Cozy Mystery (and Other Favorite) Books, Movies, and TV
Here is the list of new releases for February 26 to March 3!
Agatha Frost: Sangria and Secrets (31st in the Peridale Cafe Cozy Mysteries)
Lena Gregory: Double Scoop of Murder (3rd in the Coffee & Cream Cafe Mysteries)
Diane Vallere: Ranch Dressing (15th in the Samantha Kidd Mysteries)
This month, as part of my long-running monthly series highlighting some of the most popular and recommended Cozy Mystery Series, which are drawn from the many suggestion sent in by site readers, I will be highlighting the Cranberry Cove Mystery Series by Peg Cochran, starting with the first in the series, Berried Secrets. This is a relatively new series, starting in 2015, and is still running today. It is one of multiple series by Cochran, who also writes under the names Margaret Loudon and Meg London.
As the novel begins, Monica Albertson has recently left Chicago come to the small town of Cranberry Cove, located on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan. Both Monica and her half-brother Jeff have recently suffered serious losses – Jeff had returned from deployment overseas with a serious injury, leaving one of his arms paralyzed, while Monica was at loose ends since the closing of the cafe she owned and the death of her fiance. This left her more than willing to leave the big city and its unpleasant memories to help out Jeff on his cranberry farm, Sassamanash Farm.
Unfortunately, he really does need the help in more ways than Monica thought. The farm’s former owner before Jeff bought it, the town’s mayor Sam Culbert, had been running it for Jeff while he was deployed overseas, and apparently had been doing a poor job of it. Not only was the farm in very poor conditions due to Culbert’s oversight, but the accounts Monica reviews indicate that Culbert might have been embezzling from the farm’s profits.
Naturally, the day after Monica tells Jeff about the embezzlement, Culbert turns up dead in the cranberry pond, and naturally, Jeff turns into a prime suspect. Whether for good or ill, it quickly turns out that Culbert had plenty of other people who might be out to murder him, so Monica has no shortage of suspects to look into in the course of clearing her brother’s name.
Cozies often either succeed or fail based on the strength of their specific hook, and the cranberry farming industry is one hook that I found myself particularly fascinated by. I like knitting and cooking and antiques as much as the next Cozy reader, but over the years, I’ve read an awful lot of novels that include details on those sort of material. In contrast, I’ve never really known much about cranberry farming, so the introduction to various terms and methods, as well as their integration into the story, was much more novel than more well-explored material.
As I have mentioned in other Cozy discussions, I also appreciate when the murder in a mystery comes up relatively quickly. This one definitely qualifies, with the body being discovered quite early in the novel.
Between an interesting premise, likeable characters, and a strong mystery, I enjoyed Berried Secrets quite a bit, and I would recommend it to fans of modern Cozies with a somewhat unusual theme like cranberry farming.
If you’d like to see other entries about some of the most recommended Cozy Mystery authors, be sure to check out the Most Popular and Recommended Cozy Mystery Series page on my site.
PS: For those who may be swayed by such things, there are several cranberry-themed recipes at the end of the book.
Here is the list of new releases for February 19 to February 25!
Ellie Alexander (aka Kate Dyer-Seeley): A Smoking Bun (18th in the Bakeshop Mysteries)
Lynn Cahoon: Five Furry Familiars (5th in the Kitchen Witch Mysteries)
Amanda Flower (aka Isabella Alan): Crime and Cherry Pits (4th in the Farm to Table Mysteries)
Abigail Keam: Murder Under a Honey Moon (12th in the 1930s Mona Moon Mysteries)
Carlene O’Connor: Murder at an Irish Chipper (11th in the Irish Village Mysteries)
Oh boy! It’s not even March and already the weather man is predicting highs in the 80s for us down here! Yow! It’s going to be a hot summer! And, what better way to spend hot days than watching old mystery movies on the Turner Classic Movies channel… It could be just me thinking this, but March doesn’t seem to have a whole lot of mystery movies scheduled.
I guess I should just be glad that the weather hasn’t given us 100* days yet down here…
![The Heiress (The Criterion Collection) [DVD]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51zoIkjvDrL._SL500_.jpg "The Heiress (The Criterion Collection) [DVD]")
***** ***** ***** *****
***** ***** ***** *****
12:00 PM The Heiress (1949)
A plain young woman’s wealth makes her prey to fortune hunters.
Dir: William Wyler. Cast: Olivia De Havilland, Montgomery Clift, Ralph Richardson
115 mins
*****Really good movie, however, it’s not a mystery.*****
4:15 PM 12 Angry Men (1957)
A jury holdout tries to convince his colleagues to vote not guilty.n
Dir: Sidney Lumet. Cast: Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb, Ed Begley
95 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
12:15 AM Marty (1955)
A lonely butcher finds love despite the opposition of his friends and family.
Dir: Delbert Mann. Cast: Ernest Borgnine, Betsy Blair, Esther Minciotti
91 mins
*****Another really good movie – even though it’s not a mystery.*****
8:15 AM The Thin Man (1934)
In New York, a detective, his wife and his dog solve the murder case of an eccentric inventor.
Dir: W. S. Van Dyke. Cast: William Powell, Myrna Loy, Maureen O’Sullivan
80 mins
12:00 PM Anatomy of a Murder (1959)
A defense lawyer takes on a case of a man accused of murdering a bartender who apparently raped his wife.
Dir: Otto Preminger. Cast: James Stewart, Lee Remick, Ben Gazzara
160 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
10:00 AM The Little Foxes (1941)
An ambitious woman takes on her corrupt brothers and honest husband in her drive for wealth.
Dir: William Wyler. Cast: Bette Davis, Herbert Marshall, Teresa Wright
116 mins
*****I think I’m finding more non-mystery good movies than mysteries! This is a terrific film but not a mystery.*****
***** ***** ***** *****
8:00 PM In the Heat of the Night (1967)
A black detective teams up with a racist white sheriff to solve a murder in a small town in the South. Over time, they begin to find respect for one another.
Dir: Norman Jewison. Cast: Sidney Poitier, Rod Steiger, Warren Oates
109 mins
*****Here’s another really good movie – AND it’s a mystery!*****
***** ***** ***** *****
8:00 PM All About Eve (1950)
An ambitious young actress tries to take over a star’s career and love life.
Dir: Joseph L. Mankiewicz. Cast: Bette Davis, Anne Baxter, George Sanders
138 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
11:45 AM 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
119 mins
2:00 PM The Letter (1940)
A woman claims to have killed in self-defense, until a blackmailer turns up with incriminating evidence.
Dir: William Wyler. Cast: Bette Davis, Herbert Marshall, James Stephenson
97 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
11:00 AM 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
100 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
6:00 AM 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
93 mins
7:45 AM High Sierra (1941)
An aging ex-con sets out to pull one more big heist.
Dir: Raoul Walsh. Cast: Ida Lupino, Humphrey Bogart, Alan Curtis
100 mins
11:30 AM Background to Danger (1943)
An American gets caught up in wartime action in Turkey.
Dir: Raoul Walsh. Cast: George Raft, Brenda Marshall, Sydney Greenstreet
80 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
7:15 AM 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
95 mins
9:00 AM The Day They Robbed the Bank of England (1960)
Turn-of-the-century Irish patriots plan to overthrow the British government.
Dir: John Guillermin. Cast: Aldo Ray, Elizabeth Sellars, Peter O’Toole
85 mins
6:00 PM The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)
Four ruthless terrorists take over a New York City subway train and hold the passengers for ransom. They threaten to shoot one each minute until a one million dollar ransom is fully paid.
Dir: Joseph Sargent. Cast: Walter Matthau, Robert Shaw, Martin Balsam
104 mins
10:00 PM Mildred Pierce (1945)
A woman’s ambitions for her daughter drastically impact her life.
Dir: Michael Curtiz. Cast: Joan Crawford, Jack Carson, Zachary Scott
113 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
12:00 AM Adam’s Rib (1949)
A happily-married, middle-aged husband and wife strain their marriage while serving as trial attorneys on opposite sides of the same headline-making attempted murder-marital case. He is the prosecutor, and she is the defender.
Dir: George Cukor. Cast: Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Judy Holliday
101 mins
****Not a serious mystery movie, but it does deal with an attempted murder trial.gh*****
***** ***** ***** *****
6:30 AM Side Street (1950)
A New York City mailman is chased by both cops and crooks when he steals a shipment of dirty money.
Dir: Anthony Mann. Cast: Farley Granger, Cathy O’Donnell, James Craig
83 mins
8:00 AM Stakeout on Dope Street (1958)
Three teens get into the drug business when they discover heroin in a stolen briefcase.
Dir: Irving Kershner. Cast: Yale Wexler, Morris Miller, Jonathon Haze
83 mins
9:30 AM Scarlet Street (1945)
A middle aged would be painter falls into the clutches of an unscrupulous woman.
Dir: Fritz Lang. Cast: Edward G. Robinson, Joan Bennett, Dan Duryea
103 mins
11:30 AM Main Street After Dark (1944)
A police clean-up campaign could put a family of pickpockets out of work.
Dir: Edward Cahn. Cast: Edward Arnold, Selena Royle, Tom Trout
56 mins
1:45 PM Crime in the Streets (1956)
A social worker tries to end juvenile crime by getting involved with a street gang.
Dir: Don Siegel. Cast: James Whitmore, Sal Mineo, Mark Rydell
91 mins
3:30 PM 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
93 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
2:30 PM Bad Day at Black Rock (1955)
A one-armed veteran uncovers small-town secrets when he tries to visit an Asian-American war hero’s family.
Dir: John Sturges. Cast: Spencer Tracy, Robert Ryan, Anne Francis
81 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
12:00 AM Le Samourai (1967)
A dedicated professional killer lies fully clothed in his monochromed apartment, then goes off to a day at the office: stealing a car, killing a man in a nightclub, setting up an ironclad alibi, and outsmarting the police. Two problems: his anonymous employers don’t trust him and he’s left one witness behind …
Dir: Jean-Pierre Melville. Cast: Alain Delon, Francois Perier, Nathalie Delon
95 mins
*****In French*****
8:00 AM Odd Man Out (1947)
A wounded IRA man faces betrayal on all sides when the British put a price on his head.
Dir: Carol Reed. Cast: James Mason, Robert Newton, Kathleen Ryan
116 mins
10:00 AM Le Samourai (1967)
A dedicated professional killer lies fully clothed in his monochromed apartment, then goes off to a day at the office: stealing a car, killing a man in a nightclub, setting up an ironclad alibi, and outsmarting the police. Two problems: his anonymous employers don’t trust him and he’s left one witness behind …
Dir: Jean-Pierre Melville. Cast: Alain Delon, Francois Perier, Nathalie Delon
95 mins
*****In French*****
***** ***** ***** *****
7:30 AM Cry Wolf (1947)
A woman uncovers deadly secrets when she visits her late husband’s family.
Dir: Peter Godfrey. Cast: Errol Flynn, Barbara Stanwyck, Geraldine Brooks
83 mins
9:00 AM Mara Maru (1952)
A salvage diver is accused of murder while hunting a mysterious treasure.
Dir: Gordon Douglas. Cast: Errol Flynn, Ruth Roman, Raymond Burr
98 mins
8:00 PM The Big Combo (1955)
An honest cop is brutalized by a gangster because they share the same girl.
Dir: Joseph Lewis. Cast: Cornel Wilde, Richard Conte, Brian Donlevy
89 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
12:30 PM Blondes at Work (1938)
Even a jail term for contempt can’t keep reporter Torchy Blane from investigating the case of a murdered department store owner.
Dir: Frank Mcdonald. Cast: Glenda Farrell, Barton Maclane, Tom Kennedy
60 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
11:30 AM M (1931)
The mob sets out to catch a child killer whose crimes are attracting too much police attention.
Dir: Fritz Lang. Cast: Theo Lingen, Peter Lorre, Otto Wernicke
99 mins
6:45 PM Thirteen Women (1932)
A mysterious Eurasian tries to murder the 12 boarding school roommates who treated her like an outsider.
Dir: George Archainbaud. Cast: Irene Dunne, Ricardo Cortez, Jill Esmond
74 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
6:45 AM Cairo (1963)
Master thieves set their sights on King Tut’s jewels in this remake of The Asphalt Jungle.
Dir: Wolf Rilla. Cast: George Sanders, Richard Johnson, Faten Hamama
91 mins
5:45 PM The Haunting (1963)
A mysterious New England mansion has been the scene of grisly murders. But when four people spend the night, they find themselves trapped by The Haunting.
Dir: Robert Wise. Cast: Julie Harris, Claire Bloom, Richard Johnson
112 mins
10:00 PM In the Heat of the Night (1967)
A black detective teams up with a racist white sheriff to solve a murder in a small town in the South. Over time, they begin to find respect for one another.
Dir: Norman Jewison. Cast: Sidney Poitier, Rod Steiger, Warren Oates
109 mins
*****Here’s another really good movie – AND it’s a mystery!*****
![Brannigan [DVD]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51EEMNSDP7L._SL500_.jpg "Brannigan [DVD]")
***** ***** ***** *****
6:00 AM Night Watch (1973)
An unhappy housewife settles her fraying nerves with alcohol while staring out her window. She witnesses what she thinks is a murder through a neighbor’s window, she calls the police, who find nothing when they investigate.
Dir: Brian G. Hutton. Cast: Elizabeth Taylor, Laurence Harvey, Billie Whitelaw
105 mins
8:00 PM Brannigan (1975)
A Chicago police detective has to bring a crook home from London.
Dir: Douglas Hickox. Cast: John Wayne, Richard Attenborough, Judy Geeson
111 mins
10:00 PM Coogan’s Bluff (1968)
An Arizona deputy sheriff is sent to New York City to extradite an escaped killer he tracked down.
Dir: Donald Siegel. Cast: Clint Eastwood, Lee J. Cobb, Susan Clark
94 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
12:00 AM Where Danger Lives (1950)
A psychopath draws her doctor into her murderous schemes.
Dir: John Farrow. Cast: Robert Mitchum, Faith Domergue, Claude Rains
84 mins
10:00 AM Where Danger Lives (1950)
A psychopath draws her doctor into her murderous schemes.
Dir: John Farrow. Cast: Robert Mitchum, Faith Domergue, Claude Rains
84 mins
9:30 PM Notorious (1946)
A U.S. agent recruits a German expatriate to infiltrate a Nazi spy ring in Brazil.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock. Cast: Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman, Claude Rains
101 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
6:00 AM The Saint in London (1939)
The Saint’s investigation of a counterfeiting ring uncovers a nest of spies.
Dir: John Paddy Carstairs. Cast: George Sanders, Sally Gray, David Burns
72 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
2:30 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
100 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
12:30 AM What’s the Matter with Helen? (1971)
After their sons are convicted of murder, two women relocate to Hollywood to start a talent school.
Dir: Curtis Harrington. Cast: Debbie Reynolds, Shelley Winters, Dennis Weaver
101 mins
6:00 PM Get Carter (1971)
A small-time gangster searches for the truth behind his brother’s death.
Dir: Mike Hodges. Cast: Michael Caine, Ian Hendry, Britt Ekland
112 mins
10:15 PM Prizzi’s Honor (1985)
Mob assassins fall in love, neither realizing what the other does for a living.
Dir: John Huston. Cast: Jack Nicholson, Kathleen Turner, Anjelica Huston
129 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
12:30 AM Pushover (1954)
A police detective falls for the bank robber’s girlfriend he is supposed to be tailing.
Dir: Richard Quine. Cast: Fred MacMurray, Philip Carey, Kim Novak
88 mins
10:00 AM Pushover (1954)
A police detective falls for the bank robber’s girlfriend he is supposed to be tailing.
Dir: Richard Quine. Cast: Fred MacMurray, Philip Carey, Kim Novak
88 mins
***** ***** ***** *****
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 television mystery movies schedule:
Upcoming Television Mystery Movies for February 2024 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.
