The Cozy Mystery List Blog

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

I Am On A Roll!

I have been getting so many recommendations! I actually have four lists of mystery authors who I will eventually get posted on the site. The reason I have four lists is because I have gotten the recommendations in different ways. My number 1 list is comprised of authors who you, the cozy mystery site readers, have let me know about.

The second and third lists have authors who I have accumulated from the different web boards I have belonged to at one time or another. These are authors who I annotated and who I thought I would get to very quickly when I first started the Cozy Mystery website, but who have been placed on the back burner for now… until I finish up the authors who you all have actually told me about.

The final list I have is authors who I got from the Malice Domestic queue of authors who were "registered attendees" either last year or the year before… I thought that if they were willing to go to the convention and meet "ordinary people" like us, well then, doggone it, good for them (and good for us! ) Hopefully, I will someday get to that fourth list of authors…

If you have recommended an author, and have been wondering why it is taking so long to see that particular author on the site>>> Did I mention that I have twenty four authors on my #1 "Authors To Do" list?!?

Marian Babson…. I just felt like a quick cozy mystery…

I just started a Marian Babson book from over thirty years ago…. Murder Sails at Midnight, from 1975. I went to my trusty book shelf which now holds over 300 books for me to read at some point in the future (I really should count those books some time soon!) and decided that it was time for me to read this particular book. I have read several of Babson’s books before, but since they didn’t belong to a series, I just hopped around picking books as they suited my moods.

Murder Sails at Midnight is not disappointing me. I have finished about half of the book and cannot wait to find out … not whodunit, but who whodunit to! For those of you who haven’t yet read the book, we are "introduced" to the murderer at the very beginning of the book. Babson then introduces us to four people, one of whom will be the recipient of the murderer’s handiwork… This is a book with a neat twist… Babson lets us in on the "secret" of the murder, and fills us in on some of the facts we will need to know in order to (hopefully) solve the crime.

And, since the reader knows who the whodunit is, and that he will be ending one of the four people’s lives, we are able to go along with Babson and try to pick up the hints… sifting through the red herrings that she tosses out to us. I have to admit, I have no idea which of the four people is the most likely to get the undeserved ax.  I am having to fight off the urge to take a peak at the end of the book… that’s how much I want to know!

Jennifer Chiaverini, Claire M. Johnson, Nina Wright, & Evan Marshall: Four New Authors to Mystery Site

I just copied the following blog directly from my What’s New on the Cozy Mystery Site page… So, if you are a regular reader of that page, you will probably not be interested in reading this blog which covers the four new authors I just finished adding to the site. (Since you have already read about them on the What’s New page, NOT because you aren’t interested in the authors!!!)

I am trying to get back into adding some of the authors who site readers have recommended. I  had been working on putting pictures of the covers of authors’ books on their individual pages, but found that it was simply taking too much time to make much progress on that project. (I just finished the "C" authors!)

Today I am adding an author who does not write mysteries, but who several site readers recommended as someone who might fit in well with the cozy theme of the site: Jennifer Chiaverini writes the Elm Creek Quilts Series. (I have added Chiaverini to the Quilting Theme page.)

Nina Wright writes the Whiskey Mattimoe Mystery Series. Whiskey is a realtor in a resort area in Michigan, and Abra is her trusty Afghan Hound sleuthing partner. (A new addition to the Dog Theme page.)

The third recommended author I added to the site today is Claire M. Johnson. Johnson writes the Mary Ryan, Pastry Chef Mystery Series… which I have added to the Culinary Mystery Theme page.

The last (but by no means least!) author is Evan Marshall. Marshall writes the Jane Stuart & Winky Mystery Series and is also beginning a new series called the Hidden Manhattan Mystery Series. I have added Marshall to the Cat Theme page, also.

Campion… Margery Allingham’s & Peter Davison’s…

I have to “come clean” on this series>>> My husband and I tried watching it a few years ago and did not like it… at all. We watched only the first episode and then gave up. We have since seen the error of our ways! The turning point for us was seeing Peter Davison in The Last Detective. When we saw Davison’s wonderful portrayal of Dangerous Davies, we decided to give Campion another try. And, we were pleasantly surprised at how much we liked it.

Peter Davison stars as Margery Allingham‘s amateur detective Albert Campion. The setting is 1930s England – and Campion is one very elite gentleman (of noble descent, although “not quite”) with all the time in the world to solve crimes. He has the help of his “manservant” (played by Brian Glover) who is almost  a one hundred and eighty degree contrast to Campion.

Our first impression of Campion was correct… Davison actually played Campion in a playful, almost campy manner. Once we were “in on the campiness” we truly began to enjoy the shows.

The Campion series was made by the BBC during the late 1980s / early 1990s. The scenery (as expected from the BBC) is absolutely beautiful. The narrow cobblestone streets,  unpaved country roads, flowers in the window boxes, vintage cars, just about everything is such a treat to see.

Campion, Season 1, included four episodes. The first episode takes place in a beautiful estate. Campion, belonging to the English aristocracy, fits right in. He is also able to glean information from the “lower classes” since his manservant  Lugg plays an important role in the crime-solving. Lugg, who has a background in criminal behavior, is able to contact his cronies with connections on the other side of the law, thus enabling Campion to use some rather shady ways to solve the crimes.The second season of Campion also included four episodes.

My husband and I both came away from the shows thinking that Davison toned down the almost “song and dance” portrayal of Campion after the first episode. So, if you give this delightfully fun mystery series a try, remember to keep that in mind. We really did look forward to watching the shows and  were truly sorry that they only made the eight episodes.

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

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