The Cozy Mystery List Blog

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

PBS and Milk Bones Present "Through a Dog’s Eyes"

I am pretty sure that I have never written an entry about not being able to sit through movies or shows that feature dogs… I think this comes from watching “Old Yeller” or “The Yearling” as a young child. The pet-sob-story movies have been off limits to me for years (and by that I mean LOTS of years) since my early childhood. People have told me about “Marley”… both the book and the movie. Nope! Not for me! I’m not willing to watch or read anything that is going to be happy… and then show how the cycle of life is inevitable.

But, “Through a Dog’s Eyes” is totally different. It is uplifting, it is inspiring, it is… terrific. This PBS one-hour show follows Jennifer Arnold’s dog assistance group as they pass their beloved trained dogs to the people whose lives these very smart, well-trained, beautiful dogs will change for years and years to come. It is a wonderful “investment” of an hour of your time. (Milk Bones is the proud sponsor of “Through a Dog’s Eyes” and they should be proud!!!)

This one hour show will be inspiring, I can almost guarantee that! These dogs truly change the lives of the people they are entrusted to. Unfortunately, I am not sure how many more times your local PBS channels are going to air the show. So >>> Go check and see! (My PBS channel will be showing it one more time, on Tuesday at 2:30 AM.)

I don’t think the reason I enjoyed this show so much is my love of dogs, or the fact that my master’s degree is in Special Education. I think it’s just that this show is a wonderful sign of what people and animals can do when they choose to be kind, loving, patient, and caring.

Still Need Mystery Readers' Help in Solving Mysteries of the Mystery Series…

We need help in identifying three mystery book authors>>>

1.  Tracy has asked for help identifying this mystery book author:

“I’m trying to remember the series that takes place in late Victorian England say the 1900s. It’s a husband and wife team. He is a policeman and the wife helps out along with a young, shy housekeeper? They have a couple of children and that’s all I can remember. I thought I’d kept one of the books, but didn’t and now I’m searching for the series so I can enjoy some more of their escapades.”

2.  And, while I’m asking for help >>> My husband suggested that I post this again, since in the past, Cozy Mystery site readers have been able to come up with the identities of a number of mystery book authors and their mystery book series. Sandy is still looking for:

” The main characters where divorced but back together and I believe the woman was an accountant or investment broker. The husband inherited a trunk of treasure/gold? from a wayward uncle.”

3.  And here’s one more unidentified author (from Danna – me):

“The first book in the mystery series had an older woman going to some sort of spa (I think in Great Britain) where no one locked the doors to their rooms. The woman (sleuth) was able to go into other people’s rooms because of the no-lock situation, since all of the spa residents were ‘upper crust’ people, which of course meant that there was no need to lock the rooms, thanks to their codes of honor. This is not much information, but it is all I can remember about the series, other than I enjoyed the first book. Unfortunately I read it right before I realized that I needed to start writing down the names of all of the authors I enjoy reading.”

So, Cozy Mystery Site Readers, it’s up to you all to help us solve these mysteries!  Thank you (in advance!)

Dorothy Gilman's Mrs. Pollifax Mystery Books

I have a terrible pattern of downloading books from audible.com and then saving the ones that I REALLY want to listen to. It’s a habit quite like my habit of putting off reading my favorite authors. I always want to know that “they” are there waiting for me in my To Be Read book shelf. (Right now I have a lot of TBR mystery books! Monica Ferris, Katherine Hall Page, Patricia Moyes, Ruth Rendell, Camille Minichino/Margaret Grace, Susan Wittig Albert, and a WHOLE LOT MORE!!!)

However, today I decided to bump up one of my very favorite authors. I was just in the mood to start listening to a mystery book that I absolutely knew was going to be able to “deliver.” So my book of choice to start listening to was: Dorothy Gilman‘s Mrs. Pollifax Unveiled.

For those of you who are not familiar with Mrs. Pollifax, she is a woman of “a certain age” who has joined the CIA at a time in life when other people might enjoy sipping lemonade in a hammock under the shady limbs of a dogwood tree. (OK, I know that isn’t a great example, since most of us would rather be doing that… especially if we could be reading while lulling the time away, enjoying a cool breeze… But, you know what I mean…)

Not so for Mrs. Pollifax! As a member of her local Save Our Environment Club, a woman working toward becoming a black belt karate athlete, and a prize winning geranium grower, Emily Pollifax is not content to just enjoy a leisurely life. And, she is really good at her spy job. She fools the “bad guys” every time… with her innocent looks, and her outrageously “old lady” hats. (I don’t think her hats are described with that term, but that’s how I would describe them.)

Dorothy Gilman has given me hours of reading enjoyment… whether I listen to her books or read them. Mrs. Pollifax is a character who comes to us fully-developed, very three-dimensional, and an added benefit of her work as a spy is that she travels the globe, going to exotic locations which we (the readers) are able to enjoy.

PS… For those of you lucky enough to be heading to New York for the Edgar Awards at the end of this month (April 27-29) >>> Dorothy Gilman is going to be the Grand Master!

May 2010 Mystery Book New Releases

The following mystery books will be released in May 2010:

Elizabeth Lynn Casey (aka Laura Bradford): Death Threads (This will be the 2nd in the Southern Sewing Circle Mystery Series…)

Bill Crider & Clyde Wilson: Mississippi Vivian (This will be the 2nd in the Ted Stephens Series…)

Clive Cussler: The Adventures of Hotsy Totsy (This will be a Stand Alone for children…) (Another  very successful mystery author for adults has written a novel for children. I know I have written – many times – about how great I think this is!)

Denise Dietz: Soap Bubbles (This will be a Stand Alone…)

Earlene Fowler: State Fair (This will be the 14th in the Benni Harper Mystery Series…)

Carolyn Haines: Delta Blues (This will be a Stand Alone Anthology, edited by Carolyn Haines…)

Charlaine Harris: Dead in the Family (This will be the 10th in the Sookie Stackhouse Southern Vampire Mystery Series…)

L. C. Hayden: When Death Intervenes (This will be the 5th in the Harry Bronson Mystery Series…)

Elise Hyatt: French Polished Murder (This will be the 2nd in the Daring Finds Mystery Series…)

Joyce & Jim Lavene: A Timely Vision (This will be the 1st in the NEW Missing Pieces Mystery Series…)

Donna Leon: A Question of Belief (This will be the 19th in the Guido Brunetti Mystery Series…)

Amy Myers: Tom Wasp and the Newgate Knocker (This will be the 2nd in the Tom Wasp Mystery Series…)

Robert B. Parker: Blue-Eyed Devil (This will be the 4th in the Virgil Cole Western Series…)

Nancy Pickard: The Scent of Rain and Lightning (This will be a Stand Alone…)

Ann Purser: The Hangman’s Row Enquiry (This will be the 1st in the NEW Ivy Beasley Mystery Series…)

Joanna Campbell Slan: Photo, Snap, Shot (This will be the 3rd in the Kiki Lownstein Scrap-n-Craft Mystery Series…)

Leann Sweeney: The Cat, the Professor and the Poison (This will be the 2nd in the Cats in Trouble Mystery Series…)

Elaine Viets: Half-Price Homicide (This will be the 9th in the Dead End Job Mystery Series…)

♦ To go back to the Cozy Mystery Book New Releases page click here♦

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