The Cozy Mystery List Blog

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

New (2011) PBS Masterpiece Mystery Episodes: Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple, Inspector Lewis, & Zen

If you are anything like my family, then you will be VERY pleased to know that PBS has a new Masterpiece Mystery! summer planned for us. I have to tell you, I am EXCITED about their new 2011 line-up!

Our very favorite Belgian sleuth, Hercule Poirot, will be the “opening act” (so to speak). Beginning on Sunday, June 19, David Suchet will be gracing us with three new 90-minute Hercule Poirot mysteries. Yes, Poirot, with the help of his little, grey cells, will be solving crimes for the usually-baffled police. (I am especially excited to see what Masterpiece Mystery! will be doing with Agatha Christie’s Hallowe’en Party. It is one of my seasonal mysteries that I never tire of hearing/reading.)

Enter one of the most beloved little, old lady sleuths, with her knitting needles… That’s right, following Poirot will be Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple‘s turn to solve a crime. Unfortunately, there will only be one new Miss Marple Masterpiece Mystery! movie, but one is better than none. (Miss Marple is played by Julia McKenzie.)

The next Masterpiece Mystery! series to air is Zen, a new series which will be set in today’s Italy. The series is based on the mysteries by Michael Dibdin, and will star Rufus Sewell.

Yet another nice surprise is seeing that Inspector Lewis (starring Kevin Whately and Laurence Fox) will be returning in September 2011. (I have had to guess at the titles of the episodes, as they are not yet listed on the PBS site. I’m pretty sure of their chronological order.)

Sunday, June 19, 2011 – Hercule Poirot:  Three Act Tragedy

Sunday, June 26, 2011 – Hercule Poirot:  The Clocks

Sunday, July 3, 2011 – Hercule Poirot:  Hallowe’en Party

Sunday, July 10, 2011 – Miss Marple: The Pale Horse

Sunday, July 17, 2011 – Zen: Vendetta

Sunday, July 24, 2011 – Zen: Cabal

Sunday, July 31, 2011 – Zen: Ratking

Sunday, September 4, 2011 – Inspector Lewis: Old, Unhappy, Far Off Things (?)

Sunday, September 18, 2011 – Inspector Lewis: Wild Justice (?)

Sunday, September 25, 2011 – Inspector Lewis: The Mind Has Mountains (?)

Sunday, October 9, 2011 – Inspector Lewis: The Gift of Promise (?)

Looks like we will soon be in for a lot of Masterpiece Mystery! sleuthing…

Authors Who Are Similar to Leslie Meier

I received a request for a list of authors who write Cozy Mysteries that are similar to those written by Leslie Meier. So, here goes!

Authors Who Are Similar to Leslie Meier:

Donna Andrews: Meg Langslow Mystery Series

Kate Borden (aka Kate Grilley): Peggy Jean Turner Mystery Series

Laura Childs: Tea Shop Mystery Series

Jill Churchill: Jane Jeffry Mystery Series

Cleo Coyle (aka Alice Kimberly) : Coffee House Mystery Series

Mary Daheim: Emma Lord Mystery Series AND Hillside Manor Bed & Breakfast Mystery Series

Diane Mott Davidson: Goldy Bear Catering Mystery Series

Monica Ferris: Needlecraft Mystery Series

Joanne Fluke: Cookie Jar Mystery Series

Earlene Fowler: Benni Harper Mystery Series

Carolyn Haines: Sarah Booth Delaney Mystery Series

Caroline Hart: Death on Demand Mystery Series

Betty Hechtman: Crochet Mystery Series

Joan Hess: Claire Malloy Mystery Series

Tamar Myers: Pennsylvania Dutch Inn Mystery Series

Maggie Sefton: Knitting Mystery Series

Elaine Viets: Dead End Job Mystery Series AND Mystery Shopper Mystery Series

Valerie Wolzien: Susan Henshaw Mystery Series

Please post your recommendations of authors who are similar to Leslie Meier, and I will add them to the list.

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

Man! It’s Hot!!!

It’s that time of year when it is simply too hot to enjoy being outdoors. Actually, I have to admit that there are very few times of the year that I now enjoy being out of doors. I know this sounds awful but I’m not at all  >>>athletic, kinesthetic, or even energetic! I think the “new term” is Couch Potato, although my computer isn’t even remotely close to our sofa…

Getting back to the theme I was planning on writing about: Bird Baths!

I always find it sort of amazing (although I know “amazing” is way too strong an adjective) that it is at this time of year, all of my neighbors get out their bird feeders and fill them to the brim with seeds. These are the same bird feeders that have been in garages during the cold months of the year. Hmmm… I could be wrong about this, but don’t the birds actually have a tough time finding enough food during the months that are cold?

Here I am again, going off of the topic I wanted to write about: Bird Baths!

We seem to be one of the few families in my neighborhood who are filling a Bird Bath with water – so that squirrels and birds -and even some neighborhood cats! – can quench their thirst.  And, since water is VERY scarce at this time of year (we are experiencing another drought season) this means I have to replenish the water at least four times each day. Sometimes, if we have had an unusually large group of grackles splashing around in the water, it is more often than four times. (If you don’t have grackles, consider yourself lucky! They are very mean birds to not only birds, but also squirrels. They are Bird Bath Bullies!)

This brings me back to my first paragraph.

I sure hope my neighbors read this entry and take the hint! What’s a Couch Potato to do?

Yikes, I have to haul myself outside again and fill that Bird Bath!

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