The Cozy Mystery List Blog

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

Trying to Update… Taking More Time… What's New…

So, I have been trying to update my authors’ chronological book lists on the site, and it is going rather slowly… I have finally worked my way up to (but not yet including) Nancy Atherton. Yep, that’s right… but at least I am towards the end of the A list! I have only come up with one new book for one of "my authors" (Susan Albert Wittig) and I have absolutely no idea how I missed that 2007 release! 

One of the drawbacks to a site like this is that I have to become aware of (what seems like) a jillion new releases. I was recently very pleasantly surprised when one of "my authors" wrote to tell me about a new book that she is putting out so that I could update my list. That sure made my life a whole lot easier!

I would be remiss to not say that if you see one of your authors on the site who I haven’t updated, I’d love to hear from you! Believe me, I don’t think of myself as the "last word specialist with all-knowing powers"!!!  Actually, I have heard from a couple different site viewers who have let me know of "updates" for some of my authors. That is always appreciated!

Well, I think I have taken a long enough break… I am going to go update Nancy Atherton‘s book list…..

The Politician's Wife… miniseries

The two main characters in this (yet another British!) miniseries are such good actors that it is no surprise I was swept away with the intriguing plot. Actually, the plot was so good that I probably would have enjoyed The Politician’s Wife anyway,  but Trevor Eve and Juliet Stevenson are such treats to watch, that they made it all that more fun for me. (Juliet Stevenson seems like she was absolutely born to play this part! She is able to convey such a range of human emotions…)

Trevor Eve plays Duncan Matlock, the Tory Minister of the Family who is Britain’s golden boy politician and a devoted family man. (And, of course, he would be…. since he IS the Minister of the Family!) OR IS HE?

Juliet Stevenson plays his wife, Flora. Her family ties enabled Duncan to go as far as he has politically, and she has worked tirelessly campaigning and socializing for his political gains. She has given up her professional aspirations/ambitions so that she can micromanage Duncan’s family and social life.

Enter a young Minnie Driver…. Need I say more!?!

This is not a miniseries for the entire family. It deals with several “adult themes.” I saw The Politician’s Wife years ago when it first aired on (I believe) Masterpiece Theatre. I was recently delighted to find that they had finally released it in DVD form. I did not, however, remember a few of the graphic “adult situation.” So, I again must stress… this is not a for-the-entire-family fare.

As the wife of the Minister of the Family, Flora is expected to do what any great woman who has been relegated to the background is expected to do: Stand By Her Man! I found the plot totally believable… even her father’s reaction rang true. And, Flora does just that, and more… much more!

(I cannot tell you more because the plot is one that is easily given away. As a matter of fact, I almost feel like telling you not to read the reviews that the miniseries has gotten from other sites. They are replete with spoilers…)

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

I Finally Posted the Edgar (Mystery) Movie Winners and Nominees…

You know what they say about it being better to be late… Well, I finally made it through all of the Edgar movies that have been nominated and there are quite a few really good mystery movies that you might be interested in checking out…

1949 was an extremely good year… One of my favorite Barbara Stanwyck movies (Sorry, Wrong Number) was nominated, along with Alfred Hitchcock’s Rope, Call Northside 777, and the Big Clock. Wow! What a year for classics (and Jimmy Stewart!)… And, you know what they say about making them like they used to….

1955’s winning movie was Rear Window.  Has anyone out there NOT seen that movie classic? The combination of Alfred Hitchcock, Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly… Does it get any better? Some may argue that 1961’s winning movie Psycho is "getting better" with Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh teaming up with Alfred Hitchcock…. I guess that is left up to each individual’s taste…. Both movies are well worth renting, purchasing, or taping off of late night television.

A movie that was nominated in 1958 was based on none other than Agatha Christie’s play… Witness for the Prosecution lost out to a true classic… Twelve Angry Men. Of course, a remake of that movie today would necessitate a different title… since women are now "able" to sit on a jury!

1965 threw me a loop… I could definitely understand how Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte won for that year, but, I can’t quite understand how It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World made it as a nominated movie. While I really enjoyed the movie when I saw it during my youth, I don’t really remember it as a mystery… I remember it as more of a madcap comedy. ("I’m coming, Mama!" is one of the scenes I truly enjoyed… with Ethel Merman’s performance as every man’s nightmare-of-a-mother-in-law, making me smile… years later,  as I type this…)

Rather than go through each movie, here is the link to the exact page… There are a lot of movies that you might nostalgically recognize, which you just might feel like watching one of these days…

Bramwell… the Series

Several years ago, I was lucky to have been one of the people who started viewing a new (very British!) Masterpiece Theatre presentation called Bramwell. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the foresight to tape any of the episodes, so my husband and children missed it… until it finally became available to either rent or purchase. (Produced by Whitby Davison Productions Ltd.)

It is not a mystery, but in my opinion, it has cozy “written” all over it. But, be forewarned… since it is a Victorian medical series, there is a fair amount of blood in it.

Bramwell is based on the fictional life of Doctor Eleanor Bramwell, portrayed by Jemma Redgrave (of the famous British Redgrave family) and she is absolutely wonderful in this role. She is able to convey the innate feisty-ness that it would have taken in the late 1800s for a woman to become a doctor. But at the same time, she is able to capture the very feminine reserve it also must have taken for an intelligent, capable woman to have been able to to “make it” in a man’s world back then.

The first season of Bramwell is comprised of three discs. It sets up the series by showing us Dr. (Eleanor) Bramwell’s succession from working under a leading surgeon to finding a sponsor for a clinic she opens in the slums of London. Dr. Bramwell is stubborn, as well as smart, and has the youthful quality of sometimes jumping before evaluating the jump…

The wonderful actor David Calder portrays the senior Doctor Bramwell. Calder’s performance shows us how Eleanor’s doting father could have raised her to believe (or should I say “know”) that she could indeed become a good doctor… despite London’s (or should I say “the world’s”) disapproving attitude. Remember- the late 1800s was a time when society women stitched floral patterns on their needlepoint canvases. It was not a time when these same “dainty” women stitched up gaping, open wounds! 

Season two of the Bramwell series follows Dr. Eleanor Bramwell’s experiences at “The Thrift.” The Thrift is the name of the clinic she opens in London’s “bad side” of town.

The sets/scenery seem flawless to me… as do the costumes. The entire cast is excellent. One of the characters I absolutely love in this series is Nurse Ethel Carr, played by Ruth Sheen. Sheen is great in everything I have seen her in, but her portrayal of Nurse Carr is so good that I found myself (almost gleefully) awaiting her next scene.

Season three has just been released (January 8, 2008.) When I wrote the review of this series it had yet to be released.

Bramwell’s fourth season is it’s final season, and has been available to either rent or purchase for the longest amount of time. I don’t know why they started with the last and worked their way to the front but, that is apparently what they did. (That is a mystery to me!)

If you are planning on watching the series, be sure to start at the beginning and follow the correct chronological order.  Since I am waiting until I am able to watch season three, I have not watched season four yet. I watched it when it was on Masterpiece Theatre years ago… which, at this point, is almost like saying I haven’t ever seen it!

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

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