Cartoon of the Day: Writer

 

COOPER & FRY: New detective series based on Stephen Booth's mysteries

Cooper & Fry is the brand new drama from Channel 5 (U.K.). The series is based on the bestselling novels by Stephen Booth and sees two mismatched detectives, DC Ben Cooper and DC Diane Fry, work together on a series of unusual cases to get results.

Unfortunately, this series has not been picked up -- yet-- for broadcasts in the U.S. Hopefully it will--and soon. I'll keep you posted. In the meantime, read Stephen Booth's Cooper & Fry series. 

Here's what we know so far about the Cooper & Fry TV series.: 

Set in the mystery-shrouded Peak District, DC Ben Cooper (Robert James-Collier), an affable local, is thrown together with guarded newcomer DC Diane Fry (Mandip Gill), to investigate a string of mysterious deaths.

Based on the bestselling novels by Stephen Booth, the two mismatched detectives must work together on a series of unusual cases to get results. Despite Fry’s scepticism of local folklore, they’ll need to navigate not only the twisted paths of the cases before them, but also the shadowy beliefs that still hold sway in the hills.

As their personal lives begin to intertwine and past scars look to be healed, a unique friendship is formed. While Cooper and Fry unearth old rituals and beliefs, they must rely on each other to not only bring justice, but to survive.

Pushing the Keyboard Past Ninety: Guest Post by Larry and Rosemary Mild

Is there any limit to when an author’s creativity declines or even shuts down? The fully alert writing team of Larry and Rosemary Mild is still cranking out fiction, even though they have become young nonagenarians. He’s ninety-three and she’s ninety, and yet together they have just published their fourth Paco and Molly Mystery, The Moaning Lisa (Five stars according to Readers’ Favorite). And that’s not all. Since they married in 1967, they have published eight mysteries, three adventure-thrillers, one historical thriller, a spy novel, four short-story collections, and one sci-fi novella (plus four memoirs). Many of their books have received five-star reviews plus awards.

Are they done yet? Of course not. While Rosemary puts her finishing touches on their second spy novel, Kauai Spies and Other Lies, Larry is busy writing stories for a fifth collection. Larry insists that he will stick with writing short stories from now on. “I like to complete what I start,” he says, “and who knows what the future in my nineties holds?” Larry is wheelchair-bound, tied to a permanent catheter, and sees out of one eye—but he remains optimistic. Rosemary is his loving caregiver. They wake up every morning knowing they have their writing to do. But she also takes time to do her Jazzercise classes on Zoom: “They satisfy my suppressed desire to be a Rockette.”

Larry says he’s more devious than Rosemary, so he generally comes up with the story ideas and plots. When a “Hey-that’s-neat-idea” strikes, he mulls over it for a day or two, then sits down and writes a five- to ten-page statement of work for a novel. He discusses it with her and then commits to writing the first and sometimes the second draft. Then he hands the manuscript over to Rosemary, who fleshes out the characters and streamlines passages to increase suspense. She calls it “judicious pruning,” an expression she learned as an assistant editor at Harper’s Magazine. Originally, Larry would reply, “It’s slash and burn—I worked hours on those paragraphs!” Rosemary would remind him what Stephen King once said: “To write is human, to edit is divine.”

 
The Milds use their personal experience as a touchstone for much of their fiction. In Cry Ohana, Adventure and Suspense in Hawai‘i, they have the killer chasing young Kekoa in Chinatown on Chinese New Year—where they themselves used to slog through the spent firecracker papers. In Copper and Goldie, 13 Tails of Mystery and Suspense in Hawai‘i, Sam Nahoe is a disabled ex-cop-turned-cabbie and private eye. Larry gave him his own disability. Sam has to ski walk with two canes. His Auntie Momi asks him, “You still walkin’ wit’ dem giant chopsticks?” Goldie is based on a friend’s golden retriever. She rides shotgun and chases down villains. Death Steals a Holy Book is based on a rare Yiddish volume that Larry inherited. Hot Grudge Sunday is a tour the Milds took through the national parks out West. They injected a harrowing event at each site and reversed their itinerary to have the heart-stopping climax at the Grand Canyon. 

***

Larry and Rosemary Mild have recently been named recipients of the 2024 Elliot Cades Award for Literature, the state of Hawai‘i’s most prestigious literary honor. They were named co-recipients of the award for established writers. A second award was given for emerging writer at the November 1^st, 2025 ceremony held at the Hawai‘i State Library.

VETERANS DAY CRIME FICTION

Veterans Day, November 11, was originally known as Armistice Day (also known as Remembrance Day). Veterans Day commemorates the armistice signed between the Allies of World War I and Germany at Compiègne, France, for the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front, that took effect at eleven o'clock in the morning — the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month" 1918.

U.S. President Woodrow Wilson first proclaimed Armistice Day on November 11, 1919. The U.S.  Congress passed a concurrent resolution seven years later on June 4, 1926, requesting the President issue another proclamation to observe November 11 with appropriate ceremonies. The 11th of November is"a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be thereafter celebrated and known as 'Armistice Day'." It was later changed to Veterans Day.

I love to read mysteries that reflect regions and holidays, so I'm reposting my Veterans Day list with some new additions. 

Julia Spencer-Fleming's Once Was a Soldier,  Jacqueline Winspear, Renie Airth, and Charles Todd's mystery series are at the top of my list of Veterans Day Mysteries. There's also the Joe Sandilands series by Barbara Cleverly. And Bulldog Drummond is a WWI veteran in the Sapper/H.C. McNeile books. Add to that Walter Mosley's WWII Vet Easy Rawlins. Don't miss Marcia Talley's All Things Undying in which Hannah Ives helps to locate the grave of a WWII serviceman. James Lee Burke is another great mystery author whose Cajun detective Dave Robicheaux is a Vietnam Veteran. And, of course, the Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club by Dorothy L. Sayers.

BV Lawson's 2007 post of Veteran's Day Mysteries is great. No need to duplicate her efforts. Be sure and read her blog, as well as all the comments. 

 

I also did a Memorial Day post here on Mystery Fanfare that covers some of the same territory. It is  a good resource, as many of the books overlap.

You'll want to read J. Kingston's Pierce's article 9 Mysteries Set in the Immediate Aftermath of WWI on CrimeReads.

Wikipedia has an entry about Veterans Day Mysteries. Several hardboiled heroes have been war veterans. Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer and many others from World War II, and John D. MacDonald's Travis McGee from the Korean War. "The frequent exposure to death and hardship often leads to a cynical and callous attitude as well as a character trait known today as post-traumatic stress characterizes many hardboiled protagonists."

ADDITIONAL VETERANS DAY MYSTERIES with Veteran Protagonists

River of Darkness by Rennie Airth

Mark of the Lion by Suzanne Arruda

Billy Boyle series by James R. Benn

Dying in the Wool by Frances Brody

Veterans' Day by James Buckner

Nick Petrie novels by James Lee Burke

Tom Clancy Oath of Office by Marc Cameron

The Bee's Kiss by Barbara Cleverly

Quarry; The Million Dollar Wound by Max Allan Collins

Long Shot by Jack Coughlin

Foul Trade by B.K. Duncan

One Killer Force by Dalton Fury
Young Blood by Matt Gallagher

The Man Who Won the Medal of Honor by Len Giovannitti

The Sleepwalkers by Paul Grossman

The Dog Stars by Peter Heller

Direct Hit by Mike Hollow

A Gentleman's Murder by Christopher Huang

Operation Burning Candle by Blyden Jackson

Berlin Noir: March Violets, The Pale Criminal, A German Requiem by Philip Kerr

Lone Jack Trail by Owen Laukkanen

After the Rain by Chuck Logan

Mr. Churchill's Secretary by Susan Elia MacNeal

Hystopia by David Means

First Blood by David Morrell

Veterans Day by Mary Jane Morris

Devil in a Blue Dress, and other novels by Walter Mosley

A Rising Man by Abir Mukherjee

The Odd Angry Shot by William Nagle

The Sympathizer by Viet Than Nguyen

A Beautiful Place to Die by Malla Nunn

Going After Cacciato by Tim O'Brien

The Given World by Marian Palaia

The Drifter by Nick Petrie (and others in the Peter Ash series)

Underbelly by Gary Phillips

The Yellow Birds by Kevin Powers

Whose Body?; The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club by Dorothy L Sayers

Dog Day Afternoon by Vern E. Smith

The Return of Captain John Emmett by Elizabeth Speller

Veterans Day by Jack Stewart

Dog Soldiers by Robert Stone

All Things Undying by Marcia Talley

A Test of Wills and others; A Duty to the Dead and others by Charles Todd

Dragonfish by Vu Tran

Soldier's Heart by Vance Voyles

Maisie Dobbs; Messenger of Truth; The Mapping of Love and Death; and others by Jacqueline Winspear

For the young set, one of the first Veteran-related mysteries: 
Cherry Ames: Veterans' Nurse by Helen Wells. 

Have a look, too, at StopYou'reKillingMe.com, Military Mysteries for more titles.

As always, let me know any Veterans Crime Fiction that you recommend.

Read a Veterans Day mystery and remember the men and women who have served our country. Thank you for your service.

In Memory of Veteran - Major Joseph Rudolph, M.D., WWII

Cartoon of the Day: The Case

 

MADAME BLANC MYSTERIES CHRISTMAS SPECIAL 2025

Acorn TV has announced a two-part Christmas Special for ‘The Madame Blanc Mysteries’ 

Jean, Dom, Judith, and Jeremy head to an exclusive Christmas Eve event at the Musée de Sainte Victoire where Jean is asked to authenticate a rare Ormolu box said to have belonged to Marie Antoinette - only to discover a ticking bomb hidden inside. With the museum sealed, a dead security guard, and just 90 minutes until detonation, Jean and the gang have to crack the code and defuse the bomb before time runs out. 

The two-part Christmas Special of The Madame Blanc Mysteries will air on Acorn TV on Monday, December 15 and Monday, December 22.