The Cozy Mystery List Blog

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

New Releases – February 20 to 26, 2017

Here is the list of new release for February 20 to 26!

M.C. Beaton (aka Marion Chesney): Death of a Ghost (This will be the 33rd in the Hamish Macbeth Mystery Series.)

Nancy J. Cohen: Facials Can Be Fatal (This will be the 13th in the Bad Hair Day Mystery Series.)

Phillip DePoy: The English Agent (This will be the 2nd in the Christopher Marlowe Mystery Series.)

Miranda James (aka Honor Hartman, Jimmie Ruth Evans, & Dean James): Twelve Angry Librarians (This will be the 8th in the Cat in the Stacks Mystery Series.)

James Patterson: Achilles (This will be a Bookshot, however I don’t know if it will be a mystery.)

James Patterson & Emily Raymond: Humans Bow Down (This will be a Stand Alone Mystery novel.)

Upcoming Television Mystery Movies for March 2017

It’s the time of the month again to find out about next month’s upcoming mystery movies that will be on television. As usual, I’m posting the Turner Classic Movies channel mysteries (and some non-mystery movies with my favorite actors and actresses) that I think are definitely worth looking at.

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

March 2017 Turner Classic Movies Channel Mystery Movies (Central time zone):

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

Wednesday – March 1, 2017

5:30 AM
TWILIGHT OF HONOR (1963)
A struggling lawyer takes on a controversial murder case that could make or break him.
Dir: Boris Sagal Cast:  Richard Chamberlain, Joey Heatherton, Nick Adams.
BW-104 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

9:00 PM
VERTIGO (1958)
A detective falls for the mysterious woman he’s been hired to tail.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock Cast:  James Stewart, Kim Novak, Barbara Bel Geddes.
C-128 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

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

Thursday – March 2, 2017

6:45 AM
WAIT UNTIL DARK (1967)
A blind woman fights against drug smugglers who’ve invaded her home.
Dir: Terence Young Cast:  Audrey Hepburn, Alan Arkin, Richard Crenna.
C-108 mins, CC

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

Saturday – March 4, 2017

3:00 AM
Z (1969)
A political assassination uncovers a hotbed of corruption.
Dir: Costa-Gavras Cast:  Yves Montand, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Jacques Perrin.
C-127 mins

9:30 AM
MAISIE (1939)
A Brooklyn showgirl tries to clear a ranch foreman of murder charges.
Dir: Edwin L. Marin Cast:  Robert Young, Ann Sothern, Ruth Hussey.
BW-75 mins, CC

9:15 PM
FAMILY PLOT (1976)
A phony psychic takes on a pair of kidnappers.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock Cast:  Karen Black, Bruce Dern, Barbara Harris.
C-120 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

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

Sunday – March 5, 2017

9:00 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.
BW-100 mins, CC

11:00 AM
SABOTEUR (1942)
A young man accused of sabotage goes on the lam to prove his innocence.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock Cast:  Priscilla Lane, Robert Cummings, Otto Kruger.
BW-109 mins, CC

1:00 PM
A SHOT IN THE DARK (1964)
Inspector Clouseau tries to clear a beautiful woman accused of shooting her husband.
Dir: Blake Edwards Cast:  Peter Sellers, Elke Sommer, George Sanders.
C-102 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

7:00 PM
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

9:15 PM
THE LAST OF SHEILA (1973)
A game of murder among wealthy vacationers turns into the real thing.
Dir: Herbert Ross Cast:  James Coburn, Raquel Welch, Dyan Cannon.
C-119 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

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

Monday – March 6, 2017

4:15 PM
WHISTLING IN DIXIE (1942)
A radio detective’s southern honeymoon is cut short by the discovery of a murder.
Dir: S. Sylvan Simon Cast:  Red Skelton, Ann Rutherford, George Bancroft.
BW-74 mins, CC

7:00 PM
MY COUSIN RACHEL (1952)
A young man suspects his cousin’s wife of murder.
Dir: Henry Koster Cast:  Olivia De Havilland, Richard Burton, Audrey Dalton.
BW-98 mins, CC

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

Thursday – March 9, 2017

3:30 PM
THE FULLER BRUSH MAN (1948)
A bumbling salesman gets mixed up in murder.
Dir: S. Sylvan Simon Cast:  Red Skelton, Janet Blair, Don McGuire.
BW-92 mins, CC

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

Friday – March 10, 2017

5:00 AM
MURDER, MY SWEET (1944)
Detective Philip Marlowe’s search for a two-timing woman leads him to blackmail and murder.
Dir: Edward Dmytryk Cast:  Dick Powell, Claire Trevor, Anne Shirley.
BW-95 mins, CC

6:45 AM
BUREAU OF MISSING PERSONS (1933)
A police chief helps a young bride find her missing husband or at least his corpse.
Dir: Roy Del Ruth Cast:  Lewis Stone, Pat O’Brien, Glenda Farrell.
BW-73 mins

8:15 AM
HARPER (1966)
A broken-down private eye sets out to find a rich woman’s missing husband.
Dir: Jack Smight Cast:  Paul Newman, Lauren Bacall, Julie Harris.
C-121 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

10:30 AM
THE THIN MAN (1934)
A husband-and-wife detective team takes on the search for a missing inventor and almost get killed for their efforts.
Dir: W. S. Van Dyke Cast:  William Powell, Myrna Loy, Maureen O’Sullivan.
BW-91 mins, CC

12:15 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.
C-81 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

1:45 PM
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

3:30 PM
LADY IN THE LAKE (1947)
Philip Marlowe searches for a missing woman in this mystery shot entirely from the detective’s viewpoint.
Dir: Robert Montgomery Cast:  Robert Montgomery, Audrey Totter, Lloyd Nolan.
BW-103 mins, CC

5:30 PM
ROPE (1948)
Two wealthy young men try to commit the perfect crime by murdering a friend.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock Cast:  Dick Hogan, John Dall, Farley Granger.
C-81 mins, CC

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

Sunday – March 12, 2017

9:00 AM
DETOUR (1945)
A hitchhiker takes on a dead man’s identity only to face blackmail by an unscrupulous woman.
Dir: Edgar G. Ulmer Cast:  Tom Neal, Ann Savage, Claudia Drake.
BW-68 mins, CC

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

Tuesday – March 14, 2017

7:00 PM
KLUTE (1971)
A small-town detective searches for a missing man linked to a high-priced prostitute.
Dir: Alan J. Pakula Cast:  Jane Fonda, Donald Sutherland, Charles Cioffi.
C-114 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

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

Wednesday – March 15, 2017

5:00 AM
THE WOMAN ON THE BEACH (1947)
A coast guardsman begins to think his mistress’s blind husband can really see.
Dir: Jean Renoir Cast:  Joan Bennett, Robert Ryan, Charles Bickford.
BW-71 mins, CC

6:30 AM
TOO LATE FOR TEARS (1949)
A married woman’s discovery of stolen money changes her character for the worse.
Dir: Byron Haskin Cast:  Lizabeth Scott, Don DeFore, Dan Duryea.
BW-101 mins

8:15 AM
OUT OF THE PAST (1947)
A private eye becomes the dupe of a homicidal moll.
Dir: Jacques Tourneur Cast:  Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, Kirk Douglas.
BW-97 mins, CC

10:00 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.
BW-100 mins, CC

11:45 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

2:00 PM
SCARLET STREET (1945)
A middle aged wouldbe painter falls into the clutches of an unscrupulous woman.
Dir: Fritz Lang Cast:  Edward G. Robinson, Joan Bennett, Dan Duryea.
BW-102 mins, CC

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

Friday – March 17, 2017

1:15 PM
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.
BW-116 mins

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

Saturday – March 18, 2017

2:45 PM
TOPAZ (1969)
A French agent is sent to Cuba to spy for the CIA.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock Cast:  John Forsythe, Frederick Stafford, Dany Robin.
C-142 mins, CC

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

Sunday – March 19, 2017

3:00 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 AM
I LOVE YOU AGAIN (1940)
A solid married man discovers he’s forgotten a past existence as a con artist.
Dir: W. S. Van Dyke II Cast:  William Powell, Myrna Loy, Frank McHugh.
BW-99 mins, CC

9:00 AM
ACT OF VIOLENCE (1948)
An embittered veteran tracks down a POW camp informer.
Dir: Fred Zinnemann Cast:  Van Heflin, Robert Ryan, Janet Leigh.
BW-82 mins, CC

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

Monday – March 20, 2017

7:30 AM
BADLANDS (1973)
A young tough guy and his teen-aged girlfriend take off on a killing spree.
Dir: Terrence Malick Cast:  Martin Sheen, Sissy Spacek, Warren Oates.
C-94 mins, CC

3:00 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.
BW-95 mins, CC

7:00 PM
PSYCHO (1960)
A woman on the run gets mixed up with a repressed young man and his violent mother.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock Cast:  Anthony Perkins, Vera Miles, John Gavin.
BW-109 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

11:00 PM
THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER (1955)
A bogus preacher marries an outlaw’s widow in search of the man’s hidden loot.
Dir: Charles Laughton Cast:  Robert Mitchum, Shelley Winters, Lillian Gish.
BW-93 mins, CC

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

Tuesday – March 21, 2017

10:00 AM
M (1931)
The mob sets out to catch a child killer whose crimes are attracting too much police attention.
Dir: Fritz Lang Cast:  Peter Lorre, Theo Lingen, Otto Wernicke.
BW-110 mins

7:00 PM
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

9:00 PM
DETOUR (1945)
A hitchhiker takes on a dead man’s identity only to face blackmail by an unscrupulous woman.
Dir: Edgar G. Ulmer Cast:  Tom Neal, Ann Savage, Claudia Drake.
BW-68 mins, CC

10:30 PM
CAPE FEAR (1962)
An ex-convict plots to destroy the district attorney who sent him to prison.
Dir: J. Lee Thompson Cast:  Gregory Peck, Robert Mitchum, Polly Bergen.
BW-106 mins, CC

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

Wednesday – March 22, 2017

4:30 AM
LITTLE CAESAR (1930)
A small-time hood shoots his way to the top, but how long can he stay there?
Dir: Mervyn LeRoy Cast:  Edward G. Robinson, Douglas Fairbanks, Glenda Farrell.
BW-78 mins, CC

6:00 AM
THE BAD SEED (1956)
A woman suspects that her perfect little girl is a ruthless killer.
Dir: Mervyn LeRoy Cast:  Gage Clarke, Jesse White, Joan Croyden.
C-129 mins, CC

10:30 AM
GASLIGHT (1944)
A newlywed fears she’s going mad when strange things start happening at the family mansion.
Dir: George Cukor Cast:  Charles Boyer, Ingrid Bergman, Joseph Cotten.
BW-114 mins, CC

12:45 PM
WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? (1962)
A crazed, aging star torments her sister in a decaying Hollywood mansion.
Dir: Robert Aldrich Cast:  Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Victor Buono.
BW-134 mins, CC

11:15 PM
TOUCH OF EVIL (1958)
A narcotics agent risks his wife’s life to investigate a crooked cop.
Dir: Orson Welles Cast:  Charlton Heston, Janet Leigh, Orson Welles.
BW-111 mins, CC

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

Thursday – March 23, 2017

1:15 AM
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

3:15 AM
THE HONEYMOON KILLERS (1969)
A lonely nurse and her gigolo lover murder a string of widows.
Dir: Leonard Kastle Cast:  Shirley Stoler, Tony LoBianco, Mary Jane Higby.
BW-108 mins, CC

7:45 AM
THE PETRIFIED FOREST (1935)
An escaped convict holds the customers at a remote desert cantina hostage.
Dir: Archie L. Mayo Cast:  Leslie Howard, Bette Davis, Genevieve Tobin.
BW-82 mins, CC

9:15 AM
KEY LARGO (1948)
A returning veteran tangles with a ruthless gangster during a hurricane.
Dir: John Huston Cast:  Humphrey Bogart, Edward G. Robinson, Lauren Bacall.
BW-100 mins, CC

11:15 AM
STRANGERS ON A TRAIN (1951)
A man’s joking suggestion that he and a chance acquaintance trade murders turns deadly.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock Cast:  Farley Granger, Ruth Roman, Robert Walker.
BW-101 mins, CC

1:15 PM
THE THIRD MAN (1950)
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-104 mins, CC

3:00 PM
THE STRANGER (1946)
A small-town schoolteacher suspects her new husband may be an escaped Nazi war criminal.
Dir: Orson Welles Cast:  Edward G. Robinson, Loretta Young, Orson Welles.
BW-94 mins, CC

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

Friday – March 24, 2017

11:00 AM
CAT PEOPLE (1942)
A newlywed fears that an ancient curse will turn her into a bloodthirsty beast.
Dir: Jacques Tourneur Cast:  Simone Simon, Tom Conway, Jane Randolph.
BW-73 mins, CC

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

Saturday – March 25, 2017

5:15 AM
AFTER THE THIN MAN (1936)
Married sleuths Nick and Nora Charles try to clear Nora’s cousin of a murder charge.
Dir: W. S. Van Dyke Cast:  William Powell, Myrna Loy, James Stewart.
BW-112 mins, CC

7:30 AM
SUDDENLY (1954)
Gunmen take over a suburban home to plot a presidential assassination.
Dir: Lewis Allen Cast:  Frank Sinatra, Sterling Hayden, James Gleason.
BW-77 mins, CC

2:45 PM
DIAL M FOR MURDER (1954)
A straying husband frames his wife for the murder of the man he’d hired to kill her.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock Cast:  Ray Milland, Grace Kelly, Robert Cummings.
C-105 mins, CC

4:45 PM
WAIT UNTIL DARK (1967)
A blind woman fights against drug smugglers who’ve invaded her home.
Dir: Terence Young Cast:  Audrey Hepburn, Alan Arkin, Richard Crenna.
C-108 mins, CC

9:15 PM
ARSENE LUPIN (1932)
A gentleman thief risks his life in an attempt to steal the Mona Lisa.
Dir: Jack Conway Cast:  John Barrymore, Lionel Barrymore, Karen Morley.
BW-84 mins, CC

11:00 PM
THE HAUNTING (1963)
A team of psychic investigators moves into a haunted house that destroys all who live there.
Dir: Robert Wise Cast:  Julie Harris, Claire Bloom, Richard Johnson.
BW-112 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

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

Sunday – March 26, 2017

7:00 AM
LIFEBOAT (1944)
Survivors of a torpedoed boat take in a German Naval officer from the sub that sank them.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock Cast:  Tallulah Bankhead, William Bendix, Walter Slezak.
BW-97 mins, CC

9:00 AM
TENSION (1950)
A man who had planned to murder his wife’s lover becomes the prime suspect when somebody beats him to it.
Dir: John Berry Cast:  Richard Basehart, Audrey Totter, Cyd Charisse.
BW-91 mins, CC

11:00 AM
THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH (1956)
International spies kidnap a doctor’s son when he stumbles on their assassination plot.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock Cast:  James Stewart, Doris Day, Brenda de Banzie.
C-120 mins, CC, Letterbox Format

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

Wednesday – March 29, 2017

7:30 AM
THE ARNELO AFFAIR (1947)
A neglected wife gets mixed up with an hypnotic charmer and murder.
Dir: Arch Oboler Cast:  John Hodiak, George Murphy, Frances Gifford.
BW-87 mins

9:00 AM
THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE (1946)
Illicit lovers plot to kill the woman’s older husband.
Dir: Tay Garnett Cast:  Lana Turner, John Garfield, Cecil Kellaway.
BW-113 mins, CC

1:00 PM
THE UNFAITHFUL (1947)
While her husband is away, a woman gets mixed up in murder.
Dir: Vincent Sherman Cast:  Ann Sheridan, Lew Ayres, Zachary Scott.
BW-109 mins

5:00 PM
DEAD RINGER (1964)
A woman murders her rich twin and tries to take her place.
Dir: Paul Henreid Cast:  Bette Davis, Karl Malden, Peter Lawford.
BW-116 mins, CC

7:00 PM
DIARY OF A MADMAN (1963)
The body of a French magistrate is taken over by the soul of a murderer.
Dir: Reginald Le Borg Cast:  Vincent Price, Nancy Kovack, Chris Warfield.
C-97 mins, CC

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

Thursday – March 30, 2017

10:30 AM
EVER IN MY HEART (1933)
During World War I, a woman suspects her husband of being a German spy.
Dir: Archie Mayo Cast:  Barbara Stanwyck, Otto Kruger, Ralph Bellamy.
BW-68 mins, CC

1:30 PM
THE MAN WITH TWO FACES (1934)
An actor uses his skills to protect his sister from her sinister husband.
Dir: Archie Mayo Cast:  Edward G. Robinson, Mary Astor, Ricardo Cortez.
BW-73 mins, CC

2:45 PM
GAMBLING LADY (1934)
Two gamblers fall in love but one is already married to a possible murderer.
Dir: Archie Mayo Cast:  Barbara Stanwyck, Joel McCrea, Pat O’Brien.
BW-66 mins, CC

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

Friday – March 31, 2017

8:45 PM
THE UNDERWORLD STORY (1950)
A corrupt newspaperman, blacklisted from his big-city paper, becomes involved with a murder case for a small town paper.
Dir: Cyril Endfield Cast:  Dan Duryea, Herbert Marshall, Gale Storm.
BW-91 mins

12:30 AM
SCARLET STREET (1945)
A middle aged wouldbe painter falls into the clutches of an unscrupulous woman.
Dir: Fritz Lang Cast:  Edward G. Robinson, Joan Bennett, Dan Duryea.
BW-102 mins, CC

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

If you’re particularly 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 2017

And of course, 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

Kate Collins: Flower Shop Mystery Series

Mum's the Word: A Flower Shop Mystery Those of you who read my blog regularly know that I have been trying to read (or re-read) and talk about some of the most popular and recommended Cozy Mystery series at least once or twice a month. The next in this series is the Flower Shop Mystery Series by Kate Collins. Mum’s the Word is the first book in this series which introduces us to our sleuth, Abby Knight.

Abby Knight is the proud owner of her own flower shop, “Bloomers”. She recently flunked out of law school and was dumped by her rich lawyer fiancée just a few weeks before her wedding. However, despite her recent setbacks, Abby has bought both a used yellow Corvette and “Bloomers” and is trying to make the flower shop a go.

The book opens with Abby in a good mood ready to face another day when someone in a dark SUV backs into her prized Corvette and drives off without leaving any contact information. This hit and run accidents starts a series of events that eventually lead to Abby investigating a murder that may involve a corrupt politician, corrupt policemen, an abusive husband of a friend of her co-worker, illegal sales of drugs and more!

Needless to say, Abby has her hands full sleuthing! Luckily she gets the support of the handsome bar owner just a couple of doors down from her shop, Marco. Marco is an ex-cop so he has some sleuthing chops of his own. He and Abby make quite a team. In addition to Marco, Abby has a contact (and other potential suitor), Greg, who is a lawyer in the District Attorney’s office. So when she needs inside information she has this insider to use.

As some of you already know, normally I’m not crazy about a lot of romance in my Cozies. I prefer the Cozies I read to be heavy on the mystery puzzle to solve and light on the romance (or other extraneous) elements. This Cozy is pretty heavy on the “how will Abby’s love life go” element. But, for some reason, I thought these parts of the book were just fine. They were woven into the mystery story so skillfully that I thought they naturally belonged.

Also, there is a (very) little use of strong language by one of the potential villains in the book. The words he uses seem to fit his character and the circumstances, but for those of you who want absolutely no such language in your Cozies, this is not for you.

Finally, I need to mention that several of the books in this series have been made into Hallmark mystery movies that are shown on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries channel. Brook Shields portrays Abby in the movies and the plot and characters in the movies bear little resemblance to those of the book. I wouldn’t say either the book or the movies are better Cozy Mysteries, but I’ll leave it up to you to decide. I will say that I enjoyed the movies, and I recommend this book.

And, as a postscript, I’ll mention that a while back I interviewed Kate Collins – you can read the interview here.

P.S. As always, if you are interested in reading some of the other entries about highly recommended Cozy Mystery series, you can find them at the Most Recommended Cozy Mystery Series page on my site.

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