The Cozy Mystery List Blog

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

More about Nemesis … And, We’re Heading Home

We’re on our way home. We’re driving through some beautiful country. In case any of you have ever wondered why Virginia and Tennessee are so doggone beautiful with their green trees and thick, lush grass >>> I can tell you why. For this Texas dry-country, long-straight roads driver >> there’s nothing quite like driving through the Appalachian’s windy roads in the pelting down rain. It is beautiful country, though. (At least it’s not snowing!)

Our trip was very successful. We whittled the 20 apartment complexes that were on our list to four for our daughter to consider. We think she’ll enjoy living out in the D.C. area. There is so much to see and do, and I know she’s looking forward to her new job, even though she’ll miss New Orleans.

My husband and I had started listening to Agatha Christie‘s Nemesis (a Miss Marple mystery) on the way out, and finished it yesterday. There’s a reason Agatha Christie is considered one of the four queens of the Golden Age of Mysteries. Her mysteries are absolutely full of great characters, of whom Miss Jane Marple is always my favorite. Christie always manages to transport us to Cozy, quaint, and picturesque settings. This book provided all that!

My husband and I really enjoyed listening to this audio book, however >>> Toward the end of the novel, Miss Marple’s explanation of how she solved the mystery amounts to (practically) a retelling of the whole story. At one point, my husband stopped the recording to mention that it reminded him of the Cliff Notes version of the book.

I want to emphasize again, we really enjoyed the book. The settings, characters, plot, and the mystery are classic Christie. I’d also like to recommend my favorite retelling of Agatha Christie’s Nemesis, which is the Nemesis television movie with Joan Hickson. It just doesn’t get any better than this! (This link will take you to my original entry about this phenomenal television mystery series.)

(Sorry, but as far as I can tell this is no longer available on Netflix.)

P.S. Totally off subject: I saw my first robin in years on our drive home today. It took me back to the days when I lived up north.

Amanda Carmack, Arthur Conan Doyle, Shamini Flint, and Linda Rodriguez – Four Author Additions to the Cozy Mystery Site

I’ve just added four more authors to the Cozy Mystery site. Most authors I add are decided by recommendations from Cozy Mystery readers who have enjoyed their works – though Arthur Conan Doyle obviously needed no recommendation! (The main reason I haven’t added him before this is because his works have been published so many ways that I had trouble deciding how to organize them…)

 Amanda Carmack writes the Elizabethan Mystery Series. As the title implies, this mystery series revolves around Queen Elizabeth I (who is still Princess Elizabeth in the early novels), though the detective is Elizabeth’s private musician, Kate Haywood. She also writes romance novels as Amanda McCabe and Laurel McKee.

Arthur Conan Doyle‘s Sherlock Holmes mysteries helped bring the early criminal detective fiction to the mainstream, with so much popularity that even after Doyle killed off the character, he eventually brought Holmes back after a ten year hiatus due to continued demand. As well as being a pioneer of the early detective fiction genre, Doyle was a humanitarian and doctor, earning two knighthoods for his volunteer medical work. He was even something of a detective himself – he helped clear the names of two wrongly accused men, and the results of one of these cases was partially responsible for the formation of the English Court of Criminal Appeal.

Shamini Flint might have begun her writing career with children’s book series like the Sasha Series and the Diary Series, but she’s also the author of the Inspector Singh Investigates Mystery Series. This series stars a Singaporean inspector whose slightly awkward nature often makes people underestimate his keen detective instincts. Originally a lawyer, Flint now works two jobs – full time mom and author!

Linda Rodriguez worked at the University of Missouri, Kansas City, as an administrator – which is also where she earned both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. She put this experience to good use when writing the Skeet Bannion Mystery Series, starring Marquitta “Skeet” Bannion, a former Kansas City police officer who decided to get away from the big city to serve as the campus chief of police at a college in a small town.

 

The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes Television Mystery Series

When my husband and I started watching this British, early 1970s mystery series, we didn’t know that each episode is actually based on a real written mystery. (Be sure to watch the opening credits so that you know who the author and main sleuth are.) The mysteries were written at the same time Sir Conan Doyle was spinning his mysteries – featuring Sherlock Holmes. Thus, the name: The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes. (I should add that Sir Hugh Greene published The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes, which includes 13 of these cases.)

The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes does not attempt to “sanitize” Victorian London. There are rats in the prison, pick-pockets on the streets, and murder in even the aristocratic parlors. As with Sir Conan Doyle’s mysteries, the private investigators had to step in to solve some of the crimes of the days.

There are thirteen episodes in the first ITV season and thirteen in the second season. If you are a fan of British television you will no doubt recognize many familiar faces. (Three who I can remember right off the top of my head are Derek Jacobi, Donald Pleasence and a very young Jeremy Irons.)

When I write reviews of older shows/movies I enjoy, I feel like I have to “forewarn” people not to expect the slick, glossy Hollywood productions with green-screen special effects, or the CSI-type of beyond-incredible forensic clues. Do not expect one of these private investigators to be able to pick up a single 1/2″ strand of navy blue wool and be able to identify which home in all of London has an afghan in the master bedroom that matches this. These mystery-solvers use their brain power (as Sherlock Holmes did) in order to identify the who, what, where, and why.

If you’re in the mood for a good British 1970s mystery series that pays attention to detail and has nice sets and wardrobe, not to mention good acting, you might enjoy The Rivals of Sherlock Holmes.

P.S. It is available on Netflix.

Miss Marple’ Nemesis in NOLA…

We had a great time in New Orleans visiting our daughter and are currently working our way through the first leg of our Appalachian trail. Right before we left I had mentioned that we would be accompanied by Lisette Lecat’s narration of Alexander McCall Smith‘s The Handsome Man’s De Luxe Café. Not so >>> instead we decided on having Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple unravel Mr. Rafiel’s cryptic message: Nemesis. Although both of us have read this Cozy Mystery before, as with all of Agatha Christie‘s work, we never tire of reading/hearing it again.

Coming from the arid plains of Texas, and the over-crowded I-10 route to New Orleans, we have both been enjoying the lush, green trees along the sides of I-59 through Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee. Not to mention that so far I-59 has been a nostalgic throw-back to the days when the interstate highways were light on traffic. (Knock on wood!)

Back to New Orleans. We spent the weekend with our daughter. She took us to the World War II Museum (a place she had already visited) and I’m here to say: I know when people think of NOLA (New Orleans, LA) they think of Mardis Gras, food and drink, but the WW II Museum really should be a must-stop for any visitor, although I wouldn’t recommend it for little children.

My Mother’s Day included a Grey Line tour of the city with our daughter and a phone call from our son assuring me that all is well with our house.

On to D.C. tomorrow!

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