I am an independent author without a traditional publishing contract so reviews are important for me to sell books, which may be why I think about reviews more now than I used to.
I don’t leave reviews so people will leave reviews for my books, just to clarify.
But the fact that I need reviews makes me think of how reviews can benefit the reader and the author.
A review can help a reader decide if a book is for them, based on the good, bad, and all-in-between reviews.
The book may have a ton of great reviews but by reading them a reader may realize, “This book still isn’t a book I’d like.”
Or the bad reviews might tell a reader the book is for them.
For example, someone may give a negative review saying the book has too much romance, which makes a reader who likes romance say, “Oh! This book is for me!” Or maybe the reviewer said they didn’t like the fantasy element and the reader says, “Oooh. I love fantasy. I’m going to read it because this person didn’t like it.”
While I’m leaving a review for a reader, I am also leaving a review for the author. Some of us may think that an author doesn’t need a review or to read their reviews. In fact, I’ve heard many authors tell each other to not read their reviews because the reviews aren’t for them.
I don’t agree with that advice.
A review is for an author as much as a reader.
Yes, it can be hard to read bad reviews, but sometimes those bad reviews improve our writing or they make us realize that our books aren’t going to be everyone’s cup of tea.
Even if an author doesn’t read a review, though, it can make them feel good to see the number of reviews and know that people are reading their books which makes all that work feel worth it. It feels good as an author to know that people are reading your books. We work a long time on those stories and just writing them can be satisfying enough in many ways, but it can still be nice and fulfilling to see that others have read it and enjoyed it.
So I write reviews for the readers and the authors. I don’t always want to stop and write a review, to be honest. Writing one only takes about five minutes, though, because I know reviews are not book reports. Reviews are a simple few sentences to say I liked a book and why. It doesn’t have to be extensive. In fact, most people who look at reviews don’t want to read a super long review anyhow. They just want the gist – did you like it or didn’t you?
I won’t always do well at leaving reviews but I hope to keep doing them for the benefit of both the reader and the author.
It’s time for our Sunday morning chat. On Sundays, I ramble about what’s been going on, whatthe rest of the familyand I have been reading and watching, andwhat I’ve been writing. Some weeks I share what I am listening to.
Yesterday Little Miss and I visited my parents to have some dinner and make chocolate chip cookies with them.
We did that on a very windy, rainy day after traveling to drop The Boy off at a friend’s house 40 minutes away. On the way back from dropping him off, we stopped at a local library that was having a used book sale. It wasn’t a very exciting sale for us, sadly, but we did get a few books. There were no cozy mysteries. So sad. Yet, not really because I have so many to read right now.
The cooking making was interesting. We whipped up a batch but my mom said it didn’t look like there would be enough for her grandson, who loves chocolate chip cookies, so Little Miss and I added some more flour. But then we realized we would need more butter and another egg and then we tried to remember what we’d put in and what we hadn’t so the conversation started going like this:
Me: “We should put some more flour in.”
Her: “I don’t know about that.”
Mom/Grandma: “Did you even put the baking powder in?”
Her and me: “oops.”
Me: “I’d better put another half a cup of butter.”
Her: “This isn’t looking right.”
Me: “It looks super sticky and sort of runny.”
Mom/Grandma: “Add more flour.”
Dad/Grandpa, taking photos of it all and snickering: “I don’t know how these cookies are going to turn out.”
Me: “Well, we will eat them somehow.”
The cookies:
The cookies tasted great, by the way. Somehow I forgot to add this when I originally shared this post so if you see comments about that below — that is why. *snort* I am such an airhead sometimes.
While cooking the cookies we also had an incident where Zooma The Wonder Dog ran into a mud puddle twice trying to corner a cat at my parents’ neighbor’s house. I had to lock her in the bathroom, pull out the cookies, and then hose her down so she wouldn’t get the house all muddy.
She didn’t want to get in my parent’s walk-in shower but I finally managed to coax her in and pull the shower head off and wash the mud off.
We left not long after that and came home to enjoy some quiet time at home.
What I/we’ve been Reading/will be reading:
Currently:
I plan to finish The Divine Proverb of Streusel by Sara Brunsvold this week.
I am also reading The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett and started Priscilla by Jenny Knipfer.
Just Finished:
A Troubling Case of Murder on the Menu by Donna Doyle. This was a cute little, simple cozy mystery.
Soon to be read:
The Mystery at Lilac Inn by Carolyn Keene
Murder Always Barks Twice by Jennifer Hawkins
Death At A Scottish Christmas by Lucy Connelly
Little Miss and I finished The Middle Moffat by Eleanor Estes this week.
The Boy and I are looking for a new book to read for English for school and he is finishing a Warhammer book.
The Husband is reading Skinwalkers by Tony Hillerman.
What We watched/are Watching
This week I watched an episode of Lark Rise to Candleford, Bluey (because of course), and Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman.
I also watched a show called The Repair Shop on Britbox or Acorn or Masterpiece or some British channel on Amazon. I really enjoyed it. They are repair experts who repair special heirlooms for people and there are usually sweet stories behind the items.
This vlog by The Cottage Fairy about how she needed to take a break from social media to help quiet her mind. I could really relate to this because I felt the same way.
What I’m Writing
This past week I started book three in the Gladwynn Grant Mysteries. I’m excited to see where it goes and how it turns out.
I’m going to try my best to finish A Tale of Two Cities but I will also be starting Watership Down on Audio, read by Peter Capaldi.
Photos from Last Week
Here are some photos from the play of War of the Worlds that my husband was in last week. I wrote about that yesterday in my Saturday Afternoon Chat post.
Now it’s your turn. What have you been doing, watching, reading, listening to or writing? Let me know in the comments or leave a blog post link if you also write a weekly update like this.
Murder Plainly Read by Isabella Alan, the fourth book in the Amish Quilt Shop Mysteries, was hard for me to put down not only because I wanted to find out who committed the crime in this super cozy mystery, but because I became attached to the main character Angela “Angie” Braddock and those around her.
Angie owns a fabric and quilting shop in the small town of Millersburg, which has a very large Amish population. She owns two pets – a loveable French Bulldog named Oliver and an aloof cat named Dodger. She’s dating the town’s sheriff, James Mitchell, which creates some interesting situations when she’s trying to investigate things she shouldn’t really be investigating.
Angie’s friends work in the shop or are connected to the shop in some way and are Amish. There are two different types of Amish sects in this community – more strict and more liberal. Angie’s employees – Anna and Mattie – are a mix of both.
Anna cracked me up because she is Amish but also wants to get to the bottom of things and in this case those “things” are surrounding the murder of a very cranky bishop of the Old Order Amish named Bartholomew Belier. He’s found dead in the library bookmobile by Angie and Angie’s “prim and proper” mother. Standing over him is brash librarian Austina Shaker, who is quickly blamed for the murder.
Angie isn’t sure if Austina is guilty or not but when Austina begs her to help clear her name, Angie can’t seem to help trying to find out. Anna also pushes Angie to get involved, certain she can help get to the bottom of what really happened to Bartholomew.
Angie does have a history of trying to solve murders, after all since she’s investigated and solved three murders previously. I should add that I didn’t realize this was the fourth book in this series when I started it and I had no issues understanding what was happening despite not reading the previous three yet.
The loveable cast of characters in the book include Anna and Mattie, Angie’s friends Rachel and Jonah, who are also Amish, Mitchell and his son Zander, a mischievous goat named Petunia, and Angie’s parents.
Her father is extra loveable and fun as he tries to navigate life after retirement. Her mother is more on the irritating side of things as she tries to run the show a lot and seems a bit stuck up but she keeps the storyline even more interesting as the reader braces themselves for what she’s going to say or do next.
There is much more than a mystery going on in this book and I like that. I like the little side stories with the different characters. I also loved the undercurrent of romance between Mitchell and Angie and how Alan didn’t need to add anything explicit or detailed to get across the feelings between the two.
There were even a few swoon-worthy scenes that made me giggle with delight over the gentle affection shown between the couple – affection that didn’t involve anything blush-worthy.
It’s amazing to me how just Mitchell brushing his fingertips against the back of Angie’s arm was enough to hint at sexual tension. No spicey scenes or language were needed.
I am looking forward to reading more books in this series.
Meet Your Baker by Ellie Alexander was a cozy, quick read that launched me into modern cozy mysteries. It is the first book in the Bakeshop Mystery series.
Juliet Capshaw returns to her hometown in Oregon after suffering heartbreak while working as a chef on a cruise ship.
Hoping for a break from all the stress, she begins working with her mom at the family bakery. Her hopes for a peaceful settling-in are dashed when she discovers a body on the kitchen floor one morning.
This book had me hooked on the characters fairly quickly. There is a close relationship between Juliet and her mom and there are plenty of quirky and sweet characters to grow attached to.
Even though I am not a baker myself, I liked how baking was seamlessly woven into the story. I won’t lie – I did skip over some of the more detailed descriptions of the baking process and how it made her feel because it isn’t really my thing, but for those who absolutely love baking I know those descriptions will be something they will love to read.
Alexander does an amazing job of bringing her characters to life – whether it is in how she describes them or in how she creates a dialogue between them.
This is a book I would recommend to anyone who loves super, super cozy mysteries.
Crime and Poetry by Amanda Flower
Crime and Poetry is the first book in the Magical Bookshop series by Amanda Flower. Violet Waverly rushes back to her hometown to help her ailing grandmother, only to find out her grandmother (Daisy) isn’t so sick after all.
Daisy owns a bookshop that Violet soon finds out is magical because the books pick their readers, which is hard to explain until you read the book.
Before Violet knows it she’s wrapped up in a murder mystery when a man named Benedict Raisin dies clutching a copy of Emily Dickinson that he bought at Daisy’s bookshop. Even worse for Daisy is that Benedict left her in his will.
This is a book that takes you on a wild journey full of magic and craziness. I’m not usually a fan of “magical” books. I prefer my cozy mysteries to have at least a little bit of reality to them but I’ve read Flower’s other magical series – The Magical Garden Series – and really liked it.
I did not enjoy this book as much as the magical garden because it featured more about spells and that’s not really my thing. It may, however, be something other readers enjoy. I also felt that the timeline for solving the mystery was completely ridiculous. But there were magical books involved so of course it would be solved fast. A little bit of suspending belief isn’t a bad thing when reading a cozy mystery though.
I don’t know if I will continue this series because I didn’t connect with Violet as much as characters in other series by Flower but I might since I liked the book overall.
Have you read either of these? What did you think?
It’s time for our Sunday morning chat. On Sundays, I ramble about what’s been going on, whatthe rest of the familyand I have been reading and watching, andwhat I’ve been writing. Some weeks I share what I am listening to.
It’s still been very cold this past week so we have been lighting a fire every other day. We lit one last night as the temperature dropped to somewhere around 22 degrees. It looks like temps will warm up this week as we move into Good Friday and Easter.
I wrote a bit about our week last week in yesterday’s Saturday Afternoon Chat post if you want to catch up on other “events” of our week. Spoiler – there weren’t a lot of events actually.
What I/we’ve been Reading
I’m reading A Murder in an Irish Village by Carlene O’Connor. It is very authentic Irish and I’m enjoying it.
I just started The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett but will probably read this one very slowly because of some books I’m reading for tours and to review for Clean Fiction Magazine. I already know the story of The Secret Garden from watching the movie.
I have also started Night Falls on Predicament Avenue by Jamie Jo Wright. This one is for a book tour in April. I honestly think it is going to be too creepy for me but I guess it is good to branch out once in a while.
Just Finished:
Murder Plainly Read by Isabella Alan and The Middle Moffat by Eleanor Estes.
Currently:
I enjoyed both of these books and will have reviews up soon.
Soon to be read:
The Divine Proverb of Streusel by Sara Brunsvold
Who Brought The Dog to Church? By Tracy Smoak
When You Returned by Havelah Mclat
What others in the family are reading: The Boy is reading Horus Rising and listening to A Tale of Two Cities. Little Miss is listening to The Railway Children and we are reading The Middle Moffat together.
The Husband is reading Do the New You by Steven Furtick
What We watched/are Watching
This weekend I watched all things Little House on the Prairie. This year is the 50th anniversary of the debut of the show and they are holding a festival with many of the old cast members in California. I have been watching the show and some footage from the festival such as interviews with Melissa Gilbert and Dean Butler, etc.
I didn’t realize how attached I was to the show until I saw Melissa Gilbert come out in front of all her fans and begin to cry and then I began to cry as well. I have good memories of running home from the bus stop to watch the show when I was a kid. I’ll ramble about that in a future blog post.
Here is the video I watched of the Melissa Gilbert interview if you are interested:
My daughter and I watched a couple of the episodes based more directly on stories in the books, which we read over the last couple of years and then watched three more that were loosely based on stories. I, of course, had to watch with her the episode when Laura pushes Nellie down the hill to prove she has been lying about not being able to walk. After that one, Little Miss was hooked and asked to watch more.
Earlier in the week I always watched Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman and Lark Rise to Candleford.
Over the weekend I watched original Perry Mason episodes with The Husband.
What I’m Writing
I am on the epilogue of Cassie and then I will be beginning book three of the Gladwynn Grant mysteries.
This post cracked me up, especially this line: “This was all just to warm up to the topic of my husband being a human Winnie the Pooh, but one who wears pants of course.”
Now it’s your turn. What have you been doing, watching, reading, listening to or writing? Let me know in the comments or leave a blog post link if you also write a weekly update like this.
There have been some lovely reviews of Gladwynn Grant Gets Her Footing over the last week and a half.
I’m going to share a couple today and also remind you that you can enter to win a copy of the paperback of the book and a $50 Amazon gift card HERE.
This one from Devoted to Hope was so nice:
Step into the nostalgic embrace of Gladwynn Grant Gets Her Footing, a delightful haven for lovers of vintage charm and heartwarming mysteries. With its retro flair and cozy atmosphere, this book invites readers to immerse themselves in a world where classic style, old-fashioned values, and the timeless allure of small-town life reign supreme!
As you journey through the pages, you’ll be swept away by Lisa R. Howeler’s storytelling, which effortlessly transports you to a bygone era filled with quaint cottages, a bustling town, and the comforting aroma of freshly brewed coffee. With every twist and turn of the plot, you’ll find yourself captivated by Gladwynn’s spirited determination and unwavering resolve as she unravels the mysteries lurking beneath the surface of her beloved community.
The intriguing storyline and the rich tapestry of characters who populate this enchanting world will steal your heart. From Gladwynn’s endearing quirks to her grandmother Lucinda’s timeless wisdom, each character is infused with a warmth and authenticity that feels like a welcoming hug. As you follow their journey, you’ll find yourself becoming deeply invested in their lives, eagerly anticipating each new revelation and heartfelt moment.
Read the rest of the review and find other amazing reviews of Christian or clean fiction books HERE.
There have been so many nice mentions or reviews of the book since last week and I truly do appreciate those who took the time out of their days to read the book and then share about it or leave reviews on their blogs, Amazon and Goodreads. It really does mean so much! The tour ends March 25.
“I’m going to take a quick shower and then we’re going to do your science,” I told my 9-year-old daughter yesterday afternoon.
She looked at me with wide “innocent” eyes. “Why don’t you take a bath instead?”
“Excuse me? Are you trying to push off your science longer?”
“I’m just saying you should take some time to relax,” she responded with a serious face and a hint of a smile. “Soak your sore knee in some Epsom salts.”
I did as she suggested and she gained another half an hour of freedom, but, alas, she did not distract me to the point I did not remember that we still had her Science and History to do for her homeschool lessons.
Sometime in the week, I injured my knee by sleeping, as people in their mid-40s so often do. It was actually an issue I’d been having off and on with the knee but I guess it all finally came to a head and the pain was so severe I woke up twice in tears Wednesday and Thursday night but didn’t get ibuprofen or an ice pack like I should have since straightening the leg and relaxing the muscle helped.
During the day yesterday it felt fine, thankfully, and last night it didn’t hurt so hopefully it will heal on its own.
He had driven over about 90 minutes from where he lives to travel with my dad to his physical therapy.
The weather was so nice that Little Miss and I sat out on my parents’ deck and I read a book while she pretended to read a book but actually searched for ladybugs to keep captive in a small dish with some grass. I’m not sure what that was about but before we left both bugs died. She has since made another terrarium to capture more ladybugs.
On Thursday the weather was nice again so Little Miss and I traveled 20 minutes to meet our friends at a playground. The kids had a lot of fun creating games on the equipment and chasing each other all over.
Later that night the little girl Little Miss played with the most developed symptoms of a stomach bug so I spent all day and night Friday waiting for one of us to throw up. So far that has not happened so I think we might be in the clear since stomach bugs are usually very contagious and hit very quickly. I’ll keep you updated *wink*. Luckily the little girl she was playing with was feeling much better the next morning too, so hopefully, it was a very quick-moving illness.
Today I am taking it easy after a stressful few days because Zooma the Wonder Dog is sick again. She has chronic colitis and other stomach issues and that has flared up again. It might have been all less stressful except I had a disagreement with our vet’s office because the vet didn’t want to give us medicine for her unless we set up an annual exam, but they said they couldn’t set up the exam right away because they were booked a couple of months out.
The problem was that our dog was sick now and needed the medicine and they weren’t offering an emergency appointment. Even if they had, we can’t really afford an office visit. If they hadn’t treated her for this same condition in the fall, I wouldn’t have asked for the medicine. They finally agreed to send the medicine by mail (since it is a 45-minute drive and she wasn’t in dire straights yet) but told us in a rather passive-aggressive and annoyed way that we had to have that annual exam before they would help again.
Today she is still not feeling well – lethargic and obviously in some sort of discomfort in her stomach, but she is acting better than she was when we thought we were going to lose her in the fall. We set up the annual exam but I probably will look for another vet in between.
I joked with my mom that I have enough issues trying to manage my own chronic illness and now I have to worry about the dog’s too. Such is life I suppose.
Gladwynn Grant Gets Her Footing is on a blog tour this week and earlier today I was tagged in the most beautiful review I have ever received for any of my books.
I plan to share a separate post about the review later on, but today I just wanted to mention how much the review meant to me. It was a bright spot in a week where I felt like I was slipping into depression. I’m overwhelmed with a lot in life and I’ve had some very good days but I’m starting to crack under the worry a bit. My mom gave me some Bible verses earlier today and they are helping as well but reading the nice review – something kind in a world that doesn’t seem very kind at times – also helped and made things feel less gloomy.
I’m not naïve enough to think that everyone who reads my book will enjoy it. I wouldn’t expect that. Not everyone enjoys the same books. On this tour I had a couple of people share about the book but not leave a review. It’s possible they forgot or it’s possible they didn’t want to leave a review because it wasn’t their cup of tea. I don’t care either way but what stands out to me is that they still shared about the book to let others know about it in case it is their cup of tea. That means a lot to me.
Cooler weather will be coming again this week so I am sure I will find myself in front of a fire at some point reading a book. I’ve been reading a lot this week but am still on the same books I’ve been reading for the last couple of weeks. It has been nice to just read for fun, which I do anyhow, but sometimes I have books I agreed to read for tours, too.
I will be starting a book for a book tour soon but I have plenty of time to read it luckily. Of course, I will ramble about what I am reading more tomorrow in my Sunday Bookends post.
As part of my relaxing today I am watching Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman and in the episode I am on, a man keeps “dying” at various places in town. Little Miss and I love to watch Newhart together with The Husband and I said that the “dead” guy looks like Tom Poston who plays George on the show. Little Miss agreed and after a few more looks we decided it was him. A quick search on Google showed that it was him. He didn’t even speak the entire episode.
Thanks to me, I think Little Miss is hooked on Dr. Quinn, and soon I’ll have her addicted to Little House. *insert evil laugh here* She’s already hooked on Newhart and when we turn on an episode she claps her hands and says, “Yeah! Newhart!” It’s so funny to see a 9-year old doing that.
I’m off for now to make some dinner and then settle in for an evening of reading books and watching either more Dr. Quinn or Little House or Lark Rise to Candleford.
What are you up to today and how was your week last week? I’d love to hear/read about it in the comments.
It’s time for our Sunday morning chat. On Sundays, I ramble about what’s been going on, what the rest of the family and I have been reading and watching, and what I’ve been writing. Some weeks I share what I am listening to.
I needed to get my youngest out of the house this week, so on Monday she and I went to my parents and had some lunch with my mom while my dad took Zooma the Wonder Dog for an impromptu walk.
Dad was planning the walk and decided Zooma could come along with him since she loves following him wherever he goes when she visits. I wish I had grabbed a photo of them walking together because Zooma really looks like she has a huge smile on her face when someone takes her on a walk.
Little Miss and The Boy took her on another walk Friday since the weather was almost as warm as Monday and we knew today would be cold and rainy.
I walked a little bit down the road and the cats followed me, apparently very confused about why we had walked off the property for the first time in probably four months.
Both of their tails were puffed out so I guess they really were alarmed. Or they were having a fight with each other. Usually, those tails only puff up when they encounter an animal outside the family, though.
Yesterday there was a book sale in a town close to where we get our groceries but I was a good girl and didn’t go. I have enough books to read – both physical and digital.
Still, I did find myself wondering what treasures I was missing out on by not going. What if someone gave away a whole set of Nancy Drew books and I missed them? Eek! The stress of it all.
I kept telling myself that I must be strong and simply grab the Nancy Drew books I haven’t read yet one at a time on Thriftbooks instead. Besides, there is an even larger book sale going on in a town 45 minutes from us in April so I will try to hold out until then.
Our area is also getting a bookstore soon. I don’t know what kind of books they will sell but it will be nice to have a bookstore near us – even if it will be a 45-minute drive. Actually, it might be best it is that far away from me.
What I/we’ve been Reading
Just Finished:
I finished Mums and Mayhem by Amanda Flower on my phone and computer because I borrowed it through Hoopla and Hoopla books can’t be sent to my Kindle. Grrr. This was very annoying but I wanted to finish this series and not pay an arm and a leg to do it. To explain – I have no problems paying a higher price for books I feel like I will read over and over, but I wasn’t sure I would read this book over and over so I wanted to read it for cheaper than what it was being sold for online. I read the first two books for free on Libby, but they didn’t have the third.
This book has never gone below $13 for Kindle and $20 for hardcover and there is no paperback. Someone said it’s probably because it was released in 2020 and they didn’t release a paperback because of all the craziness – I don’t know.
All I know is that I usually only spend that much money on books I know for a fact I’ll read again or are by authors I absolutely love. All that being said, I have enjoyed this series and I might purchase them in paperback/hardcover in the future – but I had to know for sure I liked how the series ended.
Yes, I am that reader. *wink* For what it is worth, I did like how the series ended, even though a little of it was predictable. I don’t feel that predictability is bad if done correctly and this was done correctly for me.
I also read a moving novelette by Donna Stone called A Wedding to Remember.
The story was very moving, with a beautiful message. The characters were well fleshed out for such a short read and Donna’s writing is so entertaining and well done.
Her story had me laughing and then wiping my eyes. It was only 57 pages so it was a quick read but I was completely caught up in it.
Here is a description and link:
Kaitlyn is competent, smart, and capable—except when a series of disasters threaten to derail the perfect intimate summer wedding she’s arranged for herself and her fiancé, Emerson, at a picturesque Victorian Bed and Breakfast.
As events unfold, one thing becomes clear. Emerson has neglected to arrange some pretty important details, leaving Kaitlyn second-guessing her laid-back, forgetful groom. From appearances, he may not be ready to make a lifelong pledge.
In the midst of the chaos and doubts, Kaitlyn encounters her groom’s elderly Aunt Sophie, and her husband, Weaver. Sophie assures her Emerson’s love is real, and she should know true love when she sees it. Sophie and her husband are a walking testament to commitment, even though Alzheimer’s daily chips away at Weaver’s memories. Kaitlyn wants to let go of fear, but it’s hard to trust her heart.
Is Emerson simply forgetful, or is the wedding a failure before it gets underway?
I am currently reading The Middle Moffet by Eleanor Estes for Middle Grade March and Murder Plainly Read by Isabella Alan (which is actually the pen name for Amanda Flower).
I am also reading All The Light We Cannot See but I am not reading it fast because it is a heavy topic.
Soon to be read:
Fields of Fire by Ryan Steck. I need to read the first two books in his series because I applied for and received the ARC for the third book that comes out in June, but I have been wanting to read it anyhow.
Mystery at the Lilacy Inn, A Nancy Drew Mystery.
What everyone else is reading:
The Boy is reading Horus Rising and listening to A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
Little Miss and I are reading Pocahontas by Jean Fritz for school during the day and Rosco Riley Rules at night before bed.
The Husband is reading The Running Grave (a CB Strike novel) by Robert Gailbraith.
What We watched/are Watching
The Huband and I watched a documentary about June Carter Cash called June last week on Paramount Plus. It was interesting to learn about her life separate from and with Johnny Cash. She certainly was not a perfect woman, but she knew that, and I think she did her best to live the best she could, especially toward the end of her life. She also put out some amazing music, including two albums within two years of her passing away.
I remember well when Johnny passed away because it was the day before my grandmother passed away. We were watching on the news in Grandma’s room about Johnny dying. He passed away only four months after June.
The Husband and I also finished up the first part of season one of CB Strike and are on to episode five.
I watched an episode of Rosemary and Thyme on my own, but I read more this week than watched things.
I hope to watch some more Lark Rise to Candleford and Rosemary and Thyme this week.
What I’m Writing
I am two chapters away from finishing Cassie, which releases in August.
Now it’s your turn. What have you been doing, watching, reading, listening to or writing? Let me know in the comments or leave a blog post link if you also write a weekly update like this.
My husband and I watch a variety of mystery shows together, some of which we would consider “cozy mystery” shows. Cozy mysteries are a little lighter in topics with some humor thrown in. Yes, they may feature murder mysteries but they don’t normally show too much of the death scene and don’t focus on the more macabre aspects of the crime.
Instead, they focus on the clues and red herrings (which are clues that the viewer thinks are clues, but really are just thrown out there to throw the viewer off the scent). They also focus on the relationships and private lives of the sleuths, who are many times amateur sleuths who work on their own and sort of against the professional law enforcement or who work with them.
There are sometimes silly and unbelievable or more unrealistic aspects to cozy mystery shows. Think Murder She Wrote, one of the original cozy mystery shows.
Today I am recommending to you three of the cozy mysteries we watch. Next week I’ll be sharing some more “serious” mystery shows we watch.
1. Shakespeare and Hathaway: Private Investigators is a cozy mystery show on the BBC. I actually mentioned this show in my previous post on this topic as well.
The show follows the story of PI Frank Hathaway (Mark Benton), a former detective inspector, and Luella Shakespeare (Jo Joyner) who hires Frank to investigate her fiance.
Hathway and his assistant Sebastian Brudenell (Patrick Walsh McBride) discover that Luella’s fiance is not a great guy and after the case is solved, Luella tells Frank she wants to work with him. He resists but she has money and he is in debt so has no real choice but to agree. Shakespeare and Hathaway: Private Investigators is born.
The episodes are often quirky, feature humor, and also have some serious moments. Sebastian, an out-of-work actor, brings a lot of the humor with his undercover work and various character creations when he goes undercover.
Throughout the first couple of seasons, viewers are given hints as to why Frank is no longer a DI. Critics, while faulting some of the aspects of the show, can’t deny that the characters are loveable and cozy fans love to follow them and find out what they are going to do next.
There are four seasons of the show and searches online show that while there has been no announcement of a fifth season, there also hasn’t been an official cancellation of the show.
2. Psych
Pysch first appeared on the USA network but I don’t think we saw it until it was streaming and I am not sure where it was streaming first. Right now it is streaming on Amazon and Peacock with a subscription and Apple TV if you want to purchase each episode.
The show follows Shawn Spencer (James Roday) and his best friend Burton “Gus” Guster (Dule Hill) as they start a psychic detective agency. Shawn has a photographic memory but pretends he is psychic to get jobs with the Santa Barbara Police Department. He drags Gus along to help, even though Gus’s normal job is in pharmaceuticals.
One reason Shawn’s photographic memory skills are so good is because his father Henry Spencer (Corbin Bernsen), now a former police officer, taught him those skills when Shawn was a child. Many of the early shows start with flashbacks of Henry teaching Shawn how to observe and gather information in a situation.
Pretending to be a psychic obviously creates a lot of humorous and ridiculous situations and viewers often have to suspend belief as mysteries are solved but it’s such a fun ride that the implausibility of it all isn’t a blip on the radar of most viewers. Shawn, Gus, and the supporting cast are the drivers and we’re just along for the ride, in other words.
Speaking of supporting cast members – they include police detective Juliet (Maggie Lawson), who Shawn, of course, falls in love with, the uptight and by-the-book police detective Carl Lassiter (Timothy Omundson), and police chief Karen Vick (Kirsten Nelson).
There were also some amazing guest stars on the show over the years including Tim Curry, John Cena, William Shatner, Cary Elwes, Kristy Swanson, Mira Sorvino, Anthony Michael Hall, and Jeffrey Tambor.
The show ran for eight seasons until 2014 and three made-for-tv movies followed in 2017, 2020, and 2021. This one is a favorite for my family.
3. Rosemary and Thyme
This is another British who, which I’ve mentioned before on the blog. The show features Felicity Kendal as Rosemary Boxer and Pam Ferris as Laura Thyme. They are landscapers who sort of fall into amateur sleuth roles when crimes continue to happen at the sites where they are landscaping.
I like this show because it features older women as the main characters. I liked the show even before I was “an older woman” by the way.
According to information online the show’s creator, Brian Eastman made it to entertain his wife, who is a gardener.
The show ran for three seasons before being unceremoniously canceled by ITV as part of ITVs plan to refresh its lineup. Two final episodes were aired more than a year later after the show ended and two more had been written but by the time production was ready, most of the actors were already committed to other projects.
I am rewatching this series through Britbox because there are a few I don’t remember from the first time I watched it.
Bonus: The Mallorca Files
This one showed up on our radar in 2019 and I’m adding it as a bonus because it isn’t strictly a “cozy mystery.”
The main characters are actually police and they topics can be a little heavier than strict cozy mystery shows and it is actually defined online as a “police procedural.”
The show starts with Elen Rhys as Detective Miranda Blake being sent to Mallorca to investigate a case that carries over from England and then getting transferred work with the Mallorca Police Force.
She is assigned Detective Max Winter, portrayed by Julian Looman, who is a German transplant to the island.
In case you are wondering, or don’t know (like I didn’t before I watched the show), Mallorca is a real island off the coast of Spain.
What I love about this show is the international flavor (for me at least) and the different cultures represented – British, German, and Spanish.
The police chief – Ines Villegas — is very Spanish.
The plot of the episodes are very engaging with a constant underlying sexual tension between Miranda and Max.
From what I read online yesterday, this show had filmed more episodes this past summer but a date for season three, which could include the remaining episodes filmed in 2020 but not aired.
Cosmopolitan Pictures founder Ben Donald said the series came from “[a] desire to create a feel-good action-driven cop show like the ones I grew up with and, secondly, a desire to rebrand and refresh the Anglo-German relationship on television.”
Have you seen any of these shows and what were your impressions if you have?
