast:  Lawrence Tierney, Anne Jeffreys, Lowell Gilmore.
BW- 61 mins

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

Friday – March 9, 2018

9:15 AM
HUSH… HUSH, SWEET CHARLOTTE (1964)
A wealthy southern spinster fights to keep her family’s secrets hidden.
Dir:  Robert Aldrich Cast:  Bette Davis, Olivia De Havilland, Joseph Cotten.
BW- 133 mins, CC

9:00 PM
LARCENY, INC. (1942)
An ex-convict and his gang try to use a luggage store to front a bank robbery, but business keeps getting in the way.
Dir:  Lloyd Bacon Cast:  Edward G. Robinson, Jane Wyman, Broderick Crawford.
BW- 95 mins, CC

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

Saturday – March 10, 2018

7:00 AM
RIDE HIM, COWBOY (1932)
A cowboy tames a wild horse suspected of killing a man, then rides out to find the real culprit.
Dir:  Fred Allen Cast:  John Wayne, Duke, Ruth Hall.
BW- 55 mins, CC

7:00 PM
KANSAS CITY CONFIDENTIAL (1952)
To commit the perfect crime, a former detective keeps his colleagues’ identities secret from each other.
Dir:  Phil Karlson Cast:  John Payne, Coleen Gray, Preston Foster.
BW- 99 mins, CC

11:00 PM
STRANGER ON THE THIRD FLOOR (1940)
A newspaperman serves as key witness in a circumstantial murder case.
Dir:  Boris Ingster Cast:  Peter Lorre, John McGuire, Margaret Tallichet.
BW- 64 mins, CC

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

Sunday – March 11, 2018

9:00 AM
STRANGER ON THE THIRD FLOOR (1940)
A newspaperman serves as key witness in a circumstantial murder case.
Dir:  Boris Ingster Cast:  Peter Lorre, John McGuire, Margaret Tallichet.
BW- 64 mins, CC

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

Tuesday – March 13, 2018

4:00 PM
CONSPIRATOR (1949)
A newlywed suspects her husband of being a Communist spy.
Dir:  Victor Saville Cast:  Robert Taylor, Elizabeth Taylor, Robert Flemyng.
BW- 87 mins, CC

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

Wednesday – March 14, 2018

9:30 AM
SKY MURDER (1940)
Detective Nick Carter tries to prove a beautiful immigrant innocent of murder.
Dir:  George B. Seitz Cast:  Walter Pidgeon, Donald Meek, Karen Verne.
BW- 72 mins

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

Saturday – March 17, 2018

3:45 AM
NIGHT WATCH (1973)
A woman recovering from mental problems witnesses a murder, but nobody believes her.
Dir:  Brian G. Hutton Cast:  Elizabeth Taylor, Laurence Harvey, Billie Whitelaw.
C- 99 mins, CC

11:00 PM
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

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

Sunday – March 18, 2018

12:45 AM
BLOOD SIMPLE (1984)
A Texas bar owner hires a private eye to kill his cheating wife and her boyfriend.
Dir:  Joel Coen Cast:  John Getz, Frances McDormand, Dan Hedaya.
C- 96 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

2:45 AM
THE PLAYER (1992)
A rising producer tries to cover up the accidental killing of a screenwriter who was stalking him.
Dir:  Robert Altman Cast:  Tim Robbins, Greta Scacchi, Peter Falk.
C- 124 mins, Letterbox Format

9:00 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

7:00 PM
MADIGAN (1968)
NYC police detective Madigan has 72 hours to find the mobster who got away with his gun.
Dir:  Donald Siegel Cast:  Richard Widmark, Henry Fonda, Inger Stevens.
C- 101 mins, CC

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

Monday – March 19, 2018

12:30 PM
THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO (1934)
After escaping prison, an innocent man seeks revenge on the men who framed him.
Dir:  Rowland V. Lee Cast:  Robert Donat, Elissa Landi, Louis Calhern.
BW- 113 mins, CC

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

Tuesday – March 20, 2018

8:15 AM
THE GAZEBO (1960)
A suburban couple tries to cope with a murder victim whose body refuses to stay put.
Dir:  George Marshall Cast:  Glenn Ford, Debbie Reynolds, Carl Reiner.
BW- 102 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

10:15 AM
THE BIG SLEEP (1946)
Private eye Philip Marlowe investigates a society girl’s involvement in the murder of a pornographer.
Dir:  Howard Hawks Cast:  Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, John Ridgely.
BW- 114 mins, CC

12:15 PM
VICTIM (1961)
A closeted lawyer risks his career to bring a blackmailer to justice.
Dir:  Basil Dearden Cast:  Dirk Bogarde, Sylvia Syms, Dennis Price.
BW- 100 mins, CC

2:00 PM
BLACKMAIL (1939)
A man in prison on false charges escapes to save his family from a blackmailer.
Dir:  H. C. Potter Cast:  Edward G. Robinson, Ruth Hussey, Gene Lockhart.
BW- 81 mins, CC

3:30 PM
THE WOMAN IN WHITE (1948)
Classic mystery about the adventures of a young tutor sent to a ghostly country estate.
Dir:  Peter Godfrey Cast:  Alexis Smith, Eleanor Parker, Sydney Greenstreet.
BW- 109 mins, CC

5:30 PM
BLACKMAIL (1929)
A shopkeeper’s daughter fights off blackmail after she kills a young artist who had tried to rape her.
Dir:  Alfred Hitchcock Cast:  Anny Ondra, Sara Allgood, Charles Paton.
BW- 86 mins

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

Thursday – March 22, 2018

7:00 PM
SUNSET BOULEVARD (1950)
A failed screenwriter falls into a mercenary romance with a faded silent-film star.
Dir:  Billy Wilder Cast:  William Holden, Gloria Swanson, Erich von Stroheim.
BW- 110 mins, CC

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

Friday – March 23, 2018

7:00 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- 105 mins, CC

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

Saturday – March 24, 2018

3:00 PM
MIDNIGHT LACE (1960)
A young woman can’t get anyone to believe she’s being stalked.
Dir:  David Miller Cast:  Doris Day, Rex Harrison, John Gavin.
C- 108 mins, CC

5:00 PM
THE WRONG MAN (1956)
A musician is mistaken for a vicious thief, with devastating results.
Dir:  Alfred Hitchcock Cast:  Henry Fonda, Vera Miles, Anthony Quayle.
BW- 105 mins, CC

11:00 PM
NO QUESTIONS ASKED (1951)
A young lawyer’s primrose path to success gets him framed for murder.
Dir:  Harold F. Kress Cast:  Barry Sullivan, Arlene Dahl, George Murphy.
BW- 81 mins

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

Sunday – March 25, 2018

12:45 AM
DEATHTRAP (1982)
A blocked playwright plots to kill a beginner and steal his script.
Dir:  Sidney Lumet Cast:  Michael Caine, Christopher Reeve, Dyan Cannon.
C- 116 mins, CC

3:00 AM
TIME AFTER TIME (1979)
When Jack the Ripper steals his time machine, author H.G. Wells travels to modern-day San Francisco to track him down.
Dir:  Nicholas Meyer Cast:  Malcolm McDowell, David Warner, Mary Steenburgen.
C- 112 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

9:00 AM
NO QUESTIONS ASKED (1951)
A young lawyer’s primrose path to success gets him framed for murder.
Dir:  Harold F. Kress Cast:  Barry Sullivan, Arlene Dahl, George Murphy.
BW- 81 mins

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

Monday – March 26, 2018

1:00 AM
THE WALLS OF MALAPAGA (1949)
A murderer becomes involved with a waitress and her daughter.
BW- 87 mins

9:30 AM
THEIR BIG MOMENT (1934)
A phony psychic conjures up a real ghost who asks her to solve his murder.
Dir:  James Cruze Cast:  ZaSu Pitts, Slim Summerville, William Gaxton.
BW- 68 mins

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

Friday – March 30, 2018

9:00 PM
THE LONG HAUL (1957)
A veteran is lured into crime by his boss’s sultry mistress.
Dir:  Ken Hughes Cast:  Victor Mature, Diana Dors, Patrick Allen.
BW- 88 mins, Letterbox Format

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

If you’re really looking forward to these or other mystery-themed tv specials coming up in March, 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 February 2018 television mystery movies schedule:

Upcoming Television Mystery Movies for February 2018 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.

(All of the movie descriptions were taken off their respective websites.)

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