The Cozy Mystery List Blog

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

October 2013 Mystery Book New Releases

The following Mystery Books will be released in October 2013:

Ellery Adams (aka J. B. Stanley, Jennifer Stanley, ½ of Lucy Arlington): Poisoned Prose (This will be the 5th in the Books by the Bay Mystery Series.)

Tasha Alexander: Behind the Shattered Glass (This will be the 8th in the Lady Emily Mystery Series.)

Donna Andrews: Duck the Halls (This will be the 16th in the Meg Langslow Mystery Series.) (This is a Christmas theme mystery.)

Donald Bain & “Jessica Fletcher”: Close-up on Murder (This will be the 40th in the Murder, She Wrote Mystery Series.)

Jessica Beck (aka Elizabeth Bright, Melissa Glazer, Chris Cavender, Casey Mayes, & Tim Myers): Assault and Batter (This will be the 11th in the Donut Shop Mystery Series.)

Josie Belle (aka Jenn McKinlay & Lucy Lawrence): Buried in Bargains (This will be the 3rd in the Good Buy Girls Mystery Series.) (This is a Christmas theme mystery.)

Emily Brightwell: Mrs. Jeffries and the Merry Gentlemen (This will be the 32nd in the Victorian Mystery Series.) (This is a Christmas theme mystery.)

Emily Brightwell: Mrs. Jeffries Sallies Forth (This is an omnibus of Mrs. Jeffries Mystery Series books 10, 11, & 12.)

Rita Mae Brown: The Litter of the Law (This will be the 22nd in the Mrs. Murphy Mystery Series.) (This is a Halloween theme mystery book.)

JoAnna Carl (aka Eve K. Sandstrom): The Chocolate Book Bandit (This will be the 13th in the Chocoholic Mystery Series.)

Joelle Charbonneau: Skating Under the Wire (This will be the 4th in the Rebecca Robbins Mystery Series.)

Jennifer Chiaverini: The Spymistress ’13 (This will be the 2nd in the Elizabeth Van Lew Civil War Sery Series. This is not a mystery book.)

Laura Childs: Gilt Trip (This will be the 11th in the Scrapbooking Mystery Series.)

Sheila Connolly (aka Sarah Atwell): Golden Malicious (This will be the 7th in the Orchard Mystery Series.)

E. J. Copperman: An Open Spook (This will be a Haunted Guesthouse Mystery Series novella.)

Isis Crawford (aka Barbara Block): A Catered Christmas Cookie Exchange (This will be the 9th in the Mystery with Recipes Mystery Series.) (This is a Christmas theme mystery.)

Waverly Curtis: The Big Chihuahua (This will be the 3rd in the Barking Detective Mystery Series.)

Jeffery Deaver: The October List (This will be a Stand Alone Mystery.)

Elizabeth J. Duncan: Never Laugh As a Hearse Goes By (This will be the 5th in the Penny Brannigan Mystery Series.)

“Jessica Fletcher” & Donald Bain: Close-Up on Murder (This will be the 40th in the Murder, She Wrote Mystery Series.)

Elizabeth George: Just One Evil Act (This will be the 18th in the Inspector Lynley Mystery Series.)

John Grisham: Sycamore Row (This will be the 2nd in the Jake Brigance Mystery Series.)

Rebecca M. Hale: Afoot on St. Croix (This will be the 2nd in the Mystery in the Islands Mystery Series.)

Tarquin Hall: The Case of the Love Commandos (This will be the 4th of the Files of Vish Puri, India’s Most Private Investigator Mystery Series.)

Charlaine Harris: After Dead: What Came Next in the World of Sookie Stackhouse (This will be the 14th in the Sookie Stackhouse Southern Vampire Mystery Series. It will be perfect for Sookie’s fans, so they get answers to their many “What happened to…?” questions.)

Carolyn Hart: Ghost Gone Wild (This will be the 4th in the Bailey Ruth Ghost Mystery Series.)

Ellen Hart: Taken by the Wind (This will be the 21st in the Jane Lawless Mystery Series.)

Inherit the Dead anthology of 20 mystery authors, including Mary Higgins Clark & Charlaine Harris

Iris Johansen: Silencing Eve (This will be the 17th in the Eve Duncan Mystery Series.)

Diane Kelly: Death, Taxes, and Green Tea Ice Cream (This will be the 6th in the Death and Taxes Mystery Series.)

Sofie Kelly: Final Catcall (This will be the 5th in the Magical Cats Mystery Series.)

Kate Kingsbury (aka Allison Kingsley & Rebecca Kent): Mulled Murder (This will be 9th in the Special Pennyfoot Hotel Mystery Series.) (This is a Christmas theme mystery.)

Joyce and Jim Lavene (aka J. J. Cook & Ellie Grant): A Finder’s Fee (This will be the 5th in the Missing Pieces Mystery Series.)

Kylie Logan (aka Miranda Bliss & Casey Daniels): Chili Con Carnage (This will be the 1st in the NEW Chili Cook-Off Mystery Series.)

Gail Lukasik: Peak Season for Murder (This will be the 3rd in the Leigh Girard Mystery Series.)

Debbie Macomber: Starry Night (This will be a Stand Alone Christmas theme novel. This is not a mystery.)

G. M. Malliet: Pagan Spring (This will be the 3rd in the Max Tudor Mystery Series.) (This is an Easter theme mystery.)

Archer Mayor: Three Can Keep a Secret (This will be the 24th in the Joe Gunther Mystery Series.)

Miss Read: Mrs Griffin Sends Her Love (This is a Miss Read novel. It is not a mystery.)

Sara Paretsky: Critical Mass (This will be the 17th in the V.I. Warshawski Mystery Series.)

James Patterson & Maxine Paetro: Confessions: The Private School Murders (This will be the 2nd in the Confessions Mystery Series.)

Richard North Patterson: Loss of Innocence (This is the 2nd in a planned trilogy.)

Sara Rosett: Milkshakes, Mermaids, and Murder (This will be the 8th in the Mom Zone Mystery Series.)

Lisa Scottoline: Accused (This will be the 12th in the Rosato and Associates Mystery Series.)

To go back to the Cozy Mystery New Book Release page, click here.

Upcoming Television Mystery Movies for September 2013

Here are the mystery movies I was able to glean from TCM’s Now Playing for September 2013. (TCM stands for the Turner Classic Movie channel.) Alfred Hitchcock is being highlighted on Sundays, which is a great thing for those of us who enjoy his work. I know that his movies are thought of as “thrillers” of sorts, but they are also mysteries.

I’m listing the movies in Central time zone. If you know of any other mystery movies that are going to be aired on television during September 2013, please post a comment.

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

Sunday – September 1, 2013

MURDER! (1930) 9:00 AM (Central)
A juror who had voted to convict a murder suspect tries to prove someone else did it before the execution date.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock Cast: Herbert Marshall, Nora Baring, Miles Mander
BW-100 mins, TV-PG

ROPE (1948) 11:00 AM (Central)
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, TV-14, CC

SPELLBOUND (1945) 12:30 PM (Central)
A psychiatrist tries to help the man she loves solve a murder buried in his subconscious.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock Cast: Ingrid Bergman, Gregory Peck, Michael Chekhov
BW-111 mins, TV-PG, CC

THE BIRDS (1963) 4:45 PM (Central)
In a California coastal area, flocks of birds unaccountably make deadly attacks on humans.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock Cast: Rod Taylor, Tippi Hedren, Jessica Tandy
C-119 mins, TV-14, CC, Letterbox Format

SHADOW OF A DOUBT (1943) 7:00 PM (Central)
A young girl fears her favorite uncle may be a killer.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock Cast: Teresa Wright, Joseph Cotten, MacDonald Carey
BW-108 mins, TV-PG, CC

PSYCHO (1960) 9:00 PM (Central)
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, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format

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

Monday – September 2, 2013

FRENZY (1972) 2:30 AM (Central)
When a temperamental man’s ex-wife falls victim to a serial killer, he becomes the number one suspect.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock Cast: Jon Finch, Barry Foster, Barbara Leigh-Hunt
C-116 mins, TV-MA, CC, Letterbox Format
THE PITFALL (1948) 3:15 PM (Central)
A married insurance man falls for a criminal’s girlfriend.
Dir: Andre DeToth Cast: Dick Powell, Lizabeth Scott, Jane Wyatt
BW-86 mins, TV-PG

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

Thursday – September 5, 2013

VERTIGO (1958) 8:00 PM (Central)
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-130 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format

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

Friday – September 6, 2013

PUSHOVER (1954) 1:30 AM (Central)
A police detective falls for the bank robber’s girlfriend he is supposed to be tailing.
Dir: Richard Quine Cast: Fred MacMurray, Phil Carey, Kim Novak
BW-88 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format

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

Sunday – September 8, 2013

STAGE FRIGHT (1950) 11:00 AM (Central)
An acting student goes undercover to prove a singing star killed her husband.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock Cast: Jane Wyman, Marlene Dietrich, Michael Wilding
BW-110 mins, TV-PG, CC

I CONFESS (1953) 1:00 PM (Central)
A priest suspected of murder can only clear himself by violating the sanctity of the confessional.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock Cast: Montgomery Clift, Anne Baxter, Karl Malden
BW-95 mins, TV-PG, CC

THE WRONG MAN (1956) 3:00 PM (Central)
A musician is mistaken for a vicious thief, with devastating results.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock Cast: Henry Fonda , Vera Miles , Anthony Quayle .
BW-105 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format

SABOTEUR (1942) 5:00 PM (Central)
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, TV-PG, CC

FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT (1940) 7:00 PM (Central)
An American reporter covering the war in Europe gets mixed up in the assassination of a Dutch diplomat.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock Cast: Joel McCrea, Laraine Day, Herbert Marshall
BW-120 mins, TV-PG, CC

NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959) 9:15 PM (Central)
An advertising man is mistaken for a spy, triggering a deadly cross-country chase.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock Cast: Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, James Mason
C-136 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format

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

Wednesday – September 11, 2013

I CONFESS (1953) 1:00 AM (Central)
A priest suspected of murder can only clear himself by violating the sanctity of the confessional.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock Cast: Montgomery Clift, Anne Baxter, Karl Malden
BW-95 mins, TV-PG, CC

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

Thursday – September 12, 2013

OUT OF THE PAST (1947) 4:30 PM (Central)
A private eye becomes the dupe of a homicidal moll.
Dir: Jacques Tourneur Cast: Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, Kirk Douglas
BW-97 mins, TV-PG, CC

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

Saturday – September 14, 2013

SKY MURDER (1940) 9:45 AM (Central)
Detective Nick Carter tries to prove a beautiful immigrant innocent of murder.
Dir: George B. Seitz Cast: Walter Pidgeon, Donald Meek, Karen Verne
BW-72 mins, TV-PG

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

Sunday – September 15, 2013

NUMBER SEVENTEEN (1932) 9:00 AM (Central)
A detective sets out to recover a necklace lifted by jewel thieves.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock Cast: Leon M. Lion, Anne Grey, Donald Calthrop
BW-61 mins, TV-PG

THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH (1956) 2:30 PM (Central)
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, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format

VERTIGO (1958) 4:45 PM (Central)
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-130 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format

REAR WINDOW (1954) 7:00 PM (Central)
A photographer with a broken leg uncovers a murder while spying on the neighbors in a nearby apartment building.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock Cast: James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Wendell Corey
C-114 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format

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

Wednesday – September 18, 2013

THE HOUSEKEEPER’S DAUGHTER (1939) 5:00 AM (Central)
A gangster’s moll runs home to mother, with reporters and amateur detectives hot on her tail.
Dir: Hal Roach Cast: Joan Bennett, Adolphe Menjou, John Hubbard
BW-80 mins, TV-G, CC

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

Saturday – September 21, 2013

DETECTIVE KITTY O’DAY (1944) 9:45 AM (Central)
An amateur sleuth drives her boyfriend and the police crazy when she butts into a murder investigation.
Dir: William Beaudine Cast: Jean Parker, Peter Cookson, Tim Ryan
BW-61 mins, TV-G,

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

Sunday – September 22, 2013

THE LADY VANISHES (1938) 12:15 PM (Central)
A young woman on vacation triggers an international incident when she tries to track an elderly friend who has disappeared.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock Cast: Margaret Lockwood, Michael Redgrave, Paul Lukas
BW-96 mins, TV-G, CC

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

Tuesday – September 24, 2013

BLACK WIDOW (1954) 4:00 PM (Central)
The murder of a scheming female writer throws a group of theatrical friends into turmoil.
Dir: Nunnally Johnson Cast: Ginger Rogers, Van Heflin, Gene Tierney
C-95 mins, TV-14, CC, Letterbox Format

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

Saturday – September 28, 2013

ADVENTURES OF KITTY O’DAY (1944) 9:45 AM (Central)
A perky switchboard operator investigates murders that baffle the police.
Dir: William Beaudine Cast: Jean Parker, Peter Cookson, Tim Ryan
BW-63 mins, TV-G

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

Sunday – September 29, 2013

EYES OF LAURA MARS (1978) 3:00 AM (Central)
A fashion photographer develops the ability to see through the eyes of a serial killer.
Dir: Irvin Kershner Cast: Faye Dunaway, Tom Lee Jones, Brad Dourif
C-103 mins, TV-14, Letterbox Format

THE STRANGE LOVE OF MARTHA IVERS (1946) 5:00 AM (Central)
Years after a murder drove them apart, an heiress tries to win back her lost love.
Dir: Lewis Milestone Cast: Barbara Stanwyck, Van Heflin, Lizabeth Scott
BW-116 mins, TV-PG, CC
(*** Not a mystery, but one of my favorite Barbara Stanwyck movies. She is absolutely wonderful in it.***)

DEAD RECKONING (1947) 7:00 AM (Central)
A tough veteran sets out to solve his war buddy’s murder.
Dir: John Cromwell Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Lizabeth Scott, Morris Carnovsky
BW-100 mins, TV-PG, CC

SUSPICION (1941) 1:00 PM (Central)
A wealthy wallflower suspects her penniless playboy husband of murder.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock Cast: Cary Grant, Joan Fontaine, Sir Cedric Hardwicke
BW-100 mins, TV-PG, CC

STRANGERS ON A TRAIN (1951) 3:00 PM (Central)
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, TV-PG, CC

DIAL M FOR MURDER (1954) 5:00 PM (Central)
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, TV-PG, CC

REBECCA (1940) 7:00 PM (Central)
A young bride is terrorized by the memories of her husband’s glamorous first wife.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock Cast: Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine, George Sanders
BW-130 mins, TV-PG, CC

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

If you know of any other mystery movies that are going to be airing this month, feel free to post a comment.

(All of the above descriptions were copied from the TCM site. I hope they don’t change their line-up!)

If you would like to see more Television and Movies ideas, click on this link.

Cozy Mysteries Recommendations – August 2013

Today is the first day of school for our school district. Unbelievable! It is just so hard to believe that fall will officially begin in less than a month (September 22). I am getting a little antsy to put my fall theme knick-knacks out on my desk so that I know it will officially be the time of year when the leaves are supposed to be turning different hues of golds and coppers. Good grief, living here in San Antonio I really miss my seasons!

Getting back to the purpose of this entry: It is time to post our August 2013 Cozy Mysteries Recommendations. I am going to begin with my current book’s author, Margaret Grace. (I’m reading her Halloween mystery, Monster in Miniature. I just could not wait until next month!)

Margaret Grace (aka Camille Minichino & Ada Madison) writes the Miniature Mystery Series.  I started reading Grace’s books after I finished reading Minichino’s Periodic Table Mystery Series. (I should probably explain that her “real name” is Camille Minichino.)

I find Grace (I’ll refer to her as Grace, since it is “her” series I am currently reading) to be a no-nonsense author. By this I mean that she doesn’t dilly-dally with stupid sleuths doing stupid things in stupid plots. Hmmm, I guess that doesn’t explain it either. I mean that her sleuths are very smart women. These women are not shrinking violets in any manner. They are strong women, with definite purposes in life.

Grace has the ability to write the way I think. That probably doesn’t make a lot of sense, but what I mean is both the plot and the dialog in her books ring true. (For those of you who don’t like swearing, you’ll be glad to know that Grace doesn’t have to rely on it to get her point across.)

I am also going to include two other authors who I wrote an entry about very recently: Hazel Holt and Spencer Quinn. (This link will take you to my entry which explains why I enjoy them.)

Please tell us about the one Cozy Mystery (or possibly more than one) that you read during August. These should be books that you think the rest of us simply have got to know about. Please include why you enjoyed each book so that we can read your reason and then determine if it sounds like a good book for us to try reading.

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

[Also, if you click on the author’s name (blue) link, it will take you to their page on the Cozy Mystery site. Their page has all of the author’s books listed chronologically.]

What Cozy Mystery book (or author) have you read during August 2013, and why did you enjoy it (or him/her)?

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

Donna Andrews: Meg Langslow Mystery Series

Connie Archer: Soup Lover’s Mystery Series

C.A. Belmond: Penny Nichols Mystery Series 

Annette Blair: Vintage Magic Mystery Series

Melissa Bourbon (aka Misa Ramirez): Magical Dressmaking Mystery Series

Rhys Bowen: Royal Spyness Mystery Series

Susan Boyer: Lowcountry Bombshell (reportedly not a Cozy)

Elizabeth Lynn Casey (aka Laura Bradford): Southern Sewing Circle Mystery Series

Peg Cochran (aka Meg London): Gourmet De-Lite Mystery Series

Kate Collins: Flower Shop Mystery Series

J.J. Cook (aka Joyce and Jim Lavene & Ellie Grant): Sweet Pepper Fire Brigade Mystery Series

Shelley Costa: Miracolo Mystery Series

Ellen Crosby: Multiple Exposure (Sophie Medina Mystery Series)

Diane Mott Davidson: Goldy Bear Mystery Series

Julianna Deering: Rules of Murder (Drew Farthering Mystery Series)

Gale Deitch: A Fine Fix (Trudie Fine Mystery Series)

Ilsa Evans: Nefarious Doings (Nell Forrest Mystery Series)

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

Earlene Fowler: Ruby McGavin Series (reportedly not a mystery)

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

Kerry Greenwood: Phryne Fisher Mystery Series

Elly Griffiths: Ruth Galloway Mystery Series (The Crossing Places – book 1 & Dying Fall – book #5 )

Rosemary Harris: Dirty Business Mystery Series

Hazel Holt: Mrs. Malory Mystery Series

Jerusha Jones: Imogene Museum Mysteries (Rock Bottom – book #1)

Amanda Lee (aka Gayle Trent): Embroidery Mystery Series 

Sherry Lewis(aka Jacklyn Brady): Fred Vickery Mystery Series

Lisa Lutz: Izzy Spellman Mystery Series

Karen MacInerney: Gray Whale Inn Mystery Series

Charlotte MacLeod (aka Alisa Craig): Peter Shandy Mystery Series

Susan Elia MacNeal: Maggie Hope Mystery Series

Molly MacRae: Haunted Yarn Shop Mystery Series

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

Judy Nickles: The Bogus Biker (Penelope Pembroke Mysteries Series)

Gigi Pandian: Artifact (Jaya Jones Treasure Hunt Mystery Series)

Spencer Quinn (aka Peter Abrahams): Chet and Bernie Mystery Series

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

Maggie Sefton: Molly Malone Mystery Series

Shirley Tallman: Death on Telegraph Hill (Sarah Woolson Mystery Series)

Gayle Trent (aka Amanda Lee): Daphne Martin Cake Mystery Series

Victoria Thompson: Gaslight Mystery Series

Patricia Wentworth: Miss Silver Mystery Series

Lauren Willig: Pink Carnation Mystery Series

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

Updating the Holiday Mysteries Pages on the Cozy Mystery Site…

I have been busy “behind the scenes” getting the holiday pages updated and in a more orderly format. I know, I know! It’s way too early to be thinking about the holidays, or is it?!?

Around here, as soon as children return to school, the stores down-size their school supply merchandise and start pushing their Halloween items. And with school starting in just a few days (Monday) that means we’ll have more than two months to “enjoy” the Halloween items.

I say “enjoy” rather skeptically. As a home with diabetes, the all-too-often and all-too-present large bags of chocolate bars greeting me at the entrance of almost all the stores is rather tempting. I say tempting because I know all too well that we simply can’t have it in the house. (Chocolate is simply a red light item for ALL of us, those with and without diabetes!)

Getting back to my “behind the scenes” goings on >>> I am just about finished updating and consolidating the different Holiday pages.  I have added more books and holiday themes, although I’m not quite finished yet. (I am thinking about adding a Birthday mysteries list, although I’m not 100% sure.)

The one draw-back of updating the lists is that I am now starting on a holiday book that I have been wanting to read for a while, but that I tried to put off until the correct season. I have been wanting to read Margaret Grace’s Monster in Miniature for several months, but made myself save it until the Halloween season. Well, after all of these holiday titles, I simply could not hold myself back, and am (probably for the first time ever!) reading one of “my” holiday mysteries out of season. (Now you see how bad I am about foregoing my temptations!)

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