A California Online Magazine with Local Focus and Global Appeal
Ever wonder what Jessica Fletcher’s first murder case was? A curious high school reporter asks just that question during an interview and doesn’t seem to think Jessica is giving a completely honest answer. It’s a subject Jessica never discusses, and she’s able to dodge the questions.
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A new series of mystery movies on Hallmark’s Movies and Mysteries Channel premiered on Sunday, January 12. The Martha’s Vineyard Mysteries are based on the novels by the late Philip R. Craig introducing retired detective Jeff W. Jackson and set in the beautiful, yet deadly Martha’s Vineyard.
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In Crossword Mysteries: Abracadaver, New York Sentinel crossword puzzle editor Tess Harper, played by Lacey Chabert, teams with NYPD Detective Logan O’Connor, played by Brennan Elliott, to solve the mystery of who murdered a famous magician during a live-stage performance.
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Isn’t that…? When there’s nothing on television except politics, sports, or reality shows that seem to bring out the worst in humanity, I open up the AcornTV app on my iPad and explore the dramas, mysteries, comedies, documentaries, and “Staff Pick of the Week.” The first thing that usually grabs my interest is seeing an actor I recognize.
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In 2019, I reviewed a record 180 entertaining books along with connecting with talented and delightfully friendly authors, including some beta reading. It was a daunting task to choose my annual “Tops” because every book, and a few television shows, have provided me with hours of entertainment and some inspiration…
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AcornTV was the first streaming option I explored, first as a free trial, then membership with a reasonable monthly fee, and I’ve not regretted a penny of it! Over the past two years, I have been able to watch and rewatch at my convenience iconic detective dramas like the twenty-one seasons of Midsomer Murders, twelve seasons of Murdoch Mysteries with season 13 airing Dec. 25, and first four seasons of Vera, along with Agatha Raisin, George Gently, and Kingdom.
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After watching the first three episodes of Stumptown, I am hooked. Lead character Dex, a former Marine interrogator suffering from PTSD, is living on the edge. The edge of poverty, the edge of reason, and the edge of denial. Played by Cobie Smulders, Dex is rough and snarky, an older tougher Veronica Mars.
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BritBox is one of my favorite streaming options for movies and television programs any Anglophile will find satisfying, compelling, and very entertaining. From vintage 1970s detective dramas and comedies to current 2019 mysteries and sit-coms, I have enjoyed hours and hours binging wonderful shows from England to Scotland from Down Under to Up North. For my personal convenience I choose an annual subscription fee, since I don’t see any reason I would ever suspend my membership, but for others the monthly fee option might be preferred. Either way both are very reasonable. Anyone can forgo a latte a month in exchange for “calorie free” entertainment, right?
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Anglophiles living in the U.S. have for decades been at a disadvantage when trying to find UK movies and television programs. Oh, sure, you might see some recent episodes or movies on PBS or a few cable channels, but they are inconsistently available. Hurrah for AcornTV!
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Released in 2018, The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is a not-quite reboot of the 1990s TV sitcom Sabrina: The Teen-age Witch. Both series center on the same lead character, Sabrina Spellman, the teen witch who first debuted in Archie’s Madhouse in October 1962. The character then received her own comic series and animated series until gaining new popularity with the 1990s series starring Melissa Joan Hart.
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Hallmark Movies and Mysteries presents Danica McKellar and Victor Webster in Hallmark’s newest Signature Mysteries, Matchmaker Mysteries: A Killer Engagement.
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Allison Sweeney stars as Alex McPherson and Benjamin Ayres stars as Drew Goddard in the Chronicle Mysteries: The Deep End. Alex and Drew are following the trial of a woman who is being charged with the murder of her husband. As Alex follows the trial on her podcast, she becomes convinced that the woman is innocent and being railroaded into a guilty verdict. Can Alex find the real murderer in time to clear the woman’s name before the trial is over?
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Dr. Diana Bishop (Teresa Palmer) is a visiting research fellow at Oxford University set to explore prized manuscripts connected to her academic research into alchemy in the seventeenth century. She also comes from an extraordinary family of witches, with the distinction of being a direct descendant of Bridget Bishop who, in 1692, was the first to be executed for witchcraft during the Salem witch trials.
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Nancy Drew adventures have been mainstream for over eighty years for good reason: she is our hero. It matters little that over the years these novels have had different authors writing under the pen name Carolyn Keene; what does matter is each author has carried on the original intent to give readers an intelligent, resourceful young woman who not only loves to unravel mysteries, but is very good at it, much in the tradition of the Hardy Boys, her contemporaries in stories of investigation.
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