The Cozy Mystery List Blog

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

May 2014 Mystery Book New Releases

The following Mystery Books will be released in May 2014:

Mike Befeler: Nursing Homes Are Murder (This will be the 6th in the Paul Jacobson Geezer-Lit Mystery Series.)

Heather Blake (aka Heather Webber): The Goodbye Witch (This will be the 4th in the Wishcraft Mystery Series.)

Lawrence Block: Borderline (This will be a Stand Alone.)

Mollie Cox Bryan: Scrappy Summer (This will be a Cumberland Creek Mystery novella.)

Dorothy Cannell: Murder at Mullings (This will be the 1st in the NEW Florence Norris Mystery Series.)

Clive Cussler & Graham Brown: Ghost Ship (This will be the 12th in the NUMA Files Series.)

Kathi Daley: Maui Madness (This will be the 7th in the Zoe Donovan Mystery Series.)

Kathi Daley: Bikinis in Paradise (This will be the 3rd in the TJ Jensen Paradise Lake Mystery Series.)

Jeffery Deaver: The Skin Collector (This will be the 11th in the Lincoln Rhyme Mystery Series.)

Hannah Dennison: Murder at Honeychurch Hall (This will be the 1st in the NEW Honeychurch Hall Mystery Series.)

Claire Donally: Last Licks (This will be the 3rd in the Sunny & Shadow Mystery Series.)

Kate Ellis: The Shroud Maker (This will be the 18th in the Wesley Peterson Mystery Series.)

Sally Goldenbaum: Murder in Merino (This will be the 8th in the Seaside Knitters Mystery Series.)

Kerry Greenwood: Murder and Mendelssohn (This will be the 21st  in the Phryne Fisher Mystery Series.)

Carolyn Haines: Booty Bones (This will be the 14th in the Sarah Book Delaney Mystery Series.)

Charlaine Harris: Midnight Crossroad (This will be the 1st in the NEW Midnight, Texas Mystery Series.)

Carolyn Hart: Death at the Door (This will be the 24th in the Death on Demand Bookstore Mystery Series.)

Mary Ellen Hughes: The Pickled Piper (This will be the 1st in the NEW Pickled and Preserved Mystery Series.)

Maddy Hunter: Fleur de Lies (This will be the 9th in the Passport to Peril Mystery Series.)

Joyce and Jim Lavene (aka J.J. Cook & Ellie Grant): Lethal Lily (This will be the 6th in the Peggy Lee Garden Mystery Series.)

Lizbeth Lipperman (aka Liz Lipperman): Jailhouse Glock (This will be the 2nd in the Dead Sister Talking Mystery Series.)

Karen MacInerney: Death Runs Adrift (This will be the 6th in the Gray Whale Inn Mystery Series.)

Edith Maxwell (aka Tace Baker): ‘Til Dirt Us Part (This will be the 2nd in the Local Foods Mystery Series.)

Susan McBride: To Helen Back (This will be the 1st in the NEW River Road Mystery Series.)

Jenn McKinlay (aka Josie Belle & Lucy Lawrence): Death of a Mad Hatter (This will be the 2nd in the Hat Shop Mystery Series.)

Susan McBride: To Helen Back (This will be the 1st in the NEW River Road Mystery Series.)

Catriona McPherson: The Day She Died (This will be a Stand Alone mystery.)

Laura Morrigan: A Tiger’s Tale (This will be the 2nd in the Call of the Wilde Mystery Series.)

Katherine Hall Page: Small Plates: Short Fiction (This will be a collection of mystery stories – including Faith Fairchild and Stand Alone mysteries.)

Nancy J. Parra (aka Nancy Coco): Murder Gone A-Rye (This will be the 2nd in the Baker’s Treat Mystery Series.)

James Patterson & Maxine Paetro: Unlucky 13 (This will be the 13th in the Women’s Murder Club Mystery Series.)

Cate Price: A Dollhouse to Die For (This will be the 2nd in the Deadly Notions Mystery Series.)

Barbara Ross: Boiled Over (This will be the 2nd in the Maine Clambake Mystery Series.)

Michele Scott: Dark Harmony (This will be the 2nd in the Vivienne Taylor Horse Lover’s Mystery Series.)

Sarah Strohmeyer: The Secrets of Lily Graves (This will be a Stand Alone mystery for Young Adults.)

Victoria Thompson: Murder in Murray Hill (This will be the 16th in the Gaslight Mystery Series.)

Rebecca Tope: Trouble in the Cotswolds (This will be the 12th in the Thea Osborne Cotswolds Mystery Series.)

Elaine Viets: Catnapped! (This will be the 13th in the Dead-End Job Mystery Series.)

To go back to the Cozy Mystery New Book Release page, click here.

(These are the mysteries by authors who are currently on the Cozy Mystery site.)

Mystery Book Recommendations – March 2014

I got an email two days ago from my best friend (college roommate) who lives in Iowa. She mentioned just how tired she is of winter. While reading her letter, I was able to look outside and watch the birds (and squirrels) in our back yard as they flitted about enjoying the sunshine. What a drastic difference!

As March is finishing up, I am reminded that it is time for me to ask you all about the Cozy Mystery book(s) that you have read during March that stand out as really good Cozy Mysteries. Please tell us why you are recommending the book(s) so that by reading your reasons, we can see if we might be interested in it (them), also.

I am going to start by telling you about the Cozy Mystery author I am currently reading. I started reading her a short while back when I kept seeing her being recommended in these monthly recommendation entries. Some of you kept talking about Joanne Fluke. So, better late than never, bada-beem, bada-bum, I tried her. Boy am I glad I did!

Fluke’s Hannah Swensen mysteries have become my go-to books when I’m looking for a comfy-cozy read. I find the writing very easy to read, and I love the interaction Hannah has with her sister, niece, brother-in-law, and mother. The relationships she has with her loved ones rings very true to me. The books are a nice escape-type of reading. And I love experiencing the cold of Minnesota, as well as its beauty. I enjoy Hannah’s small, close-knit community, as well.

[As usual, I ask that you don’t tell us about the mystery books you read that you didn’t like.]

[If you click on the author’s name (blue) link, it will take you to their page on the Cozy Mystery site. Their page has all of the author’s books listed chronologically.]

What Cozy Mystery book (or author) have you read during March 2014, and why did you enjoy it (or him/her)?

Here are the current recommended authors who some of you have read this past month:

Victoria Abbott (aka Mary Jane Maffini & Victoria Maffini): Book Collectors Mystery Series

Susan Wittig Albert: China Bayles Mystery Series

Donna Andrews: Meg Langslow Mystery Series

Alex Archer: Rogue Angel (fantasy series?)

Mignon F. Ballard: Augusta Goodnight Mystery Series

C. J. Box: Joe Picket Mystery Series: Breaking Point  (not Cozy)

Laura Bradford (aka Elizabeth Lynn Casey): Amish Mystery Series

Duffy Brown: Consignment Shop Mystery Series

Laurie Cass: Bookmobile Cat Mystery Series

Laura Childs: Tea Shop Mystery Series

Alys Clare: Hawkenlye Mystery Series

Shelley Costa: Miracolo Mystery Series

Mary Daheim: Emma Lord Alpine Mystery Series

Krista Davis: Domestic Diva Mystery Series

Jo Dereske: Miss Zukas Mystery Series

Carola Dunn: Daisy Dalrymple Mystery Series

Dawn Eastman: Family Fortune Mystery Series

Chrystle Fiedler: Natural Remedies Mystery Series

Joanne Fluke: Hannah Swensen Cookie Jar Mystery Series

Sally Goldenbaum: Seaside Knitters Mystery Series

Kerry Greenwood: Corinna Chapman Mystery Series

Leslie Meier: Lucy Stone Mystery Series

Laura Morrigan: Woof at the Door (1st in the Call of the Wilde Mystery Series)

Kate Parker: Victorian Bookshop Mystery Series

Perri O’Shaughnessy: Nina Reilly Mystery Series (not Cozy)

Gail Oust: Piper Prescott Mystery Series

Patricia Rockwell: Essie Cobb, Senior Sleuth Mystery Series

Denise Swanson: Devereaux’s Dime Store Mystery Series

Victoria Thompson: Gaslight Mystery Series

Christine Wenger: Comfort Food Mystery Series

♦To access more Cozy Mystery Books Recommendations, click on this link♦

Two New Holiday Cozy Mysteries Being Released in April

OK, OK, most of you know that I depend on my holiday mysteries to help get me in the seasonal mood. Living down here in San Antonio, where the weather is pretty much somewhat cold (only occasionally), warm, hot, humid, and hotter >>> I sometimes forget that it’s fall or winter. So I am pleased whenever I see a holiday mystery being released. And in April, I am glad to see that there are two of them.

The first seasonal mystery is the third in Connie Archer ‘s Soup Lover’s Mystery Series. It’s called  A Roux of Revenge and is set during the harvest festival in Snowflake, Vermont. Oh my gosh! Autumn in Vermont! How much better (and colder!) can you hope for? It takes place during the most beautiful time of the year, the time when the leaves are putting on their colorful shows. Different hues of browns, yellows, and reds. Put the Campbell soup away. It’s time to spend some time in By the Spoonful – a place where all soup lovers can converge.

Now that we have finished with the Harvest Festival, it’s time for Halloween. Liz Mugavero will be releasing her second mystery in her Pawsitively Organic Mystery Series. It’s called A Biscuit, a Casket and it’s a Halloween theme mystery. While our sleuth, Kristan “Stan” Connor, is making organic cat and dog treats, Halloween is descending on this little town in Connecticut. The organic dairy will be hosting a costume party for the dogs in town and also hosting a Halloween haunted maze. Unfortunately the maze turns out to be a whole lot scarier than expected!

These two holiday Cozy Mystery books will be joining the rest of the Halloween and Harvest Celebration page:
Halloween Mystery Book List

James Patterson: Prolific Mystery Author Answers How He Does It

Two weeks ago I received a really interesting note from MJ, concerning James Patterson. While we know that Patterson doesn’t write Cozy Mystery books, he does write mysteries. And boy, does he write!

I don’t know if you ever watch Charlie Rose (PBS), but last night he interviewed James Patterson during the second half of the program.   I was VERY surprised (even shocked) when Patterson acknowledged how he writes so many books.  In fact, as C. Rose points out, he’s written (??) numerous books since last fall.  He writes an outline, then invites other writers to fill in the story. No book gets released unless he likes the end product. He’s sold 295 million books!
If interested, here is the link.  Scan through to 39.52 (which is the start of the Patterson interview).

(Unfortunately, that link is no longer available.)

First of all, thank you, MJ, for solving a mystery of my own! I don’t remember the exact year in which I was asked to include James Patterson on the Cozy Mystery site, but since I started his page, I have found myself updating his book lists quite frequently. Actually, sometimes I have found myself adding a new James Patterson mystery to a month’s New Release page, and stopping to make sure I’m correct, since I thought I had just added a new James Patterson release the previous month.

MJ, thank you for sending me this very interesting interview. I truly had wondered how James Patterson was able to write so many best selling mysteries. This answers that question.

P.S. I think it’s terrific that James Patterson gives credit to the other authors, rather than use “ghost writers” who never get any of the glory.

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