The Cozy Mystery List Blog

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

Coming Soon: Hallmark Mystery and Holiday Movies

Movies Coming SoonI was a little bummed that the Hallmark Movies and Mysteries channel didn’t have any new, original mystery movies based on Cozy Mystery series this month. Because of this, I went searching around to see if I could find out something new about their line-up. Well, I came upon several interesting mystery AND holiday movie tidbits:

There will be a new mystery series on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries channel starring Brooke Shields as the sleuth. The article I found said these mysteries will be based on the Flower Shop Mystery Series, however the article didn’t name the author. Now, to me, the Flower Shop Mystery Series can only mean one author: the fabulously talented (and very popular) Kate Collins! So, here’s hoping that’s correct!

Also, Nancy Grace‘s Hailey Dean mysteries will be made into either one mystery movie, or a series of mystery movies. What great news!

Here’s some good news for all of the Jesse Stone mystery movie fans amongst us >>> of which I am one! Tom Selleck and William Devane will be reprising their roles as the brooding police chief and his therapist. Yep! That’s right! Jesse Stone: Lost in Paradise will be premiering on the Hallmark channel on Sunday, October 18 and on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries channel on Sunday, October 25. These mystery movies are based on Robert B. Parker‘s Jesse Stone Mystery Series. Yow!

I know the wait has been a long one since the last (and first!) Hannah Swensen mystery movie, but on November 15, 2015 (mark your calendars now!) Murder She Baked: A Plum Pudding Mystery will be airing on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries channel. Christmas will be in the air and at the Cookie Jar bakery! The Hannah Swensen Mystery Series is written by Joanne Fluke, and Alison Sweeney will be returning as Hannah.

I also have a tentative list of the holiday movies that will be airing on the Hallmark channel, and I can’t wait to tell you about it. (As I said, this is a tentative list.)

October 26, 2015
Temporarily Yours (starring Ashley Williams and Sam Yaeger) will kick of the holiday festivities with this Halloween movie on the Hallmark channel. Poppy Summerall is the new nanny for the two little ones of a very busy widower.

I believe I have already mentioned that this year the Hallmark channel’s Countdown to Christmas will feature not only a dozen new holiday movies, but rather 16 new holiday movies! This is great news for those of us who make these movies a part of our holiday happenings. Here is some of the (tentative) Countdown to Christmas schedule that I have found. (Again, this is tentative, they can always change the dates on us!)

Saturday, November 14, 2015
Tis The Season For Love
Sarah Lancaster and Brendan Penny star in this holiday movie about an actress who goes home for the holidays because of a temporary lag in her acting jobs.

Saturday, November 21, 2015
Northpole 2: Open for Christmas

Starring Lori Loughlin and Bailee Madison, will mesmerize viewers with the magic of the Northpole and the spirit of Christmas. Loughlin stars as Mackenzie, a successful businesswoman who inherits her beloved aunt’s inn, and chooses to restore the hotel to its original grandeur only to sell it right before Christmas. Unbeknownst to Mackenzie, she receives some unexpected help from a team of elves headed by the cheerful Clementine (Madison), who helps Mackenzie rediscover the true meaning of Christmas.

Thursday, November 26, 2015 (Thanksgiving Day)
Ice Sculpture Christmas

After starting her first job at a country club restaurant, Callie – an aspiring chef – reconnects with her childhood friend David, whose wealthy family is a member of the club. When David enters Callie into the club’s annual Christmas ice sculpting competition without her knowledge, she’s forced to go head-to-head with her boss, Chef Gloria. Even though ice sculpting is cold work, sparks are ignited between Callie and David as they prepare for the competition as a team. Callie’s passions for cooking and ice sculpting are met with romance and Christmas spirit as she works to create the perfect sculpture. Cast: Rachel Boston, Brenda Strong and David Alpay.

Friday, November 27, 2015
Crown for Christmas

Allie, a fired maid from a ritzy NYC hotel, takes a job as a governess to a young girl who is part of a powerful family in Europe. After reluctantly accepting, and upon arrival at the castle, learns the girl is Princess Theodora and that her father is Maximillion, the King of Winshire. Max informs Allie that the Princess prides herself on terrorizing authority figures and has gotten worse since her mother’s death. As the story unfolds, we see Allie bond with Theodora and also helps to bring Theodora and her father together. And through all of this, a spark forms between Allie and Max. However, Countess Celia is expecting to wed the King. Will Max take a stand for his feelings for Allie and make it truly a merry Christmas for all? Cast: Danica McKellar, Rupert Penry Jones.

Saturday, November 28, 2015
On Time For Christmas

Two NYC bound travelers find themselves inextricably linked when a snowstorm waylays their flight to an airport hotel in Buffalo. Eternal optimist and hopeless romantic, Paige Summers, desperately needs to find a way to the city to meet her fiancé’s parents before her wedding – and it’s up to a guy she can’t stand, fellow passenger and total stranger Dylan MacKenzie, who is permanently soured on romance after his girlfriend broke his heart. Still Dylan rises to the occasion to become Paige’s off-white Knight in shining armor. Joining them are Frank & Maxine Gambert, who are heading to Connecticut to spend Christmas with their daughter. As their madcap adventure ensues, our foursome will be forced to face a lot more surprises than the ever changing snowstorm preventing each of them from getting home. Cast: Candace Bure, Paul Greene, Sarah Strange & David Lewis

Mariah Carey will be starring in a new Christmas movie during their Countdown to Christmas.”Mariah Carey’s Christmas Project.” Mariah will be directing and starring in the Christmas movie, which will feature her “Oh Santa!” hit.

As I mentioned before, mark your calendars now! I will be updating you all when the two Hallmark channels post their “firm” schedules.

(The indented descriptions of the movies are from the Hallmark channel’s website.)

What Do you Do For Fun & Relaxation? (When Not Reading a Cozy Mystery)

Charles Wysocki puzzleI have been complaining to my husband that I can’t seem to finish the Cozy Mystery I have been reading this past week. He reminded me (rather too quickly!) that I have recently been doing other things with my free time. (Good grief! What is it with husbands always pointing out the obvious?)

Let me come clean…

I have been sort of immersing myself in puzzles! I wish I could admit to doing a lot of baking, cooking, or cleaning >>> but that’s not the case. I set up a puzzle-making table in our family room >>> and have been going rather crazy.  Actually, I multi-task: I watch the old, black and white movies that I tape while I make my puzzles, something I used to do while cross-stitching. I have several favorite puzzle-makers, Charles Wysocki is my favorite artist, followed by other artists like Jane Wooster.

A friend of mine came over last week, took a look at my puzzle table, and remarked that I probably enjoyed puzzles because they are so relaxing. Hmm… I don’t think of my life as stressful in any way but I guess the puzzles are relaxing, however not when I am searching around on the floor for pieces I have lost.

Adult Coloring BookGetting back to my friend >>> She works at a school here in town and finds the job somewhat stressful. She told me that she has taken up coloring, which helps her unwind after particularly difficult days. I thought she meant that she has found more difficult children’s coloring books for herself. Nope, she told me they actually make coloring books intended for adults now. Hmm… I found that interesting.

I remember really enjoying coloring with my children years ago, so of course as soon as I got home from lunch I went online to look at adult coloring books. Wow! There sure must be a lot of people with a whole lot of stress out there! It looks like they have adult coloring books for every reason (dogs, cats, flowers, etc.) and season (Christmas, Halloween, etc.)!

This got me thinking: Are there any non-reading activities that keep you from reading your favorite Cozy Mystery books during your fun time? I know we recently talked about the types of non-mystery books we find ourselves reading, but this time I’d like to find out about other activities you do for relaxation/fun >>> and I don’t mean household chores! Please post a comment if you do. Thank you!

Six New Christmas Cozy Mysteries Coming in October 2015

As I mentioned in my last entry, this is a great time of the year for Cozy Mystery lovers since there are so many holiday-themed Cozy Mysteries coming out! Here are six Christmas themed books/stories that will be released:

First up will be Donna Andrews‘s The Two Deadly Doves, part of the Meg Langslow Mystery Series. This is going to be a Christmas omnibus containing both book #10 (Six Geese A- Slaying) and book #16 (Duck the Halls), two Christmas-themed mysteries in this series. In the first story, Meg Langslow is hosting a Twelve Days of Christmas party when the hired Santa turns up dead. In the second, a series of what seem to be disruptive but not dangerous pranks escalates quickly to the death of a local cranky old man. In both, Meg will need to solve the case before the holidays are ruined! Donna Andrews also writes the Turing Hopper Mystery Series, a sci-fi themed mystery series starring an artificial intelligence as the sleuth.

The second Christmas-themed mystery coming up is Laurien Berenson‘s A Christmas Howl, a Chistmas story in the Melanie Travis Mystery Series. In this prequel to the main Melanie Travis series, Melanie and her Aunt Peg haven’t yet gotten particularly close, and the two will be meeting for the first time in years when Peg and her husband Max are invited to Christmas by Max’s estranged brother Michael, Melanie’s father. But black-sheep and supposedly penniless Michael is throwing quite an elaborate party, and Peg thinks something seems suspicious >>> a mystery she’s determined to get to the bottom of before the end of the holidays.

The third of our upcoming Christmas themed books is Dashing Through the Snow: A Christmas Novel by Debbie Macomber, a stand-alone Christmas novel. (Though this Christmas novel is not a mystery novel, I’m listing it because Debbie Macomber was recommended as an author who belongs on this site. She may not write mysteries, but her books certainly are Cozy!) The book follows graduate student Ashley and former intelligence officer Dashiell, each eager to reach their homes in time for the holidays, as they are forced to share a rental car when all the flights are booked. This unlikely connection spins into a series of interesting events, leading the two closer and closer together as they continue their journeys home.

Next up will be Jingle Bones, a story in the Sarah Booth Delaney Mystery Series by Carolyn Haines. In this short story, Sarah is trying to have the perfect holiday season despite the end of her engagement. Still, she isn’t too absorbed in her holiday plans to stop working, and when a former classmate asks her to look into the ruining of a previous Christmas pageant – and to stop it from happening again – she’s more than willing to help out. Haines also writes the Dixon Sinclair series, as well as stand alone novels.

Kathi Daley‘s The Conspiracy is the 4th in the Seacliff High Mystery Series for young adults. Strange things are happening at the annual Christmas Carnival, and it might have something to do with the dead body discovered in the cemetery less than a month ago. When Alyson becomes involved in a potentially dangerous accident, she and her friends will need to hunt down the source of the accidents, and the origin of the corpse in the cemetery.

Finally will be Carla Neggers‘s A Knights Bridge Christmas, the 5th in the Swift River Valley Series. Though this series is romance and not mystery, I’m still including it in this list since I know we have some Carla Neggers mystery fans here. In this entry to the series, young mother Clare Morgan is moving to Knights Bridge, where she will have a chance to start over when she meets Logan Farrell, a Boston doctor in town to help out his grandmother settle into her retirement community. Neggers also writes the Sharpe & Donovan Mystery Series, the Ireland Mystery Series, the Black Falls Mystery Series, the U. S. Marshals Mystery Series, and the Texas Rangers Mystery Series.

You can find these (and a whole lot more!! Christmas mystery novels on the this page on my site:

Christmas Themed Mysteries

(There are so many Christmas themed mysteries that I divided them into six pages!)

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