The Cozy Mystery List Blog

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

Colleges… Are Now in Progress….

I don’t know how to begin this blog… "Boo, hoo, hoo" or "I am sad" are how I feel, but, let’s face it, those two entry phrases are pretty negative, and they don’t really begin to cover the great sadness I feel every time my children leave our home.

My daughter packed her car and left this morning… She’s off to another semester of Aerospace Engineering, which translates for me as "another semester away from home." I am sure I am not alone in these parental feelings. And, I am guessing that there are a lot of people who are experiencing this same sadness right now, since most of the universities are back in session tomorrow.

My daughter and I share a very special relationship….. She truly is a best friend to me. I absolutely cannot imagine my life without her. I really do not know how parents managed to deal with these types of frequent college separations years ago… before cell phones. I cannot imagine not being able to talk to my children any time they want to talk to me… (Note that I say any time they want to talk to me… not anytime I want to talk to them!)

I remember (years ago) when I was in college. I talked to my parents probably once a month… maybe twice if it was a birthday month. During these "tender moment" phone calls… I could hear my father in the background saying "We need to hang up." or "She can write us a letter." or, if he was in a particularly good mood "We can write her a letter." Some of you may be able to remember those "Ma Bell" precious moments… when the minutes truly were preciou$$$$$!

But, I digress….

Let me just say, I am experiencing a "withdrawal of sorts." I am not at all sure I care for this phenomenon… children growing up and going out on their own. Thank goodness we belong to the "family plan" of our chosen cell phone company!

To Serve Them All My Days… BBC Miniseries

The To Serve Them All My Days miniseries is based on the novel (of the same name) by R. F. Delderfield. I admit to not having read the novel, but I have seen the miniseries… and I love it! It is not a mystery, but it does stand up to its BBC counterparts in that it is an extremely good production. The thirteen segment series was produced in 1980 and is set during the time between World War I and WW II.

The miniseries follows “David,” a soldier who survived WW I physically (albeit with a limp) but who was left with a somewhat shaky mental outlook… commonly known as shell-shock. Although not a teacher by trade, he is given a job as a teacher at an exclusive, upper-crust boys boarding school. (A “public” school… which to us in the USA translates to “private.”) David, the teacher, is beautifully played by John Duttine— who— if you are a lover of BBC/ITV productions, you will surely recognize.

David does not come from the privileged background that his students come from, and is not entirely sure he wants to teach at this posh school. But, with time, you see how David is able to identify with these boys who are expected to be “brave, little men:” while being taken from their families and placed into boarding schools at very young ages… 

The cast is superb, the wardrobe is authentic-looking, and the setting is wonderful. I think that the only negative thing I have to say is that the series is simply too short. I would have loved watching more segments>>> actually, many more segments!

I missed seeing this series when it was broadcast on Masterpiece Theatre in the early 1980s so I was delighted to find it recently. I strongly recommend this wonderful production… even though it isn’t a mystery!

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

Author Lynne Murray's Josephine Fuller Series…

Hmmm… I have enjoyed Josephine Fuller’s exploits for… I guess it would be fair to say… over a decade. The author of the Josephine Fuller Series is Lynne Murray, and I have to say, the first four books of the series have given me a lot of reading enjoyment. Josephine is quite different than most of the sleuths we, the cozy readers, are used to. You see, Josephine is a full-figured woman who is OK with her weight… In a world that (UNFORTUNATELY!!!) judges women by their size/shape, it’s refreshing to read a book where the heroine is full-figured and not ashamed of it….

I had read somewhere that Murray was going to be putting out the fifth book of the series (A King-Sized Coffin) a while ago. Her fourth Josephine Fuller novel (A Ton of Trouble) was published in 2002, so I have been waiting quite a while for the fifth book to hit the shelves.  After repeatedly seeking out third-party information about the whereabouts of her new novel, I finally went to her personal blog and asked when it was scheduled to be published.

You cannot imagine my surprise at finding out that the novel is not going to be published! I am so disappointed… and can imagine that all of you who enjoy her books as much as I do, are disappointed, too. But, just in case, I am leaving the title up on my Lynne Murray page… One can always hope!

We Seem to be Watching "All Things Britannia!"

It isn’t very often that my husband and I have both of our adult children at home at the same time. When they are both here, we enjoy getting out our favorite DVDs to watch as a family…. and, upon looking at our habits, I see that almost everything we watch as a family is British!

During their winter break this year, the four of us managed to watch some pretty phenomenal shows. (At least I think that they are of that quality!) We just finished watching Jeremy Brett (as Sherlock Holmes) roaming the moors in search of The Hound of the Baskervilles. A few days ago we were treated to Derek Jacobi (as Brother Cadfael) as his brother monks plowed up The Potter’s Field.

Unfortunately, our son has opted out of watching Jemma Redgrave (as Doctor Bramwell) trudge her way to and from The Thrift. But, the rest of us have been thoroughly enjoying the exploits of Dr. Bramwell, while my son is "out and about" with his friends.

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