The Cozy Mystery List Blog

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

Steve Allen… the mystery book author!?!

I have finally tracked down the first book of Steve Allen’s mystery book series! I used to enjoy seeing Steve Allen on his frequent visits to television talk shows. His mind was so quick… very funny, very bright. So, when I discovered that he also wrote a mystery series featuring Steve and his wife, actress Jayne Meadows, I knew that I would have to give his books a try.

I already own four of the seven books in the series, and am so happy that I finally found The Talk Show Murders, which is the first of the series. I just started reading it last night, and I must say that it is really a kick to "see" people who I remember from the 80s… Toni Tennille, Burt Reynolds, and a number of other people… who some of you may also remember.

Allen wrote the mystery novels between 1982 and 1999. I know that I have previously written about how I don’t like reading series out of chronological order, so my four books have just sat on my book shelf…. patiently awaiting the first of the series. And, now that I have it, I can’t wait to make my way through this series. The person who told me about the series loved it, and I have high hopes that I will love it, too. I mean, a book written by Steve Allen that is a mystery…… how couldn’t I love it!

I Couldn't Sleep, So I Thought I Would Read…..

Well, another one bites the dust! I am always very sad when I find that I absolutely cannot be faithful to an author who I have followed through several books. 

Tonight, I found that I could not sleep, so I got my current trusty cozy mystery novel out to read, in hopes that I would be able to get so interested in the mystery that I didn’t just lie there in bed worrying about things that are simply not big enough worries to worry about… As I read the book, I kept finding myself worrying about things that weren’t worth worrying about…. and then I found myself worrying about how I was going to get out of bed to go find another book to read… without waking my husband.

As any devoted cozy mystery reader knows……. we should be enjoying our novels, not wondering how we are going to be able to get another one easily…. (As I am writing this, I am thinking that I sound like an addict, wondering how I am going to get my next "fix" without attracting attention!) That’s not how our novels should make us feel…

So, before I go get another cozy from my "TBR" pile of books (TBR=To Be Read), I find myself at my computer, writing this blog, almost as an homage to one of my once-favorite-cozy series. I am truly sorry to take this author off of my favorite authors list, but I find that it’s time to do so. I know that I won’t be revisiting the books’ characters in the future and I will miss them, not so much as the characters they have become, but as the characters they were when I first got to know them… several books ago.

Derringers for Hire!?!

Well, I finally found the Derringer Award winners for 2006. I have posted them on the Derringer Award pages. As, I have said before, I think that ALL of the nominated authors are WINNERS…

Coming up, at the end of May, the Bouchercon nominations will be announced  for their 2007 awards. (I will write more on the different awards that are presented at the Bouchercon in a future blog.)

Isn’t it great that there are so many wonderful ways "our mystery authors" get the recognition they so rightfully deserve?

Library Reading: Enjoyment and Memories……….

I just gave a bag of (and by that I mean over sixty) cozy mystery books to my library. I hope that they can use them. While I prefer reading a book that I actually own, I know how much libraries appreciate donated books. Years ago, I never bought a book, and used the library for every book I either read or listened to. But, as I have gotten older, I have become pretty set in my ways……… I don’t like having to take a book back by a certain date.

I think that I mentioned a while ago that we are members of audible.com. Recently, I have found that they are offering a lot of the authors I enjoy…. Reginald Hill, Ellis Peters, Harlan Coben, Alexander McCall Smith, Colin Dexter, and even Ann Granger!  We have been with audible.com for years, and I remember being frustrated by the author list they used to have. I found that the mysteries they carried were not the types I preferred. So, I simply stopped perusing their library. But, now, I can find many of my very favorite authors.

I don’t know much about the “technical” side of the audible.com site, I let my husband take care of that. (I’m sure that I could… if I had to, but he’s not complaining, and neither am I!) But, I do know how to “purchase” our five monthly audible books, and I know how to download them (by clicking a button), and I also know how to put them on my listening device. It’s great!

So, now that audible.com has “my authors,” I don’t have to check out a book on tape from my library. But, I do remember the days when I did get such enjoyment out of those cassettes.

More information about Alexander McCall Smith‘s four (currently!) series.

MENU