The Cozy Mystery List Blog

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

New York Public Library Presents "Mysteries: Amateur Sleuths and Feline Detectives" Panel

Mystery author Evan Marshall was kind enough to let me know about this fantastic panel discussion of mystery book authors which will be taking place this coming Tuesday (Nov. 17) at the New York Public Library.

I love the theme of the panel! Evan said his “Fellow panelists are the fabulous Jane Cleland, Joani Ascher, Cynthia Blair, with Daryl Wood Gerber moderating.” >>> That’s a great mystery author panel!

Evan was kind enough to include the following details:

“Here’s the info from the NYPL website: 

Tuesday, Nov 17 — 6:30 PM
“Cozy Mysteries: Amateur Sleuths and Feline Detectives,” with moderator, Daryl Wood Gerber, and panelists, Joani Ascher, Cynthia Baxter, Jane K. Cleland and Evan Marshall of Mystery Writers of America / New York Chapter.’ ”

“In this lively discussion about “cozy” mysteries, the moderator and a panel of stellar authors face the tough “cozy” questions: What distinguishes a cozy from a traditional mystery? Humor? Charm? Suspense? Why do so many readers love books that feature cats? (And can a cat really solve a crime?) The panel, whose amateur sleuths run the gamut from antiques business owner to New York Sanitation Department employee-reveal all!”

The panel will be held at the Mid-Manhattan Library, which is apparently at 455 Fifth Avenue. The site also has a telephone number for all of you New Yorkers who are interested in attending: 917-ASK-NYPL (917-275-6975) (I just got that information from the New York Public Library site and since I have never visited the NYPL, I would suggest that you verify the address.)

I love the Cat Mystery Book Series theme that they will be discussing… Can cats really solve mysteries? I guess that the lucky New Yorkers who attend the panel will find out on Tuesday night.  If cats can solve mysteries, Sprite (our 15 year old puppy) will simply have to learn a new trick, or be put to shame!

Rich Sleuths Theme Mysteries …

A while ago I got a recommendation from Denise to include a new mystery book theme to the site. Her wonderful title was “Rich Girl Sleuthing” which I have expanded to include the “Rich Men Can Sleuth, Too.” With that said, here is a list of the Cozy site’s authors who have written a mystery book (or more!) which includes sleuths who just happen to be rich:

Bruce Alexander (aka Bruce Cook): Sir John Fielding Mystery Series… Sir John is an 18th century English blind judge.

Margery Allinghan: Albert Campion Mystery Series… Campion is a very upper-crust English sleuth.

Tess Arlen: Lady Montfort Mystery Series… Lady Montfort is an aristocrat in Edwardian England.

Margot Arnold: Penny Spring & Sir Toby Glendower Mystery Series… Sir Toby Glendower happens to be a wealthy Cambridge archaeologist.

C.A. Belmond: Penny Nichols Mystery Series… Penny is a rich American heiress in Europe.

Rhys Bowen: Lady Georgiana Mystery Series… Hmmm… Penniless 34th in line to the throne of England.

Fiona Buckley: Ursula Blanchard Mystery Series… Being a lady-in-waiting for the Queen brings to mind a “moneyed” family.

Cassandra Chan: Phillip Bethancourt & Jack Gibbons Mystery Series Bethancourt is the very rich, college friend of Gibbons.

Leslie Charteris: The Saint Mystery Series… Simon Templar is not only a millionaire, he is also a thief.

Marion Chesney (aka M. C. Beaton): Edwardian Murder Mystery Series… Lady Rose Summer is daughter of an earl.

P.F. Chisholm: Sir Robert Carey Mystery Series… 16th century Sir Robert is a deputy warden in the king’s service.

Joyce Christmas: Lady Margaret Priam Mystery Series… Lady Margaret may be living in New York, but that doesn’t make her any less “vedy British” high society.

Alys Clare: Hawkenlye Mystery Series… Josse d’Acquinis a 12th century French knight who uproots to England.

Amanda Cooper (aka Victoria Hamilton): Teapot Collector Mystery Series… Sophie Taylor works in her family’s Victorian Tea Room in New York.

Julianna Deering (aka DeAnna Julie Dodson): Drew Farthering Mystery Series… stars an English gentleman in the 1930s.

Margaret Dumas: Charley & Jack Fairfax Mystery Series… It doesn’t hurt to be an heiress.

Carola Dunn: Daisy Dalrymple Mystery Series… Daisy is the daughter of a viscount.

Kathy Lynn Emerson (aka Kaitlyn Dunnett): Lady Susanna Appleton Mystery Series… Lady Susanna is an English herbalist.

Elizabeth George: Inspector Thomas Lynley Mystery Series… A Scotland Yard inspector with a whole lot of money.

Karen Anne Golden: The Cats That… A wealthy heiress who adopts cats and lives in a Victorian-style home.

Kerry Greenwood: Phryne Fisher Mystery Series… Phryne is very, very rich.

Martha Grimes: Richard Jury Mystery Series… While Jury may be the inspector, Melrose Plant is a very rich sleuth/sidekick.

Carolyn Haines: Sarah Booth Delaney Mystery Series… Being a southern belle won’t stop Sarah from solving crimes.

Karen Harper: Elizabeth I Mystery Series… Just because she is Elizabeth Tudor (daughter of King Henry VIII) doesn’t mean she can’t sleuth with the best of them.

Anna Lee Huber: Lady Darby Mystery Series… Lady Darby is a 1830s Scottish noblewoman.

Abigail Keam: 1930s Mona Moon Mystery Series – Mona receives a huge inheritance from her uncle during the Depression.

Nancy Martin: Blackbird Sisters Mystery Series… Libby, Emma, & Nora have to go to work after their “rich” parents leave the sisters destitute.

Nancy Martin: Miss Ruffles Mystery Series: A very rich woman leaves her estate to her beloved Miss Ruffles, a dog!

Catriona McPherson: Dandy Gilver Mystery Series… Dandy (Dandelion Dahlia Leston) is a Scottish aristocrat in the 1920s.

Amy Patricia Meade: Marjorie McClelland Mystery Series… Creighton Ashcroft, one of the main characters, is a millionaire.

Catherine O’Connell: High Society Mystery Series… Pauline Cook is a widowed socialite living in Chicago.

Katherine Hall Page: Faith Fairchild Mystery Series… Faith “comes from” money.

Robin Paige (aka Susan Wittig Albert & Bill Albert): Kate Ardleigh Sheridan & Sir Charles Sheridan Victorian Mystery Series… quite rich.

Joanne Pence: Angi Amalfie Mystery Series… Angie is a food critic who happens to be rich.

Sharon Kay Penman: Medieval Mystery Series… Justin de Quincy is an English, 12th century son of a bishop.

Deanna Raybourn: Lady Julia Grey Mystery Series… Lady Julia is a Victorian England sleuth.

David Roberts: Lord Edward Corinth Mystery Series… 1930s “vedy” British Lord Edward does his sleuthing with Verity Browne.

Lynda S. Robinson: Lord Meren Mystery Series… The main sleuth of this series which is set in ancient Egypt is the main investigator in the kingdom.

Dorothy L. Sayers: Lord Peter Wimsey Mystery Series… Early 20th century Lord Peter is an extremely rich English nobleman who teams up with Harriet Vane.

Cynthia Smith: Emma Rhodes Mystery Series… Emma charges her super rich clients $20,000 per case she guarantees to solve in one week.

Leann Sweeney: Yellow Rose Mystery Series… Houston’s Abby Rose is a private detective with a big bank account.

Ashley Weaver: The Amory Ames Mystery Series features a wealthy, young woman in 1930s Britain.

Patricia Wynn: Blue Satan Mystery Series… Gideon St. Mars is an aristocrat (viscount) who becomes a highwayman during the 1700s.

Authors on the Cozy Site with Non Mystery Book Series which Feature the VERY Rich:

E. F. Benson: Make Way for Lucia Series… By far my favorite series of all time! Although this is not a mystery book series, it is very Cozy and very English.

Alexander McCall Smith: Isabel Dalhousie Series… I truly enjoy books by Alexander McCall Smith. I would not describe the Isabel Dalhousie Philosophical novels as being mystery books, although some people believe that they are.

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

The Muppet Christmas Carol

The Muppet Christmas Carol I cannot believe that I have never written an entry about this!!! It is by far one of our VERY favorite Christmas movies, and if you haven’t gotten a chance to see it, then watch for it! I am hoping that at least one network of the 100s of networks which now  exist airs it this holiday season. (And, good news… Yesterday I saw it in my local Blockbuster store!)

Our children grew up during Jim Henson’s later years, so we were treated with many, many hours of WONDERFUL enjoyment… be it in the form of Bert and Ernie on Sesame Street, or in some of the particularly wonderful Jim Henson (later the helm was taken up by his son Brian) holiday movies. The Christmas Toy, A Muppet Family Christmas, Christmas Eve on Sesame Street, The Muppet Christmas Carol, and, there was even an Easter movie with the Muppets.

The Muppet Christmas Carol is a Jim Henson production, directed by his son (Brian Henson) with Michael Caine contributing his wonderful acting magic as Ebeneezer Scrooge. Kermit and Miss Piggy excellently portray Mr. & Mrs. Bob Crachit. (Only in dreams and movies does Miss Piggy finally get the part of Kermit’s wife!) Gonzo serves as our “guide” through the movie, and he is very effective in that role… but Rizzo, steals their scenes as Gonzo’s companion for the fateful night’s ride through time.

I don’t want this entry to make it sound like this movie is a children-only type of movie. I know that a lot of people may be turned off  thinking this is a watered-down version of the Charles Dickens Christmas novel. Far from the truth!

This is quite simply our very favorite Christmas movie… and now that both of our children are in their 20s, I think it’s safe to say that all four of us have adult tastes. But, at the same time, The Muppet Christmas Carol was also a favorite of our family when it came out years ago, when our children were under ten. It is a movie that all can enjoy. And, the music is just what you would expect from the wonderful Paul Williams… who, incidentally, appeared several times with the Muppets. I am writing this during the beginning of November, it has been over a year since I last watched The Muppet Christmas Carol, and I am humming some of the songs as I type this… The songs are that good!

I was just thinking of the people who might not enjoy this movie, and, could only come up with a few… and to them, I say simply: Bah! Humbug!

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

Updating Alphabetical Pages of Mystery Book Authors on the Site…

I was just browsing through a few of the alphabetical pages on the Cozy Mystery site, and was somewhat surprised at what I found. A few years ago, when I started the site, I (apparently!) didn’t add any information for some (as in “quite a few”) of the authors.

I cannot believe that the very popular Donna Andrews has this description: “One of her series involves a blacksmith theme (the Meg Lanslow series)…” OR >>> How about what I have listed for the wildly popular Mignon F. Ballard >>> “Her series features a guardian angel… Augusta Goodnight”…  Hmmmm…..

Those “blurbs” are embarrassing to me! VERY embarrassing! What was I thinking about when I wrote those?!?!? Is that really the best I could do?!?

So, I have decided that I will slowly make my way through the mystery book authors’ alphabetical pages and try to remedy this problem of mine… I am going to try to update some of the authors whose descriptions are paltry. I will try to include something about the author’s “previous life”… other than the very obvious “I always wanted to be an author” type of information. Something that might give the prospective reader an inkling as to why the author ended up writing the types of books he/she does. Maybe a great gourmet is now writing a culinary mystery book theme series, or an ex-lawyer is writing a legal thriller series (à la John Grisham.)

This is not to say that I am going to change all of the “descriptions” of all of the authors. Take, for example, one of the blurbs that I would like to use as an example of what all of the blurbs should be: “Sharon Wildwind served as an army nurse in Vietnam and now writes a series featuring ‘Pepper’ Pepperhawk, a nurse returning from Vietnam.”

Ok, ok, I know I didn’t do a phenomenally great job with the above example, but it does provide a nice starting place for someone who is looking for a new mystery book author to read.

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