Just what was needed
A cup of tea and some comfort
My elementary school sick days had a pretty standard routine*:
Watch the Price is Right at 9:00 and eat whatever my stomach could handle.
Take a nap.
Spend the entire afternoon watching Murder, She Wrote in back-to-back episodes on the A&E and sip Sleepytime tea.
I was introduced to Murder, She Wrote by my mother, but my love of cozy mysteries (and her love of cozy mysteries for that matter) comes straight from my Grandma Arlene.
I grew up watching cozy mysteries with her when we’d visit New York, listening to her cozy audio books as we’d go to sleep, and playing the Carmen Sandiego computer game on cold winter afternoons (okay, not a cozy per se, but fits the genre). She loved the puzzle of the mystery, and I loved trying to figure it out right alongside her.
There’s something comforting about cozy mysteries like Murder, She Wrote, perhaps because they always follow a formula:
20 minutes in, the person everyone hates dies
35 minutes in, the wrong person is arrested
10 minutes from the end, Jessica Fletcher confronts the real killer
Yes, someone has been murdered, but we don’t see it, and we know that everything’s okay because Jessica is laughing at the end of the episode. It’s the perfect format for someone with anxiety. The beats are predictable, and everything is wrapped up in a nice bow.
Of course, the queen of the cozy (that I lovingly refer to as lighthearted murder) was Agatha Christie, who set the standard for the conventions (or breaking of conventions) that these shows are so well known for today. Just watch one episode of Poirot (with David Suchet, obviously), and you’ll see what I mean. There’s structure, but enough twists and turns to make these shows fun.
My love of cozy mystery viewing remains constant, and streaming platforms like Acorn keep providing a never-ending supply of cozy mystery content from around the globe. Though they may be predictable, each iteration has slightly different quirks and takes place in a different part of the British countryside (the Brits really do make the best cozies).
Recently, I have taken a break from my “go, go, go” mode of operating (though to the average viewer, my schedule remains unnecessarily busy), and I have tapped back into some new cozies. Just like on the days when I would stay home from school sick, watching a cozy mystery when I feel overwhelmed by the world around me (be it because of the news, work, or otherwise hectic life) helps me ground myself and take things a bit slower.
Maybe it’s the idyllic setting. Maybe it’s the neat ending. Maybe it’s remembering the times I spent with my grandma. I’m not sure why, but watching a cozy mystery will always feel like a warm hug.
And, sometimes, that’s all that’s needed.
* Schedule has been edited for clarity and memory.
Ten Things This Week
If you’ve never watched Murder, She Wrote, you’re in luck. It’s all on Amazon Prime. Angela Lansbury plays Jessica Fletcher, a widow and mystery writer turned English professor who spends her time biking around Cabot Cove and solving murders.
A current favorite is Harry Wild, starring Jane Seymour (of Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman fame, not the former Queen of England). She is a bawdy retired English professor in Ireland who has a penchant for solving murders.
Similarly, My Life is Murder features Lucy Lawless (yes, that Lucy Lawless) as an acerbic widow and former detective who gets pulled back in as a consultant to solve some sticky cases.
Perhaps my favorite of the new era of cozies is Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, which follows Phryne Fisher (a “modern woman” socialite turned lady detective in 1920’s Melbourne) as she assists the police and solves murders for them. This is worth a watch just for the costumes alone, never mind the very attractive suitors who entertain Phryne.
If you have not seen Poirot, I highly recommend the David Suchet series. (I maintain that Suchet is the best Poirot, though I will accept Albert Finney’s portrayal in the fantastic 1974 version of Murder on the Orient Express or Peter Ustinov’s rendition in several adaptations. Kenneth Branagh’s is the worst.)
While Murder on the Orient Express may be Christie’s most famous novel…
…my favorite is the Murder of Roger Ackroyd. Brilliant twists of convention that keep you guessing till the end.
I would be remiss in my list of cozy’s to not include Knives Out and Glass Onion, fantastic modern takes on the genre by fellow cozy mystery fan Rian Johnson.
I recently learned that Stephen Sondheim co-wrote The Last of Sheila, a 1970s cozy mystery in a similar vein as the 1970s Agatha Christie adaptations. I’m only sad I didn’t know about it sooner.
Also, Clue.
That’s it for this week! Drop me a line if you have a mystery you love!
Melanie