The Cozy Mystery List Blog

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

Prime Suspect with Helen Mirren

Prime Suspect is probably the best police procedural made-for-television series I have ever watched. It is a gritty, realistic view of the life of a woman making her way in the almost all male world of British police detectives. Prime Suspect follows as Jane Tennison (Helen Mirren) moves up the police ranks while contending with the resentment of a lot of the on-job men who think a woman simply doesn’t belong in their professional world.

The Prime Suspect series began in 1991 and ran all the way until 2003. Unfortunately for its devoted fans, there are only seven years worth of seasons, which, since it is a British show, means very few episodes. I strongly suggest watching the series in the correct chronological order. It is not a Cozy British police procedural. As I mentioned in the first paragraph, it is “gritty.” It is not just the Prime Suspects who are not model citizens. Jane Tennison (Helen Mirren) is relentless about catching the flawed bad guys – but she is a very flawed person herself.

I have enjoyed Helen Mirren’s work since way before her well-deserved current popularity. A lot of you probably remember her excellent work from such movies as The Madness of King George, Calendar Girls, The Queen, and Gosford Park. Let me assure you that Mirren’s performance as Jane Tennison is (as usual) multi-faceted, and a delight to watch. (Prime Suspect’s creator Lynda LaPlante modeled the Jane Tennison character after a true life female DCI.)

I am not going to tell you obvious things like: the show has three-dimensional supporting characters, mysteries that ring true, there’s great attention to detail, the scenes are realistic, the scripts are great, there is  phenomenal direction, ETC. Those things go unsaid. (Remember my first sentence in this entry!) Both Mirren and the series have won several Emmy and BAFTA awards, proof of the obvious: I am not alone in liking this show!

I watched this series as it originally aired on PBS (way back when “Mystery!” was the name of the show) and have watched it two times since then. I finally decided to share it with my husband, and we then treated our children to this very superior police procedural. And, I plan to watch it again! I may know “who dunnit” but the Prime Suspect journey is definitely a treat within itself.

PS>>> If you’re offended by adult language and themes, this is not a series for you nor is it appropriate for young children.

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

June 2011 Mystery Book New Releases

The following Mystery Books will be Released in June 2011:

Riley Adams (aka Elizabeth Spann Craig): Finger Lickin’ Dead (This will be the 2nd in the Memphis Barbeque Mystery Series…)

David Baldacci: One Summer (This will be a Stand Alone…) (This is not a mystery…)

Lorna Barrett (aka L. L. Bartlett & Lorraine Bartlett): Sentenced to Death (This will be the 5th in the Booktown Mystery Series…)

Juliet Blackwell (aka Hailey Lind): Hexes and Hemlines (This will be the 3rd in the Witchcraft Mystery Series…)

Jan Burke: Disturbance (This will be the 11th in the Irene Kelly Mystery Series…)

Clive Cussler & Grant Blackwood: The Kingdom (This will be the 3rd in the Sam and Remi Fargo Adventure Series…)

Jo Dereske: Farewell, Miss Zukas (This will be the 12th in the Miss Zukas Mystery Series…) (It is the last in the series…)

Janet Evanovich: Smokin’ Seventeen (This will be the 17th in the Stephanie Plum Mystery Series…)

Lee Goldberg: Mr. Monk on the Couch  (This will be the 12th in the Mr. Monk Mystery Series…)

Carolyn Haines: Bones of a Feather (This will be the in the 11th in the Sarah Booth Delaney Mystery Series…)

Julie Hyzy: Grace Interrupted (This will be the 2nd in the Manor of Murder Mystery Series…)

Sue Ann Jaffarian: Twice as Dead (This will be the 6th in the Odelia Grey Mystery Series…)

Rita Lakin: Getting Old Can Kill You (This will be the 7th in the Gladdy Gold Mystery Series…)

Leslie Meier: English Tea Murder (This will be the 17th in the Lucy Stone Mystery Series…)

Amy Myers: Classic in the Barn (This will be the 1st in the NEW Tom Colby, Car Detective Mystery Series…)

Karen E. Olson: Ink Flamingos (This will be the 4th in the Tattoo Shop Mystery Series…)

James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge: Now You See Her (This will be a Stand Alone…)

Deanna Raybourn: The Dark Enquiry (This will be the 5th in the Lady Julia Grey Mystery Series…)

Phil Rickman: The Bones of Avalon (This will be the 11th in the Merrily Watkins Mystery Series…)

Kate Sedley: The Midsummer Crown (This will be the 20th in the Roger the Chapman Mystery Series…)

Maggie Sefton: Unraveled (This will be the 9th in the Knitting Mystery Series…)

Victoria Thompson: Murder on Sisters’ Row (This will be the 13th in the Gaslight Mystery Series…)

Wendy Lyn Watson: Parfait Murder (This will be the 3rd in the Mystery à La Mode Mystery Series…)

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

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things…

All of the recent comments about the Keurig coffee makers got me thinking about a few items that I think are really neat gadgets to own. As I have mentioned before, my husband enjoys gadgets, which means we have many! So, at the risk of sounding materialistic, here are just a few of my “why-didn’t-I-think-of-that” things:

1) Head Flashlight >>> Our local electric company has us on a faulty circuit, which goes off more than several time a year. It’s truly frustrating to look outside and see that it is always our side of the street that has lost power. This gadget is great! We keep several of them in different locations, so that when (not if!) our circuit goes out, at least we can see what we are doing. (Also, on the occasions when we need to carry Sprite outside in the middle of the night, these head flashlights make it possible for us to have our hands free to carry our “puppy” in and out.) (I got four of these flashlights for Christmas one year, I think it was the Christmas after I got four fire detectors for our home… I’m easy to shop for!)

2) Keurig coffee maker >>> I absolutely did not want this coffee maker! But, my husband’s office moved to a new location where it made it impossible for him to go through a drive-thru for his daily coffee. We have programmed this little gem to turn itself on at 6:00 am, he pops a K-cup in, and he’s out the door with a 12 oz. travel cup of hot coffee in about 30 seconds. I actually held out for several months before I started using the Keurig, but finally got rid of my Mr. Coffee machine. We opted for the Keurig with five cup sizes because my mom has a Keurig with only two size settings, which I find a little limiting. Sometimes I want a “a more expresso” type of coffee, in which case I set it on the smallest cup size possible. We are now enjoying all different types of tea, as well as the most delicious 70 calorie cup of hot chocolate imaginable. (This was my husband’s birthday gift… Easy to shop for him, also…)

Let’s see, I know there are a few other things we use every day…

3) Sage TV >>> This thing is more like a “do-it-all” DVR to me. Again, I balked at getting this. (I am notorious in my family for being a very set-in-my-ways technologically impaired person, who never wants to move ahead with the times!) But, I can honestly say that I am now the person who uses this Sage DVR thing the most. (If my husband had taken my balking seriously, we would still be using VHS tapes — That’s how much I complain about having to learn a new device!) Getting back to this Sage thing… You should see my “Favorites” list: Claudette Colbert, Barbara Stanwyck, Katherine Hepburn, Bette Davis, Judy Holliday, William Powell, Melvyn Douglas, Jimmy Stewart, Norma Shearer, ETC. Any time one of their movies plays, my Sage records it. I don’t have to rely on the schlocky shows the networks play when I have movies with all of my favorite actors. The movies were made before I was born, but I love watching them anyway!

4) My Top Loading Washing Machine!!! >>> I tried and tried (for around four years) to like my front-load washing machine, but NEVER got out of the “Hate It” mentality. It simply did not get our clothes clean. My husband did some research, finally found we could actually still buy a top load washing machine, and he then bought it for me. The TRUE translation for this is that he got tired of my weekly complaints about the new HE (Healthy Environment/Dirty Clothes) washing machine.

I wish I could get back all of the shirts I turned into rags during those four HE front load washing machine years!!!

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