My Favourite Cosy Mystery Writers
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- Опубліковано 18 лют 2020
- I share my very favourite Golden Age cosy mystery writers, as well as a few new-to-me-writers I'm looking forward to trying.
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My blog is: mirandasnotebook.com
My podcast is: teaandtattlepodcast.com
You can find me on instagram at: @mirandasnotebook, @mirandasbookcase and @teaandtattlepodcast
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BOOKS MENTIONED IN VIDEO -
Halloween Party by Agatha Christie: tinyurl.com/tdzt6ey
4.50 From Paddington by Agatha Christie: tinyurl.com/tsybdfd
Whose Body? by Dorothy L Sayers: tinyurl.com/tc38dyc
Miss Pym Disposes by Josephine Tey: tinyurl.com/sf3de6v
The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey: tinyurl.com/rax328s
Why Shoot a Butler by Georgette Heyer: tinyurl.com/s3gawj2
A Christmas Party by Georgette Heyer: tinyurl.com/wdstqb3
The Clock Strikes Twelve by Patricia Wentworth: tinyurl.com/sqwp82l
The Mitford Murders by Jessica Fellowes: tinyurl.com/yx3bdkbj
A Quiet Life in the Country by T. E. Kinsey: tinyurl.com/tgn3okr
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ABOUT ME: I'm Miranda Mills, a freelance writer, podcaster and photographer living in London. Find out more about me and what I do here: tinyurl.com/y3mm68uq - Розваги
A very useful list. Thank you so much for posting this.
Your videos are so charming! I absolutely love listening to you talk about books.
I can attest that the Lady Hardcastle mysteries by T.E. Kinsey are wonderful! I have listened to them as audio books and the narrator on audible is also very good. But I’d also like to start collecting them because they are a set I’d like to own. I hope he keeps writing them, because as soon as they are published I gobble them up.
I love love love Agatha Christie!
I’ve been meaning to read more cozy mysteries and I prefer the older, golden age writers to contemporary ones, so these recommendations are much appreciated. I particularly loved your perspective on Dorothy Sayers.
Oh I'm happy to hear that! As you can tell, I'm a big fan of the Golden Age crime writers!
A Christmas Party was the first cozy mystery book that I read, just last Christmas. Now I’m hooked on cozy mysteries, but Georgette Heyer in particular. I love her wit, and her attention to detail. I’ve also started branching out to her regency romances which I love as well.
Georgette Heyer mysteries are favourites of mine so happy to see how much you enjoy them. Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers are perennial favourites of mine and I re-read them all the time. I have just purchased several of the Mitford mysteries but not tried them yet and I have not heard of Josephine Tey or T.E. Kinsey but will certainly have a look. Cheers from Canada.
This was so helpful, Miranda. I'm new to 'cosy mystery', so it was great to have a little guidance. With many thanks -- Carol
I'm so glad it was helpful, and thank you very much for your kind support! I so appreciate it ❤️
Oh, I just love Miss Marple! On screen and in print. How exciting to discover she has a doppelganger. I can't wait to cosy up with a Wentworth. This may be sacrilege, but I also enjoy the "British" mysteries of American writer Elizabeth George. Her style is reminiscent of that of P. D. James. Loved this survey, Miranda. Thank you.
I'm so pleased to have introduced Miss Silver to you! If you like Miss Marple, then I think you'll definitely enjoy the Patricia Wentworth books. I haven't read any Elizabeth George - I shall look her up, thank you!
Miranda, I love that era of writing. Mainly English but Elizabeth Daly from the US is great too.
I love cozy mysteries! Some of my Favorites are Laura Childs & Ellie Alexander! Thank you for your suggestions! I will definitely be trying them😊
I'm enjoying your videos so much, Miranda! After watching this video this morning I went to the library after work and found The Daughter of Time. Then I went to a bookshop and bought Strong Poison. They will be my first books by Tey/Sayers and I'm so looking forward to reading them! I read a lot of Agatha Christie in my teens (LOVED them and just couldn't believe how she could come up with such ingenious stories) and am now planning to reread some of them soon. You've really inspired me, so thank you for that! :)
Have a nice evening xxx
I'm so happy to hear that! Thank you very much. I hope you enjoy the books - do let me know what you think! xxx
Miranda Mills I definitely will let you know :)
What a wonderful list! I too am a huge fan of Agatha Christie (and have been since I was a little girl). The trick to knowing "who done it" is that it is the only person without an obvious motive--but that does not at all take away anything from the reading! I think her great power is shown by how wonderful it is to reread her novels, over and over. Seeing you talk about Sayers makes me wonder if you have read the new book about her, The Mutual Admiration Society?
I have The Mutual Admiration Society on my shelf, but haven't read it yet - looking forward to getting to it! xxx
Hannah, I just requested it from the library! Thank you for mentioning it! :)
The Maisie Dobbs books are also fantastic! Not so “cosy”, in my opinion, but so moving and such great stories.
Miss Marple is MY FAVOURITE as well!
Really enjoying your videos.
Thank you! Miss Marple rules! :D
Love this video. I listed several books to look at. I have a vintage cozy recommendation for you. The Cat Who series written by Lillian Jackson Braun. I find them quite fun to read. I am fairly new to your channel. Have you ever done any tea reviews? I would be interested in any recommendations you may have. 🥰
This was so enjoyable! Such fun to hear a fellow Golden Age cosy mystery lover wax lyrical about the genre; I loved your infectious enthusiasm! I was also so pleased to hear someone mention "Miss Pym Disposes" - it's a little gem. Have you read "The Tiger in the Smoke" by Margery Allingham? I think it's excellent. Another good read is Martin Edwards' "The Golden Age of Murder"? It's a great portrait of the writers of Golden Age mysteries. Martin has written most of the introductions to the British Library Crime classics which, I'm afraid, I've also found rather hit and miss. I would love to know your "hits" as I've had mostly "misses"!
Thank you so much! I have read the Tiger in the Smoke years ago, as well as some other Allingham mysteries. I never liked her books as much as the others, but I would like to try them again, my tastes might have changed a bit from then. I haven't read 'The Golden Age of Murder,' but now I'd like to - thanks for the recommendation! To be honest, I'm struggling to think of a British Library Crime classic that I liked enough to recommend...I think I read one about a train getting stopped by snow, and then some of the passengers end up in an abandoned house and snowed in that I quite enjoyed (mainly for it being a snowy Christmassy read), but I can't remember the title.... xxx
I really love your videos and Agatha Christie as well! Thanks for your effort and greetings from Austria!
Great roundup of classics, thanks. If you love strong, smart, independent heroines in period settings, written exquisitely -I recommend Alan Bradley's Flavia DeLuce series beginning with Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. Especially wonderful if you love the history of science and British political history. Wry, humorous, sarcastic-edged stories that captivate a reader emotionally. Bradley is a genius imo.
Hi Miranda, thank you for another great video. I've just started reading the Maisie Dobbs series, only on book 3 so I have a long way to go but I'm absolutely loving it. It is my first time reading Mystery books (I confess I've never even read an Agatha Christie "terrible"). You've inspired me to read more.
If you're enjoying Maisie Dobbs, then I think you would definitely like the Golden Age crime writers, Susan! I read Maisie Dobbs years ago, and although I enjoyed them, after a bit I thought they got a bit too 'samey'...but I'd like to try them again! xxx
I read A Christmas Party every year. I now listen to it. This along with the others on your list are perfect for this COVID year. While not, in my opinion, as good as some of these I often reread some Jane Haddam
Thank you, great tips. I love these sorts of books, real escapism. I've listened to some of the T E Kinsey books, really good fun!
Thank you! Good to know you've enjoyed other of the T E Kinsey books :)
Hi Maranda,
Love your cosy mystery chat. I love cosy mysteries! Agatha Christie is a goddess! I love Miss Marple too!
I too love Lord Peter & Miss Silver.
I highly recommend Phryne Fisher by Kerry Greenwood. Australia has some really fabulous authors. Hope will get time to read some of ours as well! 📚🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺
Hi Teena, I have actually read many of the Phryne Fisher books (and mention them at the end of the video). They are fun, but not amongst my very very favourites. I enjoyed watching some of the TV series too! Xxx
I love Agatha Christie's historical insights. Some her observation on doctors... well in our time it is just right on. Got to be an Infj, I believe.
Absolutely love similar cosy mysteries too 💚
I love the Golden Age of mysteries!!!! I’m with you. I don’t like a lot of blood and gore and bad language with mine. Probably because, like you, I grew up reading the older stuff. I just reread Hallowe’en Party recently! It’s almost gothic in its style. I think A Pocketful of Rye and A Murder is Announced are my favorite Miss Marples! Gaudy Night is one of my favorite novels of all time. I just love the themes in it. I also love John Dickson Carr/Carter Dickson and Ellery Queen. Also yay for Patricia Wentworth and Georgette Heyer. I almost never hear them mentioned. This video is excellent.
You're right, there are real Gothic Elements to it too. A Pocket Full of Rye is such a brilliant one - I love how the nursery rhyme is used. And after this video, I really want to reread Gaudy Night!! So many books, so little time. I wish Audible had the DLS audiobooks that were read by Ian Carmichael, as he *is* Lord Peter for me. I don't much like the woman they have reading the books, which is disappointing!
Miranda Mills Ian Carmiachael is the best! I have he ones narrated by him. I got them all years ago and copied them to my computer, and that’s how I listen to them. If you like, I could try emailing them to you. Let me know. 😊
@@Tinahgirl83 oh that's very kind, but I'm sure I'll be able to track them down somehow! Thank you though. He is the best indeed! I loved the TV series starring him as Lord Peter too, although I haven't seen them for years and years!
Miranda, my top cozy mystery authors are precisely the same as yours. Christie does indeed rule...but Sayers, Tey, Heyer, Wentworth, Marsh, etc. are wonderful as well. I have yet to find many contemporary mystery authors I enjoy. In the past few years I've read about 250 Golden Age mysteries and highly recommend Patricia Carlon's The Whispering Wall and The Wasp by Ursula Curtiss. Anna Katherine Green is an incredible, incredible Golden Age mystery writer, too.
Have you read Lady Audley's Secret? Anthony Gilbert, Anthony Berkeley and Anthony Boucher? Brilliant.
Then there's insurpasdsble Daphne du Maurier but I classify her books as Golden Age psychological thrillers.
Really like Mary Roberts Rinehart and some of Mary Stewart's books.
Cannot possibly express my gratitude for this channel...something special about finding people who are passionate about Golden Age books in general. :)
So many great recommendations! I love Daphne du Maurier and Mary Stewart too, although I agree they are not really mystery writers. I am looking forward to getting to Lady Audley's Secret, which is at the top of my Classics TBR pile! I haven't read Anna Katherine Green, but now I certainly want to find some of her books - thank you! xxx
Are you on Goodreads? I can never find people who love the same kind of books that I do.
Hi Miranda! I love Tea and Tattle and I am really enjoying your reading recommendations. I heard Rian Johnson interviewed. He directed Knives Out and said he was influenced by Agatha Christie’s writing. Ronan Farrow named her, too, as one of the authors he studied while writing Catch and Kill. Her work really is timeless. I am a fan of Nancy Mitford and look forward to reading the Mitford Murder series. Thank you!
Thank you so much! I'm so glad you're enjoying Tea & Tattle too :) Agatha Christie has indeed influenced so many writers; I have Catch and Kill on my shelves actually and am looking forward to reading it. It sounds an incredible memoir / exposé xxx
Miss Pym Disposes is very possibly my favorite mystery of all time, and it’s certainly the book that got me started on my obsession for books with an academic setting, e.g., Lucky Jim, Prep, The Secret History, and, of course, Gaudy Night, among many others. Love Christie and Sayers, and Allingham as well. Have never read Marsh. I was wondering if you enjoy M.C. Beaton’s Agatha Raisin series? VERY light, but fun to read!
I absolutely love the Cosy Mysteries section. They are perfect for a lazy Sunday or cold winter on the sofa with a hot cup of tea. I had recently added A Quiet Life in the Country to my Kindle as a sample, but as soon as I get a moment to myself I will give it a read and see how I feel about it. May I recommend Leighann Dobbs, whom I have just added to my Kindle as a sample to look into.
thanks for the recommendation - I'll look into it! xxx
I have only just discovered your channel and love it. I really enjoyed your Childrens’ Literature
Have you read the Woman in White?
Excellent choices!
Not doing this very well but meant to say how much I enjoyed your murder mystery episode and how much I agree with your choices. Have you by any chance done an episode on Cosy Christmas murder stories - preferably from the Golden Age?
Andrew Wilson has written a series of books- A Talent for Murder, A Different Kind of Evil, Death in a Desert Land, I Saw Him Die, which feature Agatha Christie as the detective. I haven't read them so cannot specifically recommend them, however, like you, I have noticed quite a few authors (such as Nicola Upson that you mentioned) being cast as the sleuth which I think is a really interesting idea:)
Oh I'll have to look those up! They do sound interesting, and yes, this definitely seems to be an emerging theme!
I really enjoyed this video enjoy cosy mysteries a lot I love to try this first video I watched from you I loved it .grace from Australia .
Really enjoyed this video! Have you read anything by Mary Roberts Rinehart? She's considered the "American Agatha Christie" and originated "the butler did it!"
I love cozy mysterious! Laura Child’s is my favorite 🤩
Got cut off! Your childrens’ literature episode was so good as well. Fully agree with all your books although I missed The Little Princess and The Secret Garden and especially, the What Katy Did books! But just wanted to suggest here the Miss Seeton books by Heron Carvic, which I have only just discovered myself. I think you would like them, they are another Miss Marple look alike
Love all your choices and have read most of these. I think you and your audience would love Patricia Moyes. There are a lot in the series and are great fun!
Thank you Miranda, your vlogs are so enjoyable and informative ! I live in Montreal, French is my mother tongue, but I have always loved British litterature, starting with Jane Austen when I was very young. Re: mystery writers, what do you think of Alexander McCall Smith's The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency series?
Thanks very much! I haven’t read all of that series, but the ones I have read I very much enjoyed 😊📚
Thank you for some new authors to try. Have you ever read Ann Granger? I love the Mitchell and Markby mysteries specifically. (She has 3 or more other series.)
I also like Margery Allingham , her hero started as a kind of Lord Peter but like Sayers she developed more interest in character development and in showing various areas, fashion houses, the theatre in the thirties and forties.
Hi Miranda,
I'm really enjoying your videos 😊
I love cozy mysteries and I think reading them got me back into reading as an adult after university and parenthood. I was wondering if you'd heard of the Mrs. Pollifax mysteries by Dorothy Gilman. I think they may have been written in the early 70s. I used to read them when my mom brought them home from the library when I was a little girl. Mrs. Pollifax is a widow in New Jersey Jersey travels the world as a CIA agent. I haven't read them yet as an adult but I do have one waiting.
Rebecca
Thanks so much! I'm so glad you're enjoying them. I haven't heard of the Mrs. Polifax books - I'll have to look out for them! Thanks for the recommendation :)
I love Agatha Christie also!
Wonderful list, but how could you have neglected Tey’s The Franchise Affair and Brat Farrar?!
I would add Nero Wolfe novels by Rex Stout, set in New York, they are great to read and reread.
Have you had time to read The Mitford Murders by now? I enjoyed book 1 and book 2 very much and the audiobooks are well narrated. Thank you, as always, for this inspiring video 🌻
Another wonderful and funny writer from 30s and 40s is monica dickens
Hi! Thanks for sharing these favorites. I am ashamed to say... I have never read Agatha Christie...😮
Do you need to read them in order?
Thanks!❤
New sub. Great reads. Blessings.
My favorite mystery of all time is The Nine Tailors. I think it’s the most ingenious murder solution ever written.
*Do you consider Alexander McCall Smith's The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency books cozy mysteries?
**I really enjoyed the first two or three books in Martin Walker's Chief of Police Bruno series set in the French countryside, but as the body count and gruesomeness grew with each succeeding novel I am no longer so keen on these mysteries.
Cannot beat Dorthy L. Sayers.
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Lord Peter... has a BBC series.
Agatha Christy is a storyteller and she is about blue collar smarts.
I'll give that other one by her a go but I hated Daughter of Time. Perhaps it's because I'm on the other side of the Atlantic and don't know much British history so it was extremely tiresome to follow, did not feel cosy at all. Don't get that same feeling you do with the characters in an Agatha Christie book with all its twists and turns.