The Cozy Mystery List Blog

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

Mystery Authors Akin to Elizabeth Peters…

This comment is from Amy. She is looking for suggestions of authors she might enjoy reading next, based on her previous mystery book encounters. Amy asks:

“I am looking for new authors to read. I really enjoyed Elizabeth Peters’ stand alone books and the Vicki Bliss series but I have finished them. I also really enjoyed some of Mary Stewart’s books. The settings are so well described that they make me want to travel. I am tired of spending money on what seems like a good mystery but it ends up being a smutty romance or has really horrible crime details. I like a romance as part of a mystery but I want mostly mystery and I don’t want explicit sex, gory murders, graphic violence or lots of bad language. (I can take a bit of sex and a bit of bad language, it just needs to be sparse.) I’m not into multiple partners. That’s not romantic. Any advice from others readers?”

Do any of you have any ideas as to whom Amy might enjoy reading next?

(By the way, Elizabeth Peters list is on my site here.)

Thank you for your help!

Cozy Mystery Book with a Touch of Paranormal, and a Whole Lot of Sweeping!

It’s that time again! I have a “notepad” called “Blog Entries” that I keep a list of questions and/or comments from some of you, so that I can get input (usually help!) from you all. This latest letter is from Adele. She writes:

“… I have been perusing your web site and trying to find a book that I read a few years back. Ok…I bought it in paperback from a local book dealer (not Amazon, so no record of purchase). The book is now long gone, but I would like to read more of this author. And silly me, of course I forgot to write down the author’s name.

I think it was a cooking cozy mystery. I’m pretty sure it took place somewhere in Boston – New England in general, definitely not Georgia. There is magic involved as one of the characters kept trying to make the shop broomstick fly and eventually did and it chased the culprit down the street. The broomstick always comes back to the owner. The owner of the shop is the protagonist. I don’t remember if it was a pie shop, muffin shop or bakery shop.

… Thanks for any clue or hint you can give me.”

I wrote to Adele and told her I would ask you all for your help in identifying the author of this book. (I also told her that we have a pretty good success rate!)

Thank you for your help!

June 2013 Mystery Book New Releases

The following Mystery Books will be released in June 2013:

Jeffrey Allen: Father Knows Death (This will be the 3rd in the Stay at Home Dad Mystery Series.)

Mary Kay Andrews (aka Kathy Hogan Trochek): Ladies’ Night (This will be a Stand Alone.)

Janet Bolin: Thread and Buried (This will be the 3rd in the Threadville Mystery Series.)

Stephen Booth: Already Dead (This will be the 14th in the Cooper & Fry Mystery Series.)

Kate Carlisle: A Cookbook Conspiracy (This will be the 8th in the Bibliophile Mystery Series.)

Grace Carroll (aka Carol Culver): Murder After a Fashion (This will be the 3rd in the Accessories Mystery Series.)

Jane K. Cleland: Lethal Treasure (This will be the 8th in the Josie Prescott Mystery Series.)

Peg Cochran (aka Meg London): Steamed to Death (This will be the 2nd in the Gourmet De-Lite Mystery Series.)

Sheila Connolly (aka Sarah Atwell): Monument to the Dead (This will be the 4th in the Museum Mystery Series.)

Susan Rogers Cooper: Dark Waters (This will be the 12th in the Milt Kovak Mystery Series.)

Jeanne M. Dams: Murder at the Castle (This will be the 13th in the Dorothy Martin Mystery Series.)

Krista Davis: The Diva Frosts a Cupcake (This will be the 7th in the Domestic Diva Mystery Series.)

Lindsey Davis: The Ides of April (This will be the 1st in the NEW Flavia Albia Mystery Series.)

Jeffery Deaver: The Kill Room (This will be the 19th in the Lincoln Rhyme Mystery Series.)

Kerry Greenwood: Medea (This is a reprint of the 3rd in Greenwoods Delphic Women Trilogy.)

Beth Groundwater: Fatal Descent (This will be the 3rd in the Rocky Mountain Outdoor Adventures Mystery Series.)

Janice Hamrick: Death Rides Again (This will be the 3rd in the Jocelyn Shore Mystery Series.) (This is a Thanksgiving theme mystery book.)

Carl Hiaasen: Bad Monkey (This will be a Stand Alone.)

Tami Hoag: The 9th Girl (This will be the 4th in the Sam Kovac Mystery Series.)

Dorothy Howell: Evening Bags and Executions (This is the 7th in the Haley Randolph Mystery Series.)

Allison Kingsley (aka Kate Kingsbury & Rebecca Kent): Trouble Vision (This will be the 3rd in the Raven’s Nest Bookstore Mystery Series.)

Kylie Logan (aka Miranda Bliss & Casey Daniels): Mayhem at the Orient Express (This will be the 1st in the NEW League of Literary Ladies Mystery Series.)

Catriona McPherson: As She Left It (This will be a Stand Alone.)

Joyce Carol Oates: Bellefleur (This will be a Stand Alone.)

James Patterson & Howard Roughan: Second Honeymoon (This will be the 2nd in the Honeymoon Mystery Series.)

Kate Sedley: The Christmas Wassail (This will be the 22nd in the Roger the Chapman Mystery Series.) (This is a Christmas theme mystery book.) (Actually, July 1)

Maggie Sefton: Close Knit Killer (This will be the 11th in the Knitting Mystery Series.)

Clea Simon: Grey Dawn (This will be the 6th in the Dulcie Schwartz Mystery Series.)

Robert K. Tanenbaum: Tragic (This will be the 25th in the Butch Karp and Marlene Ciampi Mystery Series.)

Sue Owens Wright: Braced for Murder (This will be the 4th in the Beanie & Cruiser Mystery Series.)

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

Upcoming Television Mystery Movies for May 2013

This is the second month I am posting the upcoming television mystery movies on the Turner Classic Movie channel. As I have mentioned several times, I subscribe to TCM’s monthly television movie guide (Now Playing) and actually highlight the movies I think my husband and I might enjoy watching. The movies I’m going to list are all mysteries, except for two that feature one of my very favorite actresses: Judy Holliday.

I have not seen all of these listed movies, so please don’t hold me accountable if they aren’t any good. I am going to be listing these movies in Central time zone, so you might want to check out your local starting times.

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

Thursday – May 2, 2013

ARSENIC AND OLD LACE (1944)  1:30 AM (Central)
A young man about to be married discovers the two aunts who raised him have been poisoning lonely old men.
Dir: Frank Capra Cast: Cary Grant, Priscilla Lane, Raymond Massey
BW-118 mins, TV-G, CC

THE CASE OF THE BLACK CAT (1936)  9:15 AM (Central)
Perry Mason looks into a trio of murders heralded by the shriek of a cat.
Dir: William McGann Cast: Ricardo Cortez, June Travis, Jane Bryan
BW-66 mins, TV-PG

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

Saturday – May 4, 2013

THE FALCON TAKES OVER (1942)  9:45 AM (Central)
A society sleuth and a lady reporter try to track down a murderous thug’s lost girlfriend.
Dir: Irving Reis Cast: George Sanders, Lynn Bari, James Gleason
BW-63 mins, TV-G

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

Tuesday – May 7, 2013

CROSSFIRE (1947)  9:00 PM (Central)
A crusading district attorney investigates the murder of a Jewish man.|
Dir: Edward Dmytryk Cast: Robert Young, Robert Mitchum, Robert Ryan
BW-86 mins, TV-PG, CC

OUT OF THE PAST (1947)  10:30 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

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

Wednesday – May 8, 2013

THE NAKED CITY (1948)  2:15 AM (Central)
A step-by-step look at a murder investigation on the streets of New York.
Dir: Jules Dassin Cast: Barry Fitzgerald, Howard Duff, Dorothy Hart
BW-96 mins, TV-14, CC

SO LONG AT THE FAIR (1950)  5:30 PM (Central)
A woman searches for her missing brother in Paris despite the fact that nobody believes he exists.
Dir: Antony Darnborough Cast: Honor Blackman, Jean Simmons, Dirk Bogarde
BW-86 mins, TV-PG, CC

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

Thursday – May 9, 2013

SPIRITS OF THE DEAD (1969)  4:00 PM  (Central)
This film comprises three supernatural tales based on the works of Edgar Allan Poe.
Dir: Roger Vadim Cast: Vincent Price, Jane Fonda, Peter Fonda
C-121 mins, TV-14, Letterbox Format

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

Friday – May 10, 2013

UNDER CAPRICORN (1949)  10:00 PM  (Central)
Newly arrived in Australia, a man discovers his childhood love is now an alcoholic.
Dir: Alfred Hitchcock Cast: Ingrid Bergman, Joseph Cotten, Michael Wilding
C-117 mins, TV-PG, CC

♦♦♦(I wasn’t sure if this is a mystery until I noticed that on page 4 of TCM’s May Now Playing magazine, this is written: “…Under Capricorn (1949) a compelling murder mystery set in 19th-century Australia that was one of the few Alfred Hitchcock films of its period not to capture the public fancy;…”

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

Saturday – May 11, 2013

THE FALCON’S BROTHER (1942)  9:45 AM  (Central)
A gentlemanly detective calls on his brother to help him stop the Nazis from assassinating a key diplomat.
Dir: Stanley Logan Cast: George Sanders, Tom Conway, Jane Randolph
BW-63 mins, TV-G

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

Wednesday – May 15, 2013

THE THIRD MAN, THE (1949)  8:30 AM (Central)
A man’s investigation of a friend’s death uncovers corruption in post-World War II Vienna.
Dir: Carol Reed Cast: Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Orson Welles
BW-104 mins, TV-14, CC

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

Thursday – May 16, 2013

BORN YESTERDAY (1950)  4:30 AM (Central)
A newspaper reporter takes on the task of educating a crooked businessman’s girlfriend.
Dir: George Cukor Cast: Judy Holliday, Broderick Crawford, William Holden
BW-102 mins, TV-PG, CC

THE SOLID GOLD CADILLAC (1956)  1:15 PM (Central)
A small time investor takes on the management of a major corporation.
Dir: Richard Quine Cast: Judy Holliday, Paul Douglas, Fred Clark
C-100 mins, TV-G

♦♦♦(Neither of these movies are mysteries. They are both movies that star one of my all time favorite actresses: Judy Holliday.)

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

Friday – May 17, 2013

MAD HOLIDAY (1936) 6:15 AM (Central)
A temperamental film star’s vacation turns deadly when he uncovers a murder.
Dir: George B. Seitz Cast: Edmund Lowe, Elissa Landi, ZaSu Pitts
BW-72 mins, TV-G

THE THIRTEENTH CHAIR (1937)  7:30 AM (Central)
A phony psychic tries to solve a murder that took place during her seance.
Dir: George B. Seitz Cast: Dame May Whitty, Madge Evans, Lewis Stone
BW-67 mins, TV-G

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

Saturday – May 18, 2013

THE FALCON STRIKES BACK (1943) 9:45 AM (Central)
A society sleuth is framed for murder by criminals running a war-bond racket.
Dir: Edward Dmytryk Cast: Tom Conway, Harriet Hilliard, Jane Randolph
BW-66 mins, TV-G

MURDER BY DEATH (1976)  10:15 PM (Central)
A criminal madman invites the world’s greatest detectives for a night of dinner and murder.
Dir: Robert Moore Cast: Peter Falk, Truman Capote, Alec Guinness
BW-95 mins, TV-14, CC, Letterbox Format

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

Sunday – May 19, 2013

TEN LITTLE INDIANS (1966) 5:15 AM (Central)
Party guests at a remote mansion have been brought together to pay for past crimes.
Dir: George Pollock Cast: Hugh O’Brian, Shirley Eaton, Fabian
C-90 mins, TV-14, CC, Letterbox Format
♦♦♦(Based on Agatha Christie‘s mystery.)

JOHNNY O’CLOCK (1947)  11:00 AM (Central)
Gambling hall owners get mixed up with a cop on the take, leading to murder and mystery.
Dir: Robert Rossen Cast: Dick Powell, Evelyn Keyes, Lee J. Cobb
BW-96 mins, TV-PG, CC

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

Sunday – May 26, 2013

FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT (1940)  3:30 AM (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

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

Friday – May 31, 2013

A NEW LEAF (1971)  3:30 AM (Central)
A playboy squanders his wealth and must seek out a new source to maintain his idle rich lifestyle, namely marrying a rich woman and … murdering her.
Dir: Elaine May Cast: Walter Matthau, Elaine May, Jack Weston .
C-102 mins, TV-PG, CC, Letterbox Format

♦♦♦(While this isn’t technically a mystery, I enjoyed this movie and think some of you might, too. On page 4 of TCM’s May Now Playing it says: “Elaine May wrote, directed and stars in A New Leaf (1971), a black comedy in which she plays a wealthy wallflower pursued by an impoverished playboy (Walter Matthau) with murder on his mind.“)

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

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!)

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