The Cozy Mystery List Blog

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

Do Reviews Contained on the Cover of a Mystery Book Make a Difference to You?

I have considered Ruth Rendell one of my very favorite mystery authors for a long time. I have kept this particular Ruth Rendell paperback for a while, hoping that I could use these quotes in one of my entries. So, here goes!

Here is an author review on the cover of Ruth Rendell’s The Best Man to Die 1975 paperback:

The Boston Globe: “The best mystery writer anywhere in the English-speaking world.”

Here are the reviews from the inside cover of Ruth Rendell’s The Best Man to Die 1975 paperback:

Los Angeles Times Book Review: “Chief Inspector Wexford…is an erudite, thorough investigator….He is a compassionate man, who can put the screws on if need be.”

Kirkus Reviews: “The page-by-page storytelling-wry, superbly paced, full of arresting character details-is still unsurpassed in the mystery field.”

New York Daily News: “Ruth Rendell is the finest living practitioner of the mystery genre.”

The New York Times Book Review: “There aren’t many writers like Ruth Rendell who are highly prolific and yet maintain a consistently high standard….Miss Rendell is a plot prestidigitator who has mastered all the tricks of her trade. Including writing.”

Here are the reviews on the back of Ruth Rendell’s The Best Man to Die 1975 paperback:

The New York Times Book Review: “You cannot afford to miss Ruth Rendell?”

Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine: “For readers who have almost given up mysteries… Rendell may be just the woman to get them started again.”

Saturday Review: “First-rate entertainment.”

So, here is my question: Do reviews matter to you?

Ellery Queen Mysteries Television Show

Ellery Queen Mysteries What a delightful surprise! I did not know about these shows until a Cozy Mystery reader recommended them to me. And boy am I glad she did!

The Ellery Queen Mysteries aired during the mid 1970s, and starred Jim Hutton as Ellery and David Wayne as his father. The premise of the show is: Ellery Queen is a 1940s best selling author of mystery books. Ellery’s father is a police inspector. They live together as only two bachelors could – Ellery has filled their living room (his writing room) with all sorts of murder weapons – guns, knives, even a snake with its venomous fangs exposed. Also, their kitchen seems to be mostly for making their coffee and morning toast.

Richard Levinson and William Link were the two men responsible for this series, as well as shows like Murder, She Wrote, Columbo, Mannix, and many television movies. The Ellery Queen Mysteries were a predecessor to Murder, She Wrote – a show which also featured many weekly guest stars. The good news, however, about the guest stars in the Ellery Queen Mysteries is this: Unlike Murder, She Wrote, the most famous guest star of each episode didn’t always turn out to be the person who committed the crime. For those of you who plan on watching these really good Cozy Mystery shows, the guest stars are big names from when the show aired as well as from the 1940s and 1950s Hollywood movies. People like Larry Hagman, Joan Collins, Eve Arden, Tom Bosley, Eva Gabor, Ed McMahon, and Betty White. (Oops, I guess she qualifies as a star today!)

Ellery tags along to crime scenes with his police detective father and invariably is attracted to some type of minutia. Some of the time Ellery doesn’t even want to be involved with the criminal investigation. A lot of the time he has an editor’s deadline he must hurry to meet, but something about the crime scene catches his attention. Why did the victim drag herself to the television set’s plug? Why did the comic book author mark a particular item?

Ellery loves to solve the cases with all of the suspects gathered togethrer (à la Hercule Poirot) – but this only happens after Ellery takes a “private moment” with the television audience. He looks into the camera and goes over all of the clues – asking us if we have figured out the solution.

I absolutely love the relationship between Ellery and his father. The chemistry is undeniable… you would think these two are truly related. David Wayne (Ellery’s dad) frets over his son – making sure he wears his coat in cold weather, giving him fatherly advise on taking care of his cold, etc. He is endearing. You don’t see such displays of father-son affection in very many television shows.

I don’t want to end this entry before mentioning that actor John Hillerman plays the host of a mystery theme radio show – “The Casebook of Simon Brimmer.” Hillerman is delightful as he somehow interjects himself into many of the cases. His ultimate goal is to find the culprit before Ellery or the police do, in order to publicly take the credit for the solving of the crime. Usually he “solves” the mystery only to have to amend his solution when he finds that Ellery has once again beat him at finding the correct solution to the mystery. As big a twit as Simon Brimmer is, John Hillerman is able to make him a likable know-it-all!

(PS>>> I have not read the Ellery Queen mystery books, so I cannot vouch for how true to the books these shows are.)

If you would like to see more TV and Movies suggestions, click here.

Linda French, Ron Goulart, Susan Hill, Betty Webb, & Don Yarber: Five New Mystery Authors on the Cozy Mystery Site

For those of you who are “regulars” to the Cozy Mystery site, you know that every once in a while I add new authors to the site. These are always authors who you all have told me “belong” on the site. Of course, as I have not read the authors (if I had, they would probably already be on the site!) I just have to go with what I am told.

I have mentioned before that I have actually found several of the authors on my “favorite authors” list from these recommendations. But, I have also found some authors who I tried, and did not like. You know the expression: “To each, his (or in this case ‘her’) own.”

The five newest author additions to the site are:

Linda French   French writes the Professor Teodora Morelli Mystery Series, which features an nontenured history professor in Seattle, Washington. French is a  professor of history in Washington state…

Ron Goulart    Goulart pens the Groucho Marx Mystery Series. This series is based on Groucho Marx, a “real person” who was an actor and comedian in the 1930s+ Hollywood.

Susan Hill    Hill writes the British police procedural called the Simon Serrailler Mystery Series. The series begins with Serrailler being a Chief Inspector and follows him as he is promoted to Detective Chief Superintendent.  (Reportedly Not Cozy) Hill also writes Stand Alone mysteries.

Betty Webb     Webb is an ex-journalist who teaches creative writing. She writes the Lena Jones Mystery Series, which features a private investigator in Arizona. Webb also writes the Gunn Zoo Mystery Series, which has, as its sleuth, a zookeeper in California.  (Both series are reportedly not cozy)

Don Yarber    Yarber writes the Kip Yardley Mystery Series. This series features a Los Angeles private detective who used to be a highway patrol officer. Yarber states that his books “do not use a lot of graphic sex scenes, foul language or deeply disturbed psycho-babble”…

Mystery Book Front or Back Cover Tells Who Will Be Murdered…

In one of her comments, Linda mentioned something that really got me thinking.

“Something I don’t like is when a prologue or the inside cover preview gives too much away. I like a suspense as to who is going to get murdered and most front cover book reviews will give that away!”

I have to admit that I have been known to skip to the end of a mystery book once or twice  – or a lot of times! Most of the time it is just to see if the author has been so obvious about the culprit, which I am not at all crazy about. (Yes, I know I just wrote about dropping a new-to-me author because she made it too obvious who the murderer was – almost from the very beginning of the mystery book…)

But, I have also gotten antsy about who committed the murder, and taken a peek at the end of the book. As for seeing who the victim is before actually reading the book, this doesn’t bother me. In fact, I sometimes read the inside cover just to find out who the body on the floor will be! (That way I know not to get too attached to that special someone!)

I have been pondering Linda’s comment for a while. (Thanks, Linda!) How do you all feel about the publisher making you aware of who will be “getting the ax” before you actually read the book?

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