The Cozy Mystery List Blog

Cozy Mystery (and Other Favorite) Books, Movies, and TV

Authors Similar to Dorothy Gilman

Who says only the young sleuths get results? Definitely not Dorothy Gilman! Gilman’s Mrs. Pollifax Mystery Series takes you around the world with this mature, hat-wearing CIA sleuth. Dorothy Gilman’s Mrs. Pollifax Mystery Series is a “gentle” type of mystery series… If you’re looking for expletives, a lot of gore, and superfluous adult situations, Gilman is definitely not for you! But, if you have run out of Gilman’s mysteries and are looking for a few authors who might be worthy substitutes, this list is for you!

Authors similar to Dorothy Gilman:

Nancy Atherton: Aunt Dimity Mystery Series

Mignon F. Ballard: Augusta Goodnight Mystery Series

Nancy Bell: Biggie Weatherford Mystery Series

Rhys Bowen: Lady Georgiana Mystery Series

Lilian Jackson Braun: The Cat Who… Mystery Series

Simon Brett: Fethering Mystery Series AND Melita Pargeter Mystery Series

Emily Brightwell: Mrs. Jeffries Victorian Mystery Series

Heron Carvic: Miss Seeton Mystery Series

Agatha Christie: Miss Marple Mystery Series

Lori Copeland: Morning Shade Mystery Series

Amanda Cross: Kate Fansler Mystery Series

Carola Dunn: Daisy Dalrymple Mystery Series

Monica Ferris: Needlecraft Mystery Series

Carolyn Hart: Death on Demand Mystery Series AND Henrie O Mystery Series

Sue Henry: Maxie & Stretch Mystery Series

Hazel Holt: Mrs. Mallory Mystery Series

Jan Karon: Mitford Series (Not mysteries!)

Jane Langton: Homer Kelly Mystery Series

Lorena McCourtney: Ivy Malone Mystery Series

Elizabeth Peters (aka Barbara Michaels): Amelia Peabody Mystery Series

Ann B. Ross: Miss Julia Mystery Series

Patricia (Houck) Sprinkle: Thoroughly Southern Mystery Series

Rex Stout: Nero Wolfe Mystery Series

Victoria Thompson: Gaslight Mystery Series

Please post your recommendations of authors who are similar to Dorothy Gilman, and I will add them to the list.

♦To access more Cozy Mysteries by theme click on this link.♦

Comments

  1. The best part of ‘cozy mysteries’ is the fact that there is no gore or expletives or sexual situations – just plain good fun. My twin sister recently gave me the entire series of Biggie Weatherford mysteries by Nancy Bell. What a great series and why she stopped writing the ‘Biggie’ ones, I’ll never know. They are a MUST for any cozy mystery lover.

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  2. Sue Henry has a “Maxie McNabb” series about a 60 year old widow who travels the US in her Winnebago with her miniature dachshund and solving various murders or mysteries along the way.

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  3. Thank you both, Petie & Pat, for suggesting Sue Henry and Nancy Bell. I have added both of them to the Authors Similar to Dorothy Gilman page. This is one of the best ways to find authors who are similar to other mystery authors… word of mouth from Cozy Mystery book readers!

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  4. We can’t forget Patricia (Houck) Sprinkle’s THOROUGHLY SOUTHERN series. MacLaren is no spring chicken. I enjoyed her as much as I did Mrs. Pollifax. I miss both of these two series – may have to read them again later. Thanks again for this site.

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  5. First off, I want to say I LOVE this site. Just became a Cozy fan this past April and thanks to the lists on this site, have read 65 cozies since then! Also LOVE the TV and movies page. My parents are huge British mystery fans and thanks to those lists, I can reserve tons of DVDs from the library for them.

    Anywho…for this list, how about Lorena McCourtney’s Ivy Malone series? One of my favorite grandmother (who doesn’t act like one) cozies that’s hilarious to read as well

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  6. Thank you, Deborah, for the very kind words about the site. I’m glad you found it… and I suspect your parents are also glad>>> the public library is a great place to find a lot of British mystery DVDs, if you have a good library. And, it sounds like you do!

    Thank you for recommending Lorena McCourtney‘s Ivy Malone series.

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  9. Ann B. Ross – Miss Julia series. A widow who has a “friend” of her late husbands’ and their son. Miss Julia does not have children, but takes both in. It is a very funny book, a mystery, etc. all in one.

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    • Thank you, Jackie, I will go add Miss Julia to the list of Authors Similar to Dorothy Gilman.

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  10. Richard Barth wrote some books featuring a group of older New York residents. Unfortuntely the names of the books escape me at the moment, although I suspect one was the Rag-Bag Clan.

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  11. I listen to my favorite series over and over on audiobooks. A close favorite to Dorothy Gilman is Charlotte Macleod’s Sarah Kelling/ Max Bittersohn series. Lovely and fun.

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      • I just checked, and neither Charlotte MacLeod nor Alisa Craig are on their list of audible books. Too bad, as I follow all of those series…

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  12. For fans of Dorothy Gilman. She passed away at age 88 according to the New York Times article on February 3.
    “The Mystery Writers of America named Mrs. Gilman its 2010 Grand Master. ”

    I enjoyed all of her novels, especially the “Mrs. Pollifax” spy stories.

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    • Thank you, Andie, for the information about Dorothy Gilman. She (and her terrific mysteries) will be missed.

      I loved all of her Mrs. Pollifax mystery books. I recently watched the 1971 Mrs. Pollifax movie with Rosalind Russell and Darrin McGavin. Loved it!

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  13. I think Parnell Hall’s Puzzle Lady Series deserves to be on the list of authors similar to Dorothy Gilman. How about it?

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  14. Try Elizabeth Peters and the Amelia Peabody series. In addition to being detective/archeologists (what fun!) you also get a taste of the Victorian England of the late 1800’s-great for trivia games!

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    • Thank you, Janet, I just added Elizabeth Peters to the Authors Similar to Dorothy Gilman list.

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  15. I was spending most of my reading time rereading my favorite authors until I discovered your website . Now I have so many new authors and mystery series to read that I ‘m probably going to run out of time, so to speak, before I read them all ! Your website is the best by far !!!
    I ‘ve read all of Dorothy Gilman’s books and loved them ! She is sorely missed. The authors and characters that most remind me of Mrs. Pollifax are Hazel Holt’s Sheila Mallory series, Anne George’s Southern Sisters series, and the grand mistress of them all, Agatha Christie’s Miss Jane Marple. I also love the Aunt Dimity series and the Fethering series. Emily Brightwell’s Mrs. Jeffries series has some similar elements, as well.
    Better get back to reading !!!

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  16. The thing I am most attracted to about the Dorothy Gilman books (not only Mrs. Pollifax but the others) is the sense of magic, otherworldliness, almost occult sometimes. That’s what I have not been able to find in other authors. Suggestions?

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    • Hi Merrill. Yes that is what I love about the Dorothy Gilman books. A lot of synchronicity. And Mrs. Pollifax for one is always attuned to self development and karate study. She is devoted to keeping a positive attitude and she listens to her intuition, which is very strong. I love her values.
      Folks, do any of these authors have characters similar to Dorothy Gilman’s in these ways?
      Oh, and I have read all the Aunt Dimity books, which have a similar metaphysical spiritual thread. If you haven’t seen them Merrill, I’d suggest trying them.

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  17. When I discovered Lorena McCourtney’s “Ivy Malone Mysteries” they reminded me of Mrs. Pollifax. Ivy Malone doesn’t globe trot for the CIA, but she travels the USA and mysteries find her. Ivy is a spiritual person, but she doesn’t slap you in the face with it, it’s just woven into the stories.

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