The Cozy Mystery List Blog

I just cannot believe that the year is almost over. All sorts of January 1, 2011 resolutions have turned into nothing more than just good intentions. Let’s see… I was going to lose twenty to thirty pounds by 2012, oh-oh, I had better get started!

I am sitting here at my computer listening to George Winston’s superb piano playing, I have my Fresh Frasier Fir scented wax melts brewing on my coffee cup warmer, and I am looking out of my window at a gloriously gloomy-looking day. It looks like it should be a crisp  and cold December day outside, rather than the high-in-the 70* type of day that it is expected to be.

I am reading Marion Babson‘s The Twelve Deaths of Christmas, and am enjoying it a lot so far. When I first started this mystery, I kept thinking I had read it before. It was published in 1979, so it has been around for a while. But as I progressed, I found that it wasn’t quite as familiar as it would have been, had I read it before. Then it dawned on me: Because you get to “hear” from the actual murderer (some of the chapters are first person narratives), I was thinking of Simon Brett‘s A Nice Class of Corpse, which is another mystery book I really enjoyed.

I have so many things I should be doing right now, but here I sit, procrastinating AGAIN. I have a few things I absolutely have to get done today, of which, making a January 1, 2012 Resolution List is not!

I’m just going to blame it on the sounds of George Winston’s piano…

I really appreciate all of the comments you all post. I know that there are quite a few of us who look forward to seeing what everyone else has to say. I get some of my ideas for posts from what you all talk about. Thank you!

A few months ago, Carrie posted a particularly interesting comment:

“I don’t mind if the cover gives away who the victim is. So many book covers now reveal the victim I’ve got used to knowing who will die before I start reading the book.

I’m more bothered about sloppy research where the author states “facts” that you know are completely wrong for the period or are just plain inaccurate. Or where their geography is so poor you wonder if they have ever bothered to look at a map. My personal favorite is one author who had her heroine sailing to Switzerland! I can only assume their editors are equally geographically challenged.

Also, poor use of language really irritates me. I’ve got tired of reading books where they are supposed to be set in England and the author has characters saying things that wouldn’t be said in England, using slang or language that is inappropriate for the period or using words that they definitely don’t say in England like “gotten”.

My final irritant is when characters solve the crime by making assumptions that defy logic or that they can have no possible way of knowing. Or when they find “major clues” that are so ridiculous they spoil the story. I know that Sherlock Holmes managed to solve crimes by discovering some dust that came from Egypt or some such amazing feat, however, other authors having supposedly normal people using this kind of device to “solve” their crimes is just sloppy writing and poor story construction.

Rant over!

Sorry, but you did ask!”

Let me say this: I totally agree with everything Carrie posted in her comment. I, too, am tired of authors and their publishers thinking they can pull these stunts… which based on their sales, apparently they can!

What do you all think? Without specifically naming an author, do you all have any pet peeves?

Now that Thanksgiving is over, it is time for most of us to get creative with our turkeys and mashed potatoes. My family members aren’t big on grabbing the turkey leftovers and making sandwiches>>> and I think I know why! If I was the one grabbing the turkey from the refridge to make them sandwiches, then they would probably be in favor of the long-held tradition of many families.

One thing my son, daughter, and husband love for me to make with the leftovers is Turkey Hash. I am sure many of you make this, as it is a fast and easy way to get some of those glass storage containers out of the refridge!

I simply Pam the casserole, make a bottom shell out of the stuffing/dressing, lay cut up turkey, then cut up green beans, followed by a little more of the cut up turkey, followed by a mashed potato cover on the top of the casserole. After all of the layers are in the casserole, I “drill” holes in the casserole with the handle end of a table knife (not a sharp steak knife!) and pour gravy into each of the holes. I have to admit that I make a lot of “drilled” holes in the casserole! Oh, and then I pour the remaining gravy over the entire Turkey Hash. Cover the casserole and heat it in a 350* oven for about an hour, and voilà!

I had never had this before I married my husband, and sort of had to come up with the “recipe” on my own. He kept asking for Turkey Hash… which, to me meant something like the canned hash you get at the grocery store…

Do any of you have a family traditional recipe you make after your Thanksgiving meal is all gobbled up? I’d like to hear from you if you do!