The Cozy Mystery List Blog

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

Mystery Book Recommendations – July 2014

I just finished a mystery by one of my favorite Cozy Mystery authors: Hazel Holt. It is such a joy to read a book by an author who I love to read. I not only enjoy Hazel Holt’s writing style, but I also like that she writes her mysteries in a way that, if you didn’t know the publication dates, you might think they were written at the same time as Agatha Christie’s mysteries.

By this I do not mean that Mrs. Malory lives without the modern conveniences that we all take for granted. I mean that Hazel Holt’s mysteries are very much in line with the classic Cozy Mystery authors. Mrs. Malory is an amateur sleuth who lives in a quaint and Cozy village where everyone seems to know everyone else, the criminal action takes place “off stage”, there is no profanity/swearing, no gratuitous sex or violence, and strong character development. (I hope I didn’t skip any other characteristics!)

I know I have written about how much I enjoy the Mrs. Malory Mystery Series before, but I hope it’s been long enough so as not to seem too repetitive. I strongly recommend Hazel Holt‘s Mrs. Malory Mystery Series.

Please tell us about a Cozy Mystery series (or a few!) that you read this past month that you think the rest of us should try reading, if we don’t already. And, please tell us why. These should only be the Cozy Mysteries that you think stood out as being even better than the other Cozies you read during the month.

[As usual, I ask that you don’t tell us about the mystery books you read that you didn’t like.]

What Cozy Mystery book (or author) have you read during July 2014, and why did you enjoy it (or him/her)?

Here are the current recommended authors who some of you have read this past month:

Victoria Abbott (aka Mary Jane Maffini & Victoria Maffini): Book Collectors Mystery Series

Susan Wittig Albert (aka Robin Paige): China Bayles Mystery Series

Margaret Addison: Rose Simpson Mystery Series (book #1 is Murder at Ashgrove House)

Tasha Alexander: Lady Emily Mystery Series

Barbara Allan: Trash ‘n’ Treasures Mystery Series

Beverly Allen (aka Barbara Early): Bridal Bouquet Shop Mystery Series

Donna Andrews: Meg Langslow Mystery Series

Nancy Atherton: Aunt Dimity Mystery Series

M.C. Beaton (aka Marion Chesney): Agatha Raisin Mystery Series

Heather Blake (aka Heather Webber): Wishcraft Mystery Series

Rhys Bowen: Molly Murphy Mystery Series

Rhys Bowen: Royal Highness Mystery Series

Simon Brett: Blotto and Twinks Mystery Series

Emily Brightwell: Mrs. Jeffries Mystery Series

Leslie Budewitz: Food Lovers’ Village Mystery Series

JoAnna Carl (aka Eve K. Sandstrom): Chocoholic Mystery Series

Kate Carlisle: Bibliophile Mystery Series

Alyse Carlson: Garden Society Mystery Series

Agatha Christie: Hercule Poirot Mystery Series

Agatha Christie: Superintendent Battle Mystery Series

Agatha Christie: Why Didn’t They Ask Evans (Stand Alone mystery)

V.C. Clinton Baddeley: Only a Matter of Time

Sheila Connolly (akaSarah Atwell): Orchard Mystery Series

Shelley Costa: Miracolo Mystery Series

Krista Davis: Domestic Diva Mystery Series

Dawn Eastman: Family Fortune Mystery Series

Kate Ellis: Wesley Peterson Mystery Series

Female Sleuths Megapack Lady Molly of Scotland Yard Loveday Brooke and Amelia Butterworth

Daryl Wood Gerber (aka Avery Aames): Cookbook Nook Mystery Series

Dorothy Gilman: Mrs. Pollifax Mystery Series

Sally Goldenbaum: Seaside Knitters Mystery Series

Celine Grace: Death at the Manor (book # 1 in the Asharton Manor Mystery Series – novella length)

Victoria Hamilton (aka Amanda Cooper & Donna Lea Simpson): Merry Muffin Mystery Series

David Handler: Berger & Mitry Mystery Series

Betty Hechtman:Yarn Retreat Mystery Series

Joan Hess (aka Joan Hadley): Claire Malloy Mystery Series

Lee Hollis: Hailey Powell Food & Cocktail Mystery Series

Hazel Holt: Mrs. Malory Mystery Series

Dorothy Howell: Haley Randolph Mystery Series

Julie Hyzy: White House Chef Mystery Series

Julie Hyzy: Manor of Murder Mystery Series

Sue Ann Jaffarian: Ghost of Granny Apples Mystery Series

Joyce & Jim Lavene (aka J.J. Cook & Ellie Grant): Renaissance  Faire Mystery Series

Donna Leon: Guido Brunetti Mystery Series

Kylie Logan (aka Miranda Bliss & Casey Daniels): League of Literary Ladies Mystery Series

Rhett MacPherson: Torie O’shea Mystery Series

Molly MacRae: Haunted Yarn Shop Mystery Series

Edith Maxwell (aka Tace Baker): Local Foods Mystery Series

Jennifer McAndrews: Ill-Gotten Panes (book # 1 in Stained Glass Mystery Series)

Sharyn McCrumb: Ballad Mystery Series

Jenn McKinlay (aka Josie Belle & Lucy Lawrence): Hat Shop Mystery Series

Karen Musser Nortman: Frannie Shoemaker Campground Mystery Series (book #1 is Bats and Bones)

Nancy J. Parra (aka Nancy Coco): Perfect Proposals Mystery Series

Ann Purser: Ivy Beasley Mystery Series

Heather Webber (aka Heather Blake): Lucy Valentine Mystery Series

[If you click on the author’s name (blue) link, it will take you to his/her page on the Cozy Mystery site. The pages have all of the authors’ books listed chronologically.]

♦To access more Cozy Mystery Books Recommendations, click on this link♦

P.S. While I try to respond to all of the comments that are made on the Cozy Mystery blog, I generally don’t respond to the comments on these monthly recommendation entries. I do, however, list the recommended books that come via the Cozy Mystery blog’s comments!

Quick Trip to NOLA

MovingI mentioned in an earlier blog post that our daughter is moving to New Orleans for a year. My husband and I had gone to New Orleans to find an apartment for her. Now, the time for her move is very near. In fact, the movers will be picking up her furniture tomorrow and driving them out to New Orleans. Unfortunately, since our daughter has another week of work in her old job, that’s where my husband and I come in.

Yesterday was a rather long day, made even longer by the fact that I refused to drive through major cities.  Major cities being any towns with more than two exits/entrances on the freeway. (Anyway – that’s the story my husband is sticking with!)

Our son is taking care of our house, which always makes traveling a lot less worrisome for us. We drove to New Orleans, Louisiana (thus the “NOLA”) so that we can meet the movers when they get here on Sunday. There was no way our daughter could be at both sites, since she will have only a weekend off between jobs.

I am writing this from our hotel room. Today we headed over to her apartment, and started the process of getting her somewhat organized before she arrives in town next weekend. Growing up as military dependent and then marrying back into the military, moving is old hat to me.

This is going to be an extremely quick trip because we are planning to visit our daughter in New Orleans several times, and that’s when we will be exploring New Orleans. Plus, it’s almost as hot here as it is in San Antonio at this time of year. Certainly it is not an optimal time to vacation in ether place!

Columbo Television Mystery Movies

I have a confession to make >>> one of my favorite detectives of all time doesn’t come from a long pedigree of books written over the last century. He wasn’t the original brainchild of some brilliant British author, laboring alone long into the night over their antique typewriter. Instead, he originated in a television anthology series, and all his greatest works were written by… *shudder* television writers.

OK, so this isn’t strictly true – Columbo was adapted from a short story that first appeared in the Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine… but he apparently wasn’t an actual character in that short story, which unfortunately I’ve never been able to track down. Instead he first appeared in a 1960s episode of The Chevy Mystery Show, back in an era when evidently any self-respecting automobile manufacturer absolutely must have its own mystery-themed anthology series. This is all true – I cannot make this stuff up, I’m not that clever.

Anyway, the character certainly isn’t a literary powerhouse with dozens of books to his name, unless you count the adaptations from television to book – hardly the standard for a classic mystery character. And that’s just fine – it actually fits his character perfectly. All joking aside, Columbo truly is one of the great mystery detectives – he’s clever and tenacious, observant and perceptive. But Columbo’s true genius is that he doesn’t show his genius. Although Peter Falk wasn’t the first pick to play Columbo, after you have watched a few of the episodes you will see that the part was absolutely written for him! He is phenomenal in this part.

From the moment Columbo (Peter Falk) arrives on the killer’s doorstep, he looks like a tired little man in a rumpled suit, chewing a cheap cigar and driving a battered, beat-up old import car that should terrify anyone who sees it on the road. The killer is usually some educated, wealthy, “clever” guy – the sort who sees Columbo and thinks “I’m free and clear – this guy will never catch me.”

But catch them he does! Columbo might not look it, but he’s always paying attention, and even the slightest detail out of place will let him know who REALLY did it… and from then on, he’s the best friend the killer wishes he didn’t have. He’s always there, an unwanted presence asking “just one more question” and “maybe you can help me clear this up, just to make my boss happy.” By the end, most of the killers seem to confess just to get some time alone, even if it is in a prison cell.

Perhaps the greatest twist the Columbo television mystery series has for us long-time mystery viewers is that it isn’t a mystery for us – it’s a mystery for Columbo. In almost every episode of Columbo, we the audience have the privilege of seeing the act itself – the preparation, the execution, and the aftermath. After seeing even a few episodes of the show, the savvy viewer will be watching the tiny mistakes that Columbo will later latch onto and worry about – like a dog with a bone. We already know, and we know that despite his bedraggled appearance, despite the cheap cigars, despite his fumbling attitude, Columbo knows almost as quickly as we do!

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

P.S. These are available on Netflix.

“Evil Under the Sun” – Poirot Comes to Life in Peter Ustinov’s 1982 Portrayal

Agatha Christie Mysteries Collection [DVD] A while back I wrote about the series of shows starring David Suchet as Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot. I said then that all of the actors in those shows portraying Christie’s characters “‘became’ the characters they portrayed….” I still believe that Suchet’s portrayal of the little Belgian detective (who was Agatha Christie’s most popular detective) is definitive, and I might say the “last word.”

However, I  recently watched the 1982 version of  Agatha Christie’s Evil Under the Sun in which Peter Ustinov played Poirot, and I must say I thoroughly enjoyed the acting and the movie – I was quite pleasantly surprised. I guess I was especially surprised because I remembered having seen Ustinov’s Poirot in other movies (he played Poirot a total of six times between 1978 and 1986) and, although I remember enjoying the movies, I didn’t remember his Poirot as completely hitting the mark. Now I think he does a perfect job. Ustinov is able to give Hercule a certain (dare I say it!) normalcy of sorts, and also plays Hercule with a twinkle in his eye. I truly enjoyed him in this movie.

Maybe it was something about this production – Agatha Christie’s Evil Under the Sun – that caused me to see Ustinov’s Poirot in a different and better light. The story takes place in a fictional island off the coast of Albania.  The movie is set in a beautiful location (it was actually filmed on location in Spain’s Majorca) and has a high quality cast – Maggie Smith, James Mason, Roddy McDowall and Diana Rigg (among others) each performing splendidly in the idyllic setting of a hotel/villa overlooking the sea.

The film is filled with gorgeous costumes – beautiful colors surround the wonderful acting by this veteran cast.  It just leaps off the screen that the actors were having a good time together. To cap it all off, the use of Cole Porter songs as (mostly) background music was a brilliant stroke. The setting, the cast, the costumes, the music, the period, and of course Agatha Christie’s classic story beautifully told make for a great couple of hours of movie watching.

P.S. Agatha Christie’s Evil Under the Sun is available on Netflix.

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