The Cozy Mystery List Blog

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

The Brokenwood Mysteries (TV Mystery Shows)

Do NOT miss this terrific television series from New Zealand! The series takes its name from the rural town in which it’s set, but don’t try to find this beautiful setting on a map!

Neill Rea stars as Detective Senior Sergeant Mike Shephard – a country western music fanatic who happens to love his vintage 1970s car. He’s new to Brokenwood, and isn’t particularly appreciated by Detective Kristin Sims (played by Fern Sutherland). Detective Sims was hoping to be in charge of the detective department. Both Fern Sutherland and Neill Rea are terrific in their respective roles.

This new detective-boss takes some getting used to. One of Detective Senior Sergeant Shepard’s idiosyncrasies: he talks to the crime victims >>> when he first meets them, while they’re laying dead on the ground!

As much as I appreciate the two main leads of The Brokenwood Mysteries, I will say this: I look forward to all the scenes Shepherd has with the Russian forensic pathologist (played beautifully by Cristina Ionda).  The interaction between the coroner and… well just about anyone brings a terrific addition of humor to the shows. Unfortunately she isn’t one of the main characters of the show, so you won’t see a lot of her…

With Mike Shepherd being new to the area, it’s a wonderful fluke that he makes friends with Jared Morehu (played by Pana Hema Taylor). Mike is able to get the entire history of the town – in minute detail – from Jared. Name any subject (wine, dramatic arts, rugby, golf, etc) and Jared knows all the local juicy gossip.

Another of the main characters is D.C. Breen (Nic Sampson). I was really happy to see that his role on the show was expanded (I think after the first season). He provides a lot of the humor in the show also.

My husband, grown daughter, and I all enjoyed these television mystery shows. The setting is absolutely beautiful, the acting is great, the humor is appreciated, the mysteries are full of red herrings, and the writing is terrific. Thumbs up!

And, by the way, this is just one of the terrific tv shows available on Acorn TV.

P.S. My husband and I use the subtitles while viewing this really, really good mystery show.

For more Cozy viewing ideas, click on my Cozy Mystery TV & Movies page.

Two New Cozy Holiday Releases Coming August 2017

Two new holiday themed Cozies will be released in August 2017, both Halloween themed.

First, Isis Crawford will be releasing A Catered Costume Party, the 13th in the Mystery with Recipes Mystery Series. Sisters Bernie and Libby Simmons are catering a Halloween party for Darius Witherspoon whose wife has recently disappeared. Needless to say, Darius’s corpse turning up at the party wasn’t intended to be part of the party. And it’s even more surprising when a note is found left behind by the deceased, leaving a sum of money and asking that they “do something” if anything happened to him. Isis Crawford also writes the Robin Light Mystery Series under the name Barbara Block.

The other Halloween Cozy will be the Carol J. Perry‘s Grave Errors, the 5th in the Witch City Mystery Series. Residents of Salem, Massachusetts, no doubt have a complicated relationship with Halloween. It won’t be any easier this year, when a corpse is unexpectedly exhumed from its eternal rest in the local graveyard. Lee Barrett, local reporter, will need to get to the bottom of this closed case before it escalates into a more serious crime.

If you want to see more Halloween themed Cozies, be sure to check out their theme page:

Halloween themed Cozies

Three New Cozy Mystery Series Coming August 2017

August will be a good month for Cozy Mystery lovers – there will be three new series debuting by site authors!

 Amanda Flower will be releasing Assaulted Caramel, the first entry in her Amish Candy Shop Mystery Series. When Bailey King returns from her career in New York City to her hometown of Harvest, Ohio, having heard that her grandfather’s heart condition has worsened, she’s reassured to learn that the situation isn’t as grave as she had heard. However, she isn’t reassured to discover a dead developer in the candy shop kitchen – and her grandfather’s knife sticking from the corpse. Bailey will need to get to the bottom of this dastardly crime to make sure that her grandfather stays out of jail. Amanda Flower also writes the Magical Bookshop Mystery Series, the Living History Museum Mystery Series, the Appleseed Creek Mystery Series, the Andi Boggs Mystery Series (intended for children), and (as Isabella Alan) the Amish Quilt Shop Mystery Series.

 Cate Conte will be putting out the first in the new Cat Cafe Mystery Series, which will be starting with Cat About Town. When Maddie James visits Daybreak Island in Massachusetts, a stray orange tabby inspires her to open a cat cafe. Unfortunately, the precocious tabby also locates a corpse in quick order, and outsider Maddie will need to act fast to ensure that she isn’t held responsible for a murder that she didn’t commit. As Liz Mugavero, Cate Conte also writes the Pawsitively Organic Mystery Series, starring an ex-public relations executive in small town Connecticut.

Finally, E. J. Copperman will be releasing Dog Dish of Doom, the first entry in his An Agent to the Paws Mystery Series. Kay Powell, professional agent, is looking for a new star client – and she may have found one in a dog! The biggest problem with client Bruno is his owners, Trent and Louise – a problem that isn’t exactly reduced when Trent turns up face down in Bruno’s water dish. Kay feels protective to her clients, and will do whatever it takes to figure out who did this to her client’s owner. E. J. Copperman also writes the Haunted Guesthouse Mystery Series, the Mysterious Detective Mystery Series, the Asperger’s Mystery Series, and, as Jeffrey Cohen, the Aaron Tucker Mystery Series and the Double Feature Mystery Series.

For these upcoming series and more be sure to check out the New Cozy Mystery Book Series page.

Happy Fourth of July!

For those of you in the USA, Happy Fourth of July!

My husband and I drove up to Colorado Springs to visit my brother, since he took the whole week off. Our son is “holding down the fort” back home. (It’s so nice not having to board our puppy, Cocoa. It makes our trips a lot easier for me. When our children were young and we took family vacations, I would worry about leaving our dog, Sprite at a kennel. Of course, I worry about a lot of things…)

Getting back to the purpose of my entry: I hope you all are spending your holidays just the way you would like to spend them, be it grilling, sleeping, going to firework shows, relaxing, or reading.

And, here is my page for the Fourth of July Mystery Books, in case you want to do some Fourth-themed reading!

Happy Fourth of July!

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