The British are coming!

The British are coming!

by Julie Obermiller

Cozy mysteries straddle so many areas in the genre that the term “cozy” will mean something different to every reader. Most fans will have to agree that we must pay homage to the true originators of the classic cozy, the Brits!

I'm a hopeless Anglophile and have visited those lands from the comfort of my armchair, through the wonderful cozy mysteries I adore. Whether visiting with Jane in St. Mary Meade or Hamish on the Highland Village of Lochdub, I have been immersed in cultures and customs far removed from the farm country of New York .

Agatha Christie's Miss Jane Marple is the quintessential amateur sleuth, and we grew to love the cozy thatched roof houses and English country gardens and tea parties we were privileged to visit. This year has seen the release of the wonderful Brit classics on CD and Audio and coming soon is “A Caribbean Mystery; The Miss Marple Series” read by Rosalind Ayres. Surely Hercules Poirot is another much revered sleuth, albeit less warm and cozy than Jane, and is also being redistributed in electronic form. I'm looking forward to the fall release of “Dead Man's Folly” on CD because it is read by David Suchet, arguably the best actor to bring Poirot to the screen. Poirot in “Hallowe'en Party” was released in May on CD and will add some real mystery to your autumn evenings. This one is read by John Moffat. The less familiar, but always entertaining Mr. Quin mysteries by Dame Christie will be released on audio as “The Mysterious Mr. Quin.” Read by Hugh Fraser, you'll have twelve complete short mystery bites! If you are checking out more audio books, look for “Whose Body, A Lord Peter Wimsey Mystery” by Dorothy Sayers. Sayers is another member of the Grand Dames of Brit fiction!

The day I discovered M.C. Beaton, I uncovered a gold mine! Detective Constable Hamish Macbeth and the residents of Lochdubh have afforded me many hours of reading pleasure, and the soft-spoken, softhearted Hamish is an unlikely but wonderfully likable hero. The tiny Scottish village and finely drawn characters are a delightful insight into human nature and provide a leisurely stroll to the solution of many mysteries. The wry British humor we adore liberally salts any Beaton story. BBC television ran a short-lived Hamish McBeth series and I was so familiar with the setting from reading the novels that it was like a homecoming. The tenth in the series, “Death of a Charming Man” is due out in November. Put that one on my Christmas list, Santa!

Beaton couldn't have found a more polar opposite sleuth of lanky, quiet Hamish when she created Agatha Raisin! Hamish is laid back and soft and Agatha is a Technicolor personality that explodes onto the page. Beaton's 17 th in the Agatha series, “Love, Lies and Liquor” will grace bookshelves soon and this is as cozy as they come. Poor Agatha and her middle-aged trials and tribulations in a little village (mostly involving men and murder) will make you fall in love with the irascible lady and her neighbors.

Another much loved Brit series by Rhys Bowen features DC Evan Evans, and the 10 th in the series is the new “Evanly Bodies.” In the recently released “Evan Blessed” (number 9), Evan's fiancé goes missing and (spoiler alert) she has been recovered and wed to our DC in the latest. The advance story notes on “Evanly Bodies” have a new Pakistani Muslim grocery store owner's family raising eyebrows in the close-knit village in Wales . In Llanfair, Wales , even an Englishman would raise eyebrows. Bowen has a true gift for storytelling and she is certainly deserving of a seat at the Grand dames table!

Fans of PBS have grown to love the bumbling, blustering Rumpole of the Bailey and while millions of John Mortimer's short stories and anthologies have been sold, “Rumpole and the Pence Bugalow” is the first full length Rumpole novel and harkens back to his first case. “The popular phrase “She Who Must Be Obeyed” is taken from Rumpoles references to his wife!

Margery Allingham's Albert Campion in “Mystery Mile” (recently in paperback) is a wonderful example of the good old days when wit and wiles were needed to solve mysteries; long before the advent of super forensic science. Any Allingham is a delightful Brit read.

Love those colorful English gardens? Anthony Eglin has a winning character in retired botany professor Lawrence Kingston. After a stunning debut in “Blue Rose,” Kingston is back with the release of “ Lost Gardens ; An English Garden Mystery.” One hopes this is just the start of a long series run for Eglin's engaging horticulturist.

Right up there in the Grand Dames list has to be Ngaio Marsh. “Artists in Crime: A Roderick Alleyn Mystery” was released in March. The much-loved Scotland Yard Inspector is at his best in this beautifully crafted mystery. Often compared to Agatha Christie, Marsh has a voice of her own that commands its rightful place in the genre. Don't let the strange name fool you; Ngaio Marsh writes with an elegance that is classic Brit mystery!

Who is your favorite British author? Where is your favorite locale? Share your favorites with M-E readers by dropping me an email. Mystery readers are always on the lookout for new authors and new reads, and we love to share!

Certainly no season is more perfect for the mystery or spooky story than the Halloween season! Ghosts, goblins and the things of our imaginations dare to touch the back of our necks as we read, or maybe that really is scratching on the window… Celebrate the end of summer and the return to “cocooning” with the wonderful mysteries that whisper to us from the shelves, like crisp fallen leaves skittering across the ground. Harvest some good books and stash them away to get you through the long winter months, perfect for curling up with a good read!

The winter Cozy Corner will be “Perilous Pastimes” as we peruse the wide array of mysteries that are based on hobbies and crafts like knitting, gardening; even crossword puzzles. Have a favorite? Let me know. Your opinions on favorite cozies, future and suggestions are always welcome! Contact me at juliechatterbox@msn.com .