The Cozy Mystery List Blog

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

A Touch of Frost Television Series

A Touch of Frost is yet another example of a British police procedural television show that (to me) makes most of these types of shows made in the USA look overly ambitious and… if you’ll excuse me for saying… idiotic.

A Touch of Frost began airing in 1992 and continued many years after that (2010). The shows are based on the mystery books by author R. D. Wingfield. I have read several of Wingfield’s mysteries, and highly recommend them to people who want to read a really good police procedural series. Unfortunately, there are only six in this mystery series.

The always-entertaining actor, David Jason, portrays  Detective Inspector Jack Frost. This is another example of an actor who made the part his own, much like John Thaw in the British Inspector Morse television series. (See what I mean?!? Bravo to the Brits!)

I think what I like the most about A Touch of Frost is the interaction Jack has with everyone – both his superiors and his subordinates, as well as the individuals he interviews. Frost isn’t the most patient man, but his character exudes an incredible amount of empathy for others, which in a lot of  television police procedurals is lacking.

He is a great detective, as well as a wonderful teacher. For some reason, Frost seems to be assigned a lot of young “newbies” to teach the ropes to. Unfortunately, some of Jack’s “ropes” include tip-toeing down the hallways to avoid his superiors (more on that later) as well as leaving piles of unfinished paperwork on his desk.

Frost’s permanent sergeant is Detective Sergeant George Toolan, played by John Lyons. There is a great rapport between these two men. However, the most interesting interaction for me is between Jack and the young detectives assigned to him. While Jack seems gruff with them, he actually is a perfect teacher for them. I always feel like those young detectives have benefited immensely from their time with unconventional and independent Jack.

As in a lot of police procedural television shows, Jack and his boss (Superintendent Mullett – played by Bruce Alexander) don’t see eye to eye. As a matter of fact, if Jack sees his boss before Mullett sees him, Jack makes it a point to slip out/hide/leave very quickly… before Mullett sees him. This makes for some comedic scenes.

My husband and two adult children watched the entire series, which of course indicates that we like it. There is one minor qualm we have with the show: for some reason, Jack invariably runs after culprits.. literally! We didn’t notice this until the final seasons of the show. We would find ourselves wondering when Jack would start running after the robust, young criminals, and when he would overtake them. (Did I mention that Jack is not a young man?) Jack would run up stairs, down stairs, through corridors with obstacles being thrown at him, etc. (Or should I say ETC?!? As in capital etc!) While I always enjoy David Jason, and I must admit he has kept himself very trim, we just found it a little odd that a man of his age could tackle/catch men one third his age. We couldn’t quite understand why the director decided to include these action-filled chase scenes.

Regardless, we all truly enjoyed A Touch of Frost, and I highly recommend it.

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

Between Books…

I just finished my latest mystery book early last week, and I am having a difficult time picking out my next read. I have been trying to enjoy a non mystery book that I got several years ago that was supposed to be a lot like my very favorite author’s books, but it was nothing like them at all!

I know it seems odd that someone who has dedicated so much time to reading Cozy Mystery books, not to mention someone who actually has a site called Cozy-Mystery, would have a favorite author who is not known as a mystery author.

I have a lot of Cozy Mystery authors on my “favorite authors” list, but for some reason, which I myself can’t figure out, my very favorite of all authors is E. F. Benson, the author of (as I say on the “B” page of my site) “my absolute favorite sequence of books”. I don’t follow all of E. F. Benson’s books, just his Lucia series. (I have some of his other works, but Lucia reigns supreme for me!)

Getting back to my “Between Books” entry >>> I felt like it was finally the time to read one of my “Similar to E. F. Benson” books. I’m here to say, as far as I can see, this author is not similar in any way to Benson. What a disappointment! I tried to like this author, honest I did. But as with many things that are “talked up” >>> it fell quite short of my expectations.

So, I’m back to my Cozy Mystery books. (Yes indeed, every once in a while a stray from my beloved Cozy Mystery books, and read a non mystery!) I have decided to start reading one of the authors on my “favorite authors” list, Charlotte MacLeod. As I have said before (many times!) I try to space out my favorite authors so that I don’t run out of them. Silly as this may seem, it works for me.  When I know there will be no more books in a particular series, I “save” the books so that I can sprinkle them into my reading queue.  Needless to say, I am way behind with most of my favorite authors.)

Sparkle Abbey, Barbara Burgess, Alyse Carlson, Diane Kelly, Blanche Day Manos, & Earl H. Smith – Five of the Newest Author Additions to the Cozy Mystery Site

I just added five new-to-the Cozy Mystery site authors, but there are actually seven people who write. (It gets quite confusing to me when I add these types of pages to the site!) One of the series is co-written by two authors under one pseudonym and another of the series is written by two authors, both with their own names on the books.

Sparkle Abbey: Abbey is a pseudonym that Mary Lee Woods and Anita Carter came up with, in honor of their two pets. As Abbey, they write the Pampered Pets Mystery Series. This series features two sleuths: Mel Langston is an ex-beauty queen who now owns the Bow Wow Boutique and Caro Lamont, who is an ex-psychologist who now works as a pet therapist.

Alyse Carlson: Carlson writes the Garden Society Mystery Series, which is set in Virginia. This series features Camelia Harris, a P.R. promoter for the very exclusive Roanoke Garden Society.

Diane Kelly: Kelly is an ex lawyer and tax accountant who writes the Tara Holloway Death and Taxes Mystery Series. It is set in Dallas, Texas, where Tara works for the Internal Revenue Service. Tara is a criminal investigations agent.

Blanche Day Manos & Barbara Burgess: Manos (an ex-teacher) and Burgess (a retired trial court administrator) coauthor the Darcy / Flora Mystery Series. This series is set in a friendly, small town in Oklahoma. Darcy Campbell and her mother Flora Tucker are the two sleuths in this mystery series.

Earl H. Smith:  Smith was both a professor and a Dean at a college in Maine before he decided to write fiction. He has written a humorous murder mystery set in a small town in Maine.

Mother’s Day, Sister’s Day, Daughter’s Day Girlfriends’ Day…

Many, many years ago (what seems a lifetime ago) I met my very best girlfriend my first year at college. We have been through a lot together! College, boyfriends, jobs, husbands, births, children, losses, in short: life. A while back she sent me this letter, which I meant to post yesterday, on the one day during the year that we honor women. (I’m sorry, I don’t know the author. I have tried to find him/her, but have only been able to find a lot of sites that have this posted.)

“A young wife sat on a sofa on a hot and humid day, drinking iced tea and visiting with her mother. As they talked about life, about marriage, about the responsibilities of life and the obligations of adulthood, the mother clinked the ice cubes in her glass thoughtfully and turned a clear, sober glance upon her daughter.

“Don’t forget your sisters,” she advised, swirling the tea leaves to the bottom of her glass. “They’ll be more important as you get older. No matter how much you love your husband, no matter how much you love the children you may have, you are still going to need sisters. Remember to go places with them now and then; do things with them.”

“Remember that ‘sisters’ means ALL the women… Your girlfriends, your daughters, and all your other women relatives too. You’ll need other women. Women always do.”

“What a funny piece of advice!” the young woman thought. “Haven’t I just gotten married? Haven’t I just joined the couple-world? I’m now a married woman, for goodness sake! A grownup! Surely my husband and the family we may start will be all I need to make my life worthwhile!”

But she listened to her mother. She kept contact with her sisters and made more women friends each year. As the years tumbled by, one after another, she gradually came to understand that her mother really knew what she was talking about. As time and nature work their changes and their mysteries upon a woman, sisters are the mainstays of her life.

After more than 50 years of living in this world, here is what I’ve learned:

THIS SAYS IT ALL:

Time passes. Life happens. Distance separates. Children grow up. Jobs come and go. Love waxes and wanes. Men don’t do what they’re supposed to do. Hearts break. Parents die. Colleagues forget favors. Careers end.

BUT………

Sisters are there, no matter how much time and how many miles are between you. A girl friend is never farther away than needing her can reach. When you have to walk that lonesome valley and you have to walk it by yourself, the women in your life will be on the valley’s rim, cheering you on, praying for you, pulling for you, intervening on your behalf, and waiting with open arms at the valley’s’ end. Sometimes, they will even break the rules and walk beside you….Or come in and carry you out.

Girlfriends, daughters, granddaughters, daughters-in-law, sisters, sisters-in-law, mothers, grandmothers, aunties, nieces, cousins, and extended family – all bless our life!

The world wouldn’t be the same without women, and neither would I. When we began this adventure called Womanhood, we had no idea of the incredible joys or sorrows that lay ahead. Nor did we know how much we would need each other. Every day, we need each other still.

Pass this on to all the women who help make your life meaningful. I just did.”

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