The Cozy Mystery List Blog

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

British Television Mystery Series: Sister Boniface Mysteries

The Sister Boniface Mysteries is a British series that is available on BritBox. Sister Boniface is a perky, upbeat, ex-spy, Ph.D. – who does all of the forensics involved in solving a crime. She is the crime scene investigator, the lab technician, and she pretty much takes care of all the technical positions involved. Lorna Watson portrays Sister Boniface in an almost staccato mode. She walks, talks, and moves in a very controlled and planned manner. Sister Boniface is clearly a genius – definitely the smartest person in any room she’s in.

There are four other characters featured in this series, and all of them are very well-portrayed: Max Brown (the inspector), Jerry Iwu (the new detective who thought he was going to work at Scotland Yard, who finds himself in this cozy village), Miranda Raison (the journalist who always seems to be eavesdropping as crimes are being discussed), and Ami Metcalf (the constable).

The name of the village is a telling hint that this is a mystery series: “Great Slaughter”. The Sister Boniface Mysteries series is set in the early 1960s – the same as the Father Brown series. Sister Boniface zips around on her moped scooter and isn’t averse to breaking a few rules. The village setting is exactly what you would expect – beautiful, serene, full of friendly people, tranquil >>> until, of course, the pesky crime occurs!

My husband and I watch Sister Boniface at the end of the day – when we’re sort of unwinding. We know we’ll enjoy it and we know there won’t be any graphic “adult situations” that will jolt like scenes that depict a forensic pathologist pointing out how a mangled body looks on the morgue’s “slab” – while the pathologist is eating a sandwich. You won’t see that here! 

This is another British “feel good” mystery television series that seems to be an oxymoron. You may ask: How in the world can a show that deals with death be a “feel good” TV show? Well, if you watch this show you’ll find out how!

Cozy Mystery News – July 2022

I only have a little bit of news about site authors this month – specifically two pieces, both about the same author!

Carol J. Perry has had new books in two series confirmed – two books in the Haunted Haven Mystery Series, which stars the owner of an old inn in Haven, Florida, which will bring the series to a total of 4, and three more in the Witch City Mystery Series, starring a reporter in Salem, Massachusetts, bringing the series to a total of 15.

Kate Collins: Goddess of Greene St. Mysteries

Statue of Limitations (A Goddess of Greene St. Mystery Book 1) So, for the second time, I’m writing about a Kate Collins’ series in my posts about the most popular and recommended Cozy Mystery series. Last time (five years ago — time flying is more than an old cliche!), I wrote about her Flower Shop Mystery Series, more specifically, the first book in that series, Mum’s the Word. You can read that post if you click here. As you might guess, I liked her earlier series quite a lot. Many other readers did too — enough that several books from that series were made into mystery movies shown on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries channel. (This was back when that channel showed a decent selection of original mystery movies.)

Anyway, enough about the past. This time I am writing about Kate Collins’ Goddess of Green St. Mysteries. The first book in the series is Statue of Limitations. Athena Spencer is the sleuth. She is a young(ish) single mother who has recently been divorced and has lost her job with a big city newspaper. So, she has returned to her small-town roots where her big Greek family runs both a diner and a garden center.

She works at the garden center but also spends a lot of time at the diner run by her grandparents in the town’s Little Greece section of the small town of Sequoia picturesquely set on Lake Michigan. She also writes, anonymously, a blog that features in a slightly veiled fashion her family.

The three blocks or so of Little Greece are threatened with destruction by the rich family in the town who presumably owns or controls that property. And, a statue that her grandfather bought from the rich family has brought an attractive, mysterious stranger to town searching for the authenticity and origin of the ancient statue. 

Before you know it, a murder has occurred. And the earlier death of the older member of the wealthy family is also considered suspicious. Of course, Athena is directly involved in trying to stop the demolition of Little Greece. She also gets involved in trying to solve the mystery of the two murders because the handsome stranger who Athena has just met (and seems more than a bit smitten by) is considered the prime suspect by the police.

Athena’s official boyfriend — formerly a lawyer, but now working as a law clerk for some reason — is also involved in the mystery — as are most of the people in the town it seems. This is truly a small tourist town setting, and it is quite worthy of being considered a Cozy Mystery.

Kate Collins’ is a fine writer who brings Athena and her big Greek family to life. This series already has three books, and I am looking forward to reading the other two. If you are looking for a Cozy series that has a lot of heart, look no further than the Goddess of Green St. Mysteries.

If you’re interested in seeing other most recommended or popular Cozy Mystery authors/series, please visit the Most Popular & Recommended Cozy Mystery Series page on my site.

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