I’m doing this slightly differently this month. In the past, I’ve presented both upcoming new series and upcoming holiday releases a month ahead of time, but I skipped this post last month so I could try presenting them a bit closer to. So I’d like to hear from you if you prefer it this way, where the books I’m talking about are just about to come out, or coming out in a month or so?

Anyway… February will have two new Cozy Mystery Series, as well as one new holiday-themed Cozy Mystery!

First up, Margaret Dumas will be releasing Murder at the Palace, the first in her new Movie Palace Mystery Series. This paranormal themed series will introduce Nora Paige, a lover of classic films who leaves Hollywood for San Francisco after breaking up with her husband. There, at the historic Palace movie theater, she meets up with an eccentric group of film buffs, including the 1930s ghost of an usherette… and the body of a much more recently murdered stranger! Margaret Dumas hasn’t written much in quite a while, but she is also the author of the short Charley & Jack Fairfax Mystery Series, a wealthy husband and wife sleuthing team in San Francisco.

Next up is Victoria Hamilton‘s newest series, which will be beginning with The Gentlewoman’s Guide to Murder. This historical series set in the English Regency era (1811-1820) will star spinster Emmeline St. Germaine, who has only just rescued a scullery maid from assault by Sir Henry Claybourne before learning of the knight’s untimely death. Considering that she had recently threatened him, she knows she’ll need to determine who truly killed him, if only to ensure her own safety from accusation. Victoria Hamilton also writes the Vintage Kitchen Mystery Series, the Merry Muffin Mystery Series, the Teapot Collector Mystery Series (under the name Amanda Cooper), and the Lady Anne Addison Mystery Series (under the name Donna Lea Simpson).

Finally, Amanda Flower will be releasing Criminally Cocoa, an Easter-themed novella in the Amish Candy Shop Mystery Series. Charlotte Weaver is visiting New York, and her cousin Bailey King, both for Easter and the premier of Bailey’s first cable TV show, Bailey’s Amish Sweets. But a number of odd occurrences start happening on set, apparent coincidences that seem intended to ruin Bailey’s premier. With Bailey preoccupied by the TV production, it will be up to Charlotte to determine if this is just sloppiness… or intentional sabotage! Amanda Flower also writes the Magic Garden Mystery Series, the Living History Museum Mystery Series, the Magical Bookshop Mystery Series, the Appleseed Creek Mystery Series, the India Hayes Mystery Series, and (as Isabella Alan) the Amish Quilt Shop Mystery Series.

For more upcoming Cozy Mystery Series, check out the New Cozy Mystery Book Series page on the site. For more Easter-themed Cozy Mysteries, check out the Easter Mystery Book List page on the site.

PS: I probably won’t respond to each specific opinion of whether people prefer books discussed a month ahead of time or in the month of release, unless there’s more to respond to than a simple “I like it this way”.