It's a Mystery

The next few days will be a long holiday celebration for many, ourselves included.

Perfect time to catch up on some good reads or, in my case, enjoyable listens.

Currently I've listening to three different mystery series. All fall into the category of cozy mysteries — Bunburry, Cherringham and Mydworth Mysteries — all downloaded from the Nashua Public Library website. 

OK, that sounds like a lot of listening, but let me explain. None of these stories are more than 4 hours long at the most; the average listening time is 2 or 3 hours.

These kept me well entertained during airport waits and airline sitting during our recent travels. Now that we're home, they're doing the same when I'm in the gym or doing household chores.

Internet source

Why are they called cozy mysteries?

A cozy mystery (cosy mystery, in British English) is the gentlest subset of the broad genre of crime writing with a lighter tone. These are comfort reads, often with characters you come to "know" and enjoy. Cozy mysteries are lighter than traditional detective fiction.

Many readers prefer these mysteries instead of hard-core, often grisly, detective, crime or thriller reads. They've become very popular perhaps because the stories often leave readers satisfied, rather than scared to sleep with the lights out.

What's the difference between a mystery and a cozy mystery?

The easiest way to differentiate is to not look at the crime but to look at the characters. Many consider Agatha Christie as considered as the first cozy mystery author. While not all her books are in this category, many can be especially the popular Miss Marple series. 

What makes a book a cozy mystery?

No on-the-page violence, murder, sex, or swearing are the tenets of the cozy mystery genre. While protagonists can and often do encounter some kind of peril in the course of their sleuthing, that peril is never exceptionally violent or dark. A fairly loose rule about a cozy mystery series is that they often don't require any kind of strict order; however there are exceptions. 

Why do people like cozy mysteries?

The first thing to like about reading a cozy mystery is the often punny titles; many also have appealing cover art that draws readers into the story.

If anyone is interested in a cozy/cosy English mystery, here's some information on the three series I've been listening to the past several weeks. All are also available not only as audiobooks, but in print and Kindle form.

Bunburry - A Cosy Mystery Series is written under the name Helena Marchmont. These short mysteries set in the rolling hills of the English Cotswolds in the quaint village of Bunburry.

The author's actual name is Olga Wojtas, born and raised in Edinburgh. Her father was a Polish soldier who settled in the UK after WW II. A journalist for over 30 years, before she began a creative writing career, Wojtas knew her real name wasn't a good fit for the Englishness of her series, so, she used her middle name (Helena) and the street she grew up on (Marchmount Road) to create an alias.

The series main character, Alfie McAlister, is a self-made millionaire, who relocates from London to a cottage, once owned by his late aunt, Augusta, following a personal tragedy. He soon finds himself playing amateur detective with his late aunt’s best friends, Liz and Marge, who run a fudge business. Alfie doesn’t remember his Aunt Augusta, but has fond memories of his grandparents killed in a car crash when he was 12. Each novella contains an individual mystery. There's also a mystery in Alfie's family which unfolds as the series continues.  

Alfie’s best friend is the aristocratic Oscar de Linnet, who prefers London to the village, which he considers having pub grub, mud and cows. He sees himself as a reincarnation of the late Irish writer Oscar Wilde, and is always prepared with a quip from Wilde.

Murder At the Mousetrap, the first novel in the series, was released in 2018. Currently, there's 17 stories in the Bunburry series. 

The audiobook series is narrated by English actor Nathaniel Parker, a stage and screen actor well known for his lead role the BBC crime drama series The Inspector Lynley Mysteries. Parker does all the character voices, young, old, male and female, in the audiobook series.

Fans of the series have termed it a delightful English cozy mystery novel with likable and charming characters and a mystery plot that adds fun to story. The tone is light, often funny, and  keeps things moving along the entire time. Bunburry is a place where it's nice to get lost in for a while.

Cherringham - A Cosy Crime Series is set in what's described as a sleepy English village of the same name. The series is co-authored by a British writer and an American writer. The town is also described as a quiet town despite murders that occur there. 

This series brings together an unlikely sleuthing duo — English web designer Sarah Edwards, divorced with two children (Chloe and Daniel) and NYC ex-cop and widower Jack Brennan who lives on a boat with his dog, Riley. 

A new case for Jack and Sarah is released each month. There are over 40 books in this series.

The series began publication in 2013, when Murder on Thames was released. It is co-authored by Neil Richards (based in the UK) and Matthew Costello (based in the U.S.), who have been writing together since the mid-90s working on major projects for the BBC, Disney Channel, Sony and Nintendo and others.

The series is narrated by English actor Neil Dudgeon, who, since 2010, has played DCI John Barnaby in the ITV drama series Midsomer Murders. He replaced John Nettles in the lead role in 2011.

This audiobook series is available in English and German. Fans have termed it a good mystery with plenty of twists and turns throughout. It's been rated a top pick from fans of other cozy mysteries such as the Agatha Raisin series by M.C. Beaton, the Hamish Macbeth series by Marion Chesney, the Miss Marple series by Agatha Christie, and Midsomer Murders series by Caroline Graham.

Mydworth Mysteries is set in Sussex, England, in 1929, in what's described as a sleepy English town about 50 miles from London. Co-authors Richards and Costello also write this series.

Things liven up in Mydworth after young and handsome aristocrat Sir Harry Mortimer returns home from a diplomatic posting in Cairo, with his beautiful and unconventional American wife, Kat, a native of Brooklyn, NY.

Soon, the couple become involved in solving crimes and/or murders. They have an edge as both have certain useful skills picked up in service of King, President and Country. And, have access to English society which often proves helpful when local police are baffled with a case.

This series started in 2019 and there are 17 books which are also narrated by English actor Nathaniel Parker. The series has received positive comments from many who have said that the characters are charming, the mystery is intriguing, and the stories are short enough to finish quickly. 

If you enjoy audiobooks and are looking for some quick listens, you might also enjoy one or more of these series. I've become addicted to them and have listened to 15 Bunburry, 14 Cherringham and 12 Mydworth Mysteries and been enjoying the narrations of both Parker and Dudgeon and plan to continue listening as long as more are available through the library.