The Cozy Mystery List Blog

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

Sleuth Sister with Beer-Drinking Cat

Sue asked me the following:

“Hoping someone can help me. I’ve been searching for years for a book I read around 1969 or thereabouts. A woman goes in search of her sister, taking her cat with her. The cat likes a saucer of beer once in awhile. The woman develops pleurisy and has her ribs taped up. When she finally locates her sister, it turns out that the sister is *******. The woman might be a librarian (not sure) and she drives an old car (might be a Volkswagen, not sure).”

If you have any idea of who the author is, or the series, please post a comment.

Thank you!

PS>>> I had to look up “pleurisy” :” inflammation of the pleura, characterized by pain that is aggravated by deep breathing or coughing”

Which led me to have to look up “pleura” : “a delicate serous membrane investing each lung in mammals and folded back as a lining of the corresponding side of the thorax.”

I love this site:  http://dictionary.reference.com/

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I substituted “*******” in Sue’s question. It stands for the ‘bad guy.’

Dicey Deere: Where Are You?

Isabella asked for help locating new books by Dicey Deere:

“So can someone please comment on what Dicey Deere is doing, and whether there is a chance of her writing anymore books.
I know that there are many authors out there, but I really love her writing and how the stories take place in Ireland.”

Does anyone know if Dicey Deere is writing under another name?

Authors Who Are Similar to Donna Huston Murray

Mary Joy wrote a letter to me that included the following:

“For me the sleuth is always a woman and she lives in very comfortable, if sometimes eccentric surroundings. She can live alone or with or without any combination of boyfriend, husband  and children. As soon as she gets home, she tries, not always successfully, to head for a nice bath or shower followed by a favorite meal or drink – the way we wish life could always be.

One of the authors she follows is Donna Huston Murray. She would like some ideas of:

Authors Who Are Similar to Donna Huston Murray:

Kate Borden: Peggy Jean Turner Mystery Series

Jill Churchill: Jane Jeffry Mystery Series

Diane Mott Davidson: Goldy Bear (Catering) Mystery Series

Monica Ferris: Needlecraft Mystery Series

Sarah Graves: Home Repair is Homicide Mystery Series

Carolyn Hart: Death On Demand Mystery Series AND Henrie O Mystery Series

Leslie Meier: Lucy Stone Mystery Series

Ayelet Waldman: Mommy Track Mystery Series

Valerie Wolzien: Susan Henshaw Mystery Series

Please post your recommendations of authors who are similar to Donna Huston Murray, and I will add them to the list.

♦To access more Cozy Mysteries by theme click on this link.♦

In Plain Sight is Back!

The USA channel show In Plain Sight is going to be returning tonight! Yes, tonight – March 16, 2012. Mary (Mary McCormack) will be back after maternity leave, and Brandi (Nichole Hiltz), … well, I’m assuming she will still be single after last season’s cliff hanger. I sure hope we get to see more of Jinx (Lesley Ann Warren) this season, and I also hope this show is not in its last season! (It’s going to be bad enough losing The Closer after this summer’s run!)

In Plain Sight is one of my favorite shows. It ranks (for me) right up there with TNT’s The Closer. Both of these shows are on “non-major” networks, which may have something to do with how women are portrayed on the major networks, and perhaps because they aren’t major network shows, the writers try harder. (I don’t know of any really good shows that feature strong, female leads on the major networks. – I’m sure though, that I will hear from people who know of such shows, they just aren’t shows that have “hooked me” into watching them.)

And, the writers have managed to make the male characters on the show interesting, also. I love Marshall Marshall Mann (Frederick Weller),  Mary’s long-suffering boss Stan (Paul Ben-Victor), and think Brandi made a terrible mistake with Peter (Joshua Malina). As for Raphael (Cristián de la Fuente), well… what’s to say? I guess Mary just didn’t want to be burdened with absolute perfection!

If you haven’t already watched In Plain Sight, I strongly recommend that you do. (I would definitely watch it chronologically, though.) If you are a fan (as I am!): Get over to your DVR right now, or make sure you are watching tonight as Albuquerque’s Witness Protection marshalls do their thing!

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