Reading Cozy Mysteries in 2012

In 2012, I participated in this challenge, hosted by Socrates Book Reviews.

At first I thought it would be easy, but I found that my definition of a cozy was different from the generally accepted one. My definition (prior to doing this challenge) was loosely this:

The death and/or crimes are not graphically described. The characters are either likable or humorous. No explicit sex. Not necessarily tame. A book can be entertaining and a good mystery without containing a lots of violence or sex.

However, most definitions you find on the web are more like this one at Wikipedia:

The detectives in such stories are nearly always amateurs (village policeman Hamish Macbeth, featured in a series of novels by M. C. Beaton, is a notable exception) and frequently women. They are typically well educated, intuitive, and often hold jobs (caterer, innkeeper, librarian, teacher, dog trainer, shop owner, reporter) that bring them into constant contact with other residents of their town and the surrounding region. Like other amateur detectives, they typically have a contact on the police force who can give them access to important information about the case at hand, but the contact is typically a spouse, lover, friend or family member rather than a former colleague.

This page at cozy-mystery.com also is along the same lines, although the author of the Cozy Mystery site is careful to say that many cozy authors bend the rules and many have added non-cozy elements in recent years. There, the setting as a small town or village is emphasized. Both Wikipedia and Cozy Mystery also cite the characteristics that I listed:

Cozy mysteries are considered “gentle” books… no graphic violence, no profanity, and no explicit sex. Most often, the crime takes place “off stage” and death is usually very quick. Prolonged torture is not a staple in cozy mysteries!

Regardless of how my definition and the accepted definition differed, I did manage over the year to read 17 mysteries that I think fit the definition. I had originally set a goal of reading between 7-12 books, so I surpassed my goal. And here is my list:

The books that I read ... with links to reviews.

1.   Heads You Lose by Christianna Brand
2.   Green for Danger by Christianna Brand
3.   A Duty to the Dead by Charles Todd
4.   A Fall from Grace by Robert Barnard
5.   Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
6.   With a Bare Bodkin by Cyril Hare
7.   An English Murder by Cyril Hare 
8.   Birds of a Feather by Jacqueline Winspear
9.   Pardonable Lies by Jacqueline Winspear
10. Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley
11. Bimbos of the Death Sun by Sharyn McCrumb
12. Zombies of the Gene Pool by Sharyn McCrumb
13. The Affair of the Mutilated Mink by James Anderson
14. The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie
15. The Property of a Lady by Anthony Oliver
16. Lament for the Bride by Helen Reilly
17. The Cape Cod Mystery by Phoebe Atwood Taylor

Other wrap up posts for this challenge are HERE.

Will I join the 2013 Cruisin' Thru the Cozies Reading Challenge? Out of all the mysteries I read next year, I suspect at least six of them will be in the cozy genre, so the answer is yes.

And, I want to mention that the Cozy Mystery site is a great source. There are bibliographies for many, many authors there, not all cozy authors. And a great page on themes, which includes cozy mysteries set in various locations.

Murder on the Orient Express: Agatha Christie

Murder on the Orient Express was published in 1934, it featured Hercule Poirot, the dapper, egotistical, and very intelligent and perceptive Belgian detective.

From the synopsis of the book at the official Agatha Christie website:

Travelling on the Orient Express, Poirot is approached by a desperate American named Ratchett.  Afraid that someone plans to kill him, Ratchett asks Poirot for help.

Thus begins an intriguing tale of a murder investigation in an enclosed environment, this time on a train. The plotting is superb, and there is subtle humor in the relationship between Poirot and the director of the Compagnie Internationale des Wagon Lits (also a Belgian). I found Christie's handling of the denouement, and the reactions of the "spectators" as the culprit was revealed, very moving, providing an emotional ending.

It is obvious I enjoyed this book, but I did read it after seeing the movie based on the book, and thus I knew the story from beginning to end. [I thought I had seen the movie recently, but in truth in had been nearly 3 years.  I still remember it vividly however.]

The movie is a good adaption, following the book very closely, and beautifully and tastefully done. Reading this book, I was paying more attention to how the story is told, how the author fools the reader until the very end. The fact that I could enjoy it so much, even though I knew the ending, speaks to how well Christie tells a story and entertains us.

In the film Albert Finney stars as Poirot. Other well-known actors in the film are: Martin Balsam, Richard Widmark, Lauren Bacall, Ingrid Bergman (who received an Oscar for her performance), Sean Connery, John Gielgud, Vanessa Redgrave, Michael York and Anthony Perkins.


This counts as one of my books for the following challenges:
Mt. TBR Challenge
Read Your Own Books Challenge
A-Z Challenge
Vintage Mystery Challenge
Cruisin' Thru the Cozies Challenge
Mystery & Suspense Reading Challenge

Heads You Lose: Christianna Brand

About Christianna Brand. From the author description at Goodreads.

"She was born Mary Christianna Milne in 1907 in Malaya and spent her early years in India. She had a number of different occupations, including model, dancer, shop assistant and governess.

Her first novel, Death in High Heels, was written while Brand was working as a salesgirl. In 1941, one of her best-loved characters, Inspector Cockrill of the Kent County Police, made his debut in the book Heads You Lose. The character would go on to appear in seven of her novels. Green for Danger is Brand’s most famous novel. The whodunit, set in a World War 2 hospital, was adapted for film by Eagle-Lion Films in 1946, starring Alastair Sim as the Inspector. She dropped the series in the late 1950s and concentrated on various genres as well as short stories."


I was surprised to find out that Christianna Brand had only written seven mysteries featuring Inspector Cockrill. With that few, I could easily read them all. But after reading this one, I am not so sure I want to.  I have read some of her novels in the distant past I am sure, but it is long enough ago that I don't remember which ones.

Most of the action takes place in a mansion outside a small village. The owner of Pigeonsford Estate has five friends currently visiting when the murder takes place. Inspector Cockrill has known most of this group for years. It appears that one of them must be the murderer but he can't believe it is any of them.

What are my issues with this book? I am not sure. I felt the pacing was good, and read the book in less than two days ... fast for me. I did not have to force myself to finish it. I love the country house mystery sub-genre. But I think the characters were a bit shallow for me and I could not get to like them.

The revelation of the culprit was also a disappointment. I had considered that this character was the most likely suspect, but the explanation left me cold.  On the other hand, I know that mystery writer's essentially are creating fantasy situations that the reader must accept. Had I enjoyed the journey to the end more, I would have ignored my disappointment.

This is the first book in the series, and only the second novel published by Brand. I have read that Green for Danger, the second book in the series, is much better, and I am reading that next. I hope to find that I like it. I have seen the movie based on the book (also titled Green for Danger), and enjoyed it a lot. I know that the movie is a bit different, and I have (conveniently) forgotten the ending, so that won't be a problem.

Other reviews:
At a lovely site featuring Vintage Penguin paperbacks: A Penguin a week

Full of information: at the Golden Age of Detection Wiki

In-depth, and with great comments: at Mystery*File

This counts as one of my books for the following challenges:
Mt. TBR Challenge
Read Your Own Books Challenge
A-Z Challenge
Vintage Mystery Challenge
Cruisin' Thru the Cozies Challenge
1st in a Series Challenge
Merely Mystery Reading Challenge
Mystery & Suspense Reading Challenge

A Challenge Full of Cozies

This challenge, Cruisin' thru the Cozies, is also hosted by Socrates Book Reviews. (I also signed up for her Finishing a Series Challenge.) Between a quarter to a third of my reading in a year is often Cozy mysteries, because I like vintage mysteries and I read a lot of contemporary authors who are considered cozy authors.

A Summary of the Guidelines

(There are others, go here to check them out.)

 1) Cozy mysteries qualify. Check out Cozy-Mystery.com for definition and suggestions.
2) The qualification period is January 1, 2012 to December 31, 2012.
 
There are three levels. I am joining at the Investigator Level - Read 7-12 books. I figure I can complete that easily because I am also in the Vintage Book Challenge, and many of those will be cozy mysteries.

I will list the books I read here... with links to reviews.

1.  Heads You Lose by Christianna Brand
2.  Green for Danger by Christianna Brand
3.  A Duty to the Dead by Charles Todd
4.  A Fall from Grace by Robert Barnard
5.  Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
6.  With a Bare Bodkin by Cyril Hare
7.  An English Murder by Cyril Hare 
8.  Birds of a Feather by Jacqueline Winspear
9.  Pardonable Lies by Jacqueline Winspear
10. Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley
11. Bimbos of the Death Sun by Sharyn McCrumb
12. Zombies of the Gene Pool by Sharyn McCrumb
13. The Affair of the Mutilated Mink by James Anderson
14. The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie
15. The Property of a Lady by Anthony Oliver
16. Lament for the Bride by Helen Reilly
17. The Cape Cod Mystery by Phoebe Atwood Taylor
  
Completion of Challenge: I completed this challenge on July 5, 2012, when I finished reading An English Murder by Cyril Hare. I will continue recording cozy novels I have read this year on this post. I may reach 12 or even more.