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Small Town Female Sheriff Protagonist…

May 20, 2012

On to our third question from Cozy Mystery readers.

María asks:

“… I wonder if you could help me. Some years ago I read at a local library some mystery books that were really interesting, regretfully I did not take note of the author’s name and later the library closed down. The only information I remember is that the books were set in a small town in the USA, the investigator was a woman sheriff who had been in a big city before settling there. I am extremely sorry to bother you but this has been nagging me for years.

Thanks in advance for your help and understanding.

María”

I suggested to María that she might be looking for the Arly Hanks Mystery Series by Joan Hess, but I wasn’t quite sure about that because she doesn’t mention that the series is funny -which it is.

Does this description sound familiar to any of you? If you think you might know who María is looking for, please post a comment. Thank you!

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25 Comments - Click Here to Read the Comments or to Add Another

Comments

  1. Dru says

    May 20, 2012 at 9:16 am

    Joanna Brady from J.A. Jance comes to mind. It’s not a cozy though. Then again, I don’t know if Joanna Brady came from a big town.

    Reply
    • marja says

      May 22, 2012 at 7:03 pm

      Joanna Brady was born and raised in/near Bisbee, AZ 🙂

      Reply
  2. Bonnie says

    May 20, 2012 at 2:15 pm

    There is a series from the authors Joyce and Jim Lavene, that takes place in a small town. The Sheriff is Sharyn Howard. You can order the books at Barns and Nobles, they are NOT in the Library. The 1 and 2 are as follows 1. Last Dance, 2.One Last Goodbye. Hope this Help Out.
    Bonnie

    Reply
  3. Laurie K says

    May 20, 2012 at 3:28 pm

    Charlene Weir writes the books about Susan Wren who lived in San Francisco and ended up in Kansas (via a husband who dies) and becomes Police Chief. There are 7 books in the series. Possibly this is the series she is looking for?

    Reply
    • linda c says

      May 21, 2012 at 7:44 am

      Laurie K, Wonder what has happened to this author!! This series was very good

      Reply
    • marja says

      May 22, 2012 at 7:04 pm

      Wow, I loved the two or three books of this series that I read. Unfortunately my library doesn’t appear to have the others — I’ll double-check.

      Reply
  4. Deb says

    May 20, 2012 at 4:15 pm

    I don’t think it’s Joanna, because most are set in Bisbee, Arizona, a small town. But now I have all of them requested at my local library! I know I have some of the early ones, but who knows where they are….
    J.A. Jance has a nice website with all the series and a blog at http://www.jajance.com/jajance.com/Welcome.html

    Reply
  5. Kristi aka FiberFool says

    May 20, 2012 at 8:32 pm

    Mary Logue’s series that starts with Blood Country fits the description. It’s borderline cozy, but set in a small town near the WI/MN border. She previously was a rising star in the Twin Cities and has a daughter. I believe she was widowed if I recall correctly.

    Reply
  6. Sue D. says

    May 20, 2012 at 9:16 pm

    Mary Logue writes a mystery series about Claire Watkins, female deputy sheriff in small Wisconsin farming town who used to be a Minneapolis police detective. This is one of my favorite cozy series! The characters have such depth; the series has an edge–bad things CAN happen in the country. There are 8 books in the series so far.

    Reply
  7. *Susan says

    May 21, 2012 at 1:43 am

    I’m thinking exactly the same as Dru. J.A. Jance was the first one to come to my mind, too.
    At least worth checking out, I think. 🙂

    Reply
  8. Andie says

    May 21, 2012 at 1:16 pm

    I think you are entirely correct, Danna. Sounds like the Maggody series to me. She was in New York prior to returning to Arkansas and you can’t get a bigger city than that (in the U.S.A.)
    I love the series and I think Joan Hess is brilliant! Everything she writes is excellent, as far as I am concerned, but the Maggody series is especially charming.
    Possibly because I have come across some people who are remarkably similar to some of her characters in the place where I was born and raised. Western Kentucky is not that far from Arkansas and I even have cousins in Blytheville and Jonesboro.
    Good call, Danna.

    Reply
    • Danna - cozy mystery list says

      May 21, 2012 at 4:23 pm

      Thanks, Andie!

      Reply
  9. Danna - cozy mystery list says

    May 21, 2012 at 5:06 pm

    Thank you for your suggestions. I hope María will be able to find the correct author/sleuth amongst them.

    J. A. Jance – Joanna Brady Mystery Series

    Charlene Weir – Police Chief Susan Wren Mystery Series

    Joyce and Jim Lavene – Sheriff Sharyn Howard Mystery Series

    Joan Hess – Maggody Mystery Series

    Mary Logue – Claire Watkins Mystery Series (1. Blood Country)

    Reply
  10. Edie Dykeman says

    May 23, 2012 at 10:22 am

    This is the first I’ve heard of any of them and I’m eager to check them out. That’s why I love this blog so much – so many books I’ve never tried (but so little time to read :().

    Thanks for the list above – making note of each one.

    Reply
    • Danna - cozy mystery list says

      May 23, 2012 at 11:42 am

      Edie, I have found a lot of new authors from other Cozy Mystery readers’ comments, also.

      Reply
  11. Marie says

    May 30, 2012 at 9:05 am

    What ever happened to the Jill Churchill Grace and Favor book titled “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes”? Was it ever released? I’ve been looking for over a year.

    Reply
    • Danna - cozy mystery list says

      May 30, 2012 at 9:32 am

      Marie, Jill Churchill‘s Smoke Gets in Your Eyes hasn’t been release yet. Amazon says it will be releasing July 15, 2012, but I think I have seen that sort of information before.

      Reply
      • Marie says

        June 8, 2012 at 1:30 pm

        Thank you for your answer. I have seen it was going to be released several different times. Hope this is it.

        Reply
        • Danna - cozy mystery list says

          June 11, 2012 at 7:47 am

          Marie, I used to follow Jill Churchill’s Jane Jeffry Mystery Series. Actually, I still would, but it looks like The Accidental Florist (2007) might just be the end. We’ll see… I will certainly be on the look-out for her next Jane Jeffry mystery.

          Reply
        • Bev says

          November 12, 2012 at 1:22 am

          I still have not found smoke gets in your eyes, has anyone found it?

          Reply
          • Danna - cozy mystery list says

            November 12, 2012 at 9:23 am

            Bev, Jill Churchill’s Smoke Gets in Your Eyes was never released. (Anyway, that’s what I have been able to dig up. Sort of like Nancy Fairbanks’ Blood Pudding.)

            Reply
            • Bev says

              November 13, 2012 at 7:41 am

              With ebooks so available now you would think they would be out. I always felt there were so many story lines left open in the series.

              Reply
              • Danna - cozy mystery list says

                November 13, 2012 at 4:47 pm

                I know, Bev. I have one author in particular who I check on from time to time, hoping that she puts out the last book in her series.

                Reply
  12. Nancy says

    June 5, 2012 at 9:36 pm

    Just as a data point, Joanna Brady wasn’t a sheriff in any town before she was the Bisbee sheriff.

    Reply
    • Danna - cozy mystery list says

      June 6, 2012 at 7:04 am

      Nancy, didn’t Joanna Brady take over the post of sheriff after her husband (the sheriff) died? It’s been years since I read Desert Heat – probably about the same time it was published, which would have made it ’93.

      Reply

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