The Cozy Mystery List Blog

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

Most of Us Started with Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys, Right?

I have got to tell you, I am so happy I did this month’s Upcoming Television Mystery list! I wonder if I would have watched the 1938 movie called Nancy Drew… Detective if we hadn’t had the comments about how good these movies are!

Thank you, Patti S and Pamela, for telling us how much you enjoyed these Nancy Drew movies with Bonita Granville. I was in the same boat as Sheila, who told us she hadn’t watched these particular movies. Sheila mentioned that she was looking forward to seeing them, and after reading the comments, so was I!

On July 5th, they aired the first of these movies Nancy Drew, Detective. This week, on a day when I didn’t feel like doing much, I decided to watch it. I had read my older sister’s Nancy Drew mysteries when I was little, so wasn’t quite sure how they would hold up for me now that I’m “not so little”!

Let me just say déjà vu (!), and I loved it! I immediately loved Bonita Granville’s depiction of Nancy, and I thought Ted (Frankie Thomas) and her dad (John Litel) were perfect, as well.

I want to hurry up and get this entry posted, since I see that tomorrow morning, at 9:45 (Central time zone) they will be airing the 1939 Nancy Drew, Reporter. Then, next week (Saturday, July 19) they will be airing the 1939 Nancy Drew… Trouble Shooter at 9:45 AM (Central time zone). The following Saturday (July 26) they’ll be airing the 1939 Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase at the same time.

I just looked Bonita Granville up, and it looks like TCM is going to be showing all of the Nancy Drew movies in which she starred. There are only four.

Well, if you decide to watch these movies, you may find yourself going back, some of us going back farther than others! Enjoy!

Rough Diamond (USA) Diamond Geezer (UK) Television Series

It has been a few years since I watched this British television series, however I remember it as a fun show to watch. I had seen every one of the A Touch of Frost episodes, and at the time, I was searching to see if David Jason (Jack Frost) had any other mystery shows I could watch. I was delighted to find Rough Diamond (2008) but wasn’t very happy to see that it only aired one year. (This is not a mystery show. It is more like Mission Impossible, only with thieves.)

The premise of Rough Diamond is this: Des (David Jason) is an “older” (thus the UK’s title Diamond Geezer) Mastermind thief who we first encounter in prison. He seems to have worked his way up the prison’s hierarchical ladder, as he is now in charge of taking around the tea cart. Of course, we hope that his prison time has rehabilitated him!

Upon his “release”, however, Des isn’t content with serving tea. He decides to go back to his old ways >>> since he truly never left them.

The production crew of Rough Diamond must have had great fun coming up with the different disguises Jason donned. David Jason is able to pull off all of the disguises with boyish glee.

I have to admit that this series is pretty zany. I mean, how realistic is it that a 60+ year old man would be able to lead his cohorts on the criminal escapades they go on? It is still a delightful show to me. Even if I had trouble buying that these older men were zipping around, pulling off dangerous capers with the precise punctuality they required, I had a good time watching them. (If television viewers can buy CSI’s and Law & Order’s 60 second DNA test results, then why can’t television viewers equally buy a sixty plus year old cat burglar?!?)

If you decide to watch this British import, suspend your belief, get comfortable, kick your shoes off, and enjoy David Jason >>> again!

P.S. It is available on Netflix.

Lorraine Bartlett / Lorna Barrett / L.L. Bartlett Interview

Oh my gosh! Pardon me as if I gush, but I just posted my Lorraine Bartlett / Lorna Barrett / L.L. Bartlett interview. I have got to tell you, every time I do an interview with a Cozy Mystery author, I am happily surprised by how nice they are, and how gracious they are with their time.

Lorraine Bartlett writes the  Victoria Square Mystery Series. This series features Katie Bonner, a young widow who is an artisan co-op member.  Lorna Barrett pens the Booktown Mystery Series, and stars Tricia Miles, owner of the Haven’t Got a Clue Mystery bookstore. (In a nod to classic Cozies, Miss Marple is not only a character in some of the bookstore’s shelves, she’s also the name of Tricia’s cat.) And, as L.L. Bartlett she writes the Jeff Resnick Mystery Series. Jeff is an insurance investigator who, after being mugged, developed a “sixth sense” which helps him solve mysteries.

I hope you ALL enjoy this Lorraine Bartlett/Lorna Barrett/L.L. Bartlett Interview. Go fix yourself a cup of tea, click on the highlighted link, sit back, and enjoy what this very popular Cozy Mystery author has to say! I think you’ll find it interesting!

P.S.  Since two Cozy Mystery readers have just told me about these great prices for L.L. Bartlett’s Kindle books right now, I thought I would go ahead and add them to this entry.

JEFF RESNICK MYSTERY Series:
Main Character: Jeff Resnick, Insurance Investigator, Mugging Victim who now has a “sixth sense” gift & Richard, Jeff’s brother

  1. Murder on the Mind  FREE
  2. Dead in Red  $4.99
  3. Room at the Inn  $4.99
  4. Cheated by Death  $4.99
  5. Bound by Suggestion  $4.99
  6. Dark Waters  $4.99

When the Spirit Moves You (Novelette) $1.49
Bah! Humbug ’10 (short story after book #5) $0.99
Cold Case ’10 (the 1st chapter in Bound by Suggestion) $0.99
Evolution  (Short Stories) $2.99

L.L. Bartlett on Nook

Which Cozy Mystery Author Would You Like to See in Kindle & Nook Format?

OK, I have to say, sometimes, when I know I should be working on a Cozy Mystery theme page, or I should be getting four new-to-the-Cozy-Mystery-site authors’ pages put up on the site, I am spending my time doodling around. One thing I find myself doing when I’m doodling is trying to find out if some of my favorite Cozy Mystery authors have made it to the Kindle (and Nook) format.

Well, actually, I don’t have than many Cozy Mystery authors who I keep looking up, since almost all of them are already Kindle-ized (and Nook-ized). But there are two series I keep looking for, and one of them is written by three authors.

I would love to read more mysteries in two particular series that haven’t yet hit the Kindle (Nook) format. Whenever I think that perhaps they won’t be Kindle-ized (& Nook-ized) I remember that E.F. Benson‘s Lucia series (not mysteries, but altogether terrific!)  is in Kindle (& Nook) ( format >>> I think there is hope for my two (or should I say 4?) authors.

The two series I keep looking (and hoping) for are: Patricia Moyes‘ Henry Tibbett Mystery Series and the Miss Seeton Mystery Series, which was started by Heron Carvic, followed by Hampton Charles, and finished up by Hamilton Crane.

Patricia Moyes’ Henry Tibbett mysteries feature Henry Tibbett, a Scotland Yard inspector. Even though technically this series is a police procedural (Henry being an inspector for the Yard), I find them to be very Cozy >>> anyway the ones I have read have a very Cozy spin to them. Although I have all of the mysteries in my bookshelf, I haven’t finished reading the series, now that I am addicted to my Kindle (& Nook) font control!

And, most of you know who Miss Emily D. Seeton is… a retired British teacher. I tell you, the font in the books I had was so tiny that I wouldn’t have enjoyed reading them when I was 22 years old! I don’t know how they managed to get so many words on each page! Those were the books that finally convinced me that I was ready to listen to my husband about getting a Kindle (& Nook). He had been trying to persuade me for quite a while, but I kept refusing. However, now that I have my Kindle (& Nook), I see there are no Miss Seeton Kindle (& Nook) books! Yikes! Oh well, I’ll keep searching…

Yep, those are the ones I keep searching out.

So, this brings me to my question: Are there one or two Cozy Mystery authors who you would like to see available in Kindle (& Nook) format? If so, would you mind telling us a little bit about the series? 

I decided to go ahead and make a list of those authors who we would like to see Kindle-ized (Nook-ized):

Susan Wittig Albert (aka 1/2 of Robin Paige): China Bayles Mystery Series (some are in e-format while others aren’t)

Donna Andrews: Turing Hopper Mystery Series

J. S. Borthwick: Deane & McKenzie Mystery Series

Heron Carvic: Miss Setton Mystery Series

Laura Childs: Tea Shop Mystery Series (some are in e-format while others aren’t)

Carolyn Graham: Chief Inspector Barnaby Midsomer Murders Mystery Series

Honor Hartman (aka Miranda James, Jimmie Ruth Evans, & Dean James): Bridge Club Mystery Series

Jens K. Holm: Detective Kim Mystery Series (Danish series)

Jane Langton: Homer Kelly Mystery Series

Emma Lathen (aka R.B. Dominic): Wall Street Mystery Series

Richard & Frances Lockridge: Mr. & Mrs. North

Camille Minichino (aka Margaret Grace & Ada Madison): Periodic Table Mystery Series

Patricia Moyes: Henry Tibbett Mystery Series

Corinne Holt Sawyer: Benbow & Wingate Mystery Series

Charles Merrill Smith: Reverend C.P. Randollph Mystery

Various Authors: The Three Investigators (children’s series)

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