The Cozy Mystery List Blog

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

Mystery Books Recommendations – January 2014

I am sorry, but I absolutely cannot believe that the first month in 2014 is coming to a close! It seems like it was just yesterday that we were all getting ready for Halloween yet, looking at my calendar, I can see that January is almost over.

So, being the end of January, it is the perfect time for me to ask you ALL if there is a Cozy Mystery book (or two, three, or even four!) that you read this past month, which you think the rest of us have absolutely, without a question, got to know about.  Also, would you tell us why you enjoyed that particular Cozy Mystery? (The reasons you like the book are what make the rest of us interested in your Cozy Mystery book recommendations.)

I am going to start with a Cozy Mystery book which I read this past month that made me add yet another author to my favorite authors list. The book I am talking about is by Mary V. Welk. I had been toying with the idea of reading her series for a while, but the thing that held me back was the fact that her last mystery was published in 2004. When I “try” authors, I prefer it if they are currently writing mysteries. (With all of the author cuts the publishers seemed to make a few years back, it has made me hesitant to start with an author I know is no longer writing. I prefer getting to know characters that have the possibility of continuing.)

When I saw that Mary V. Welk was again publishing her Rhodes to Murder Mystery Series (Criminal Mischief was published in October 2013) I decided to finally “try” her. Boy am I glad I did! (And boy, am I glad she’s publishing more Cozy Mysteries!) I usually don’t read Christmas theme mysteries after Christmas, but I decided that I would make this exception, since I had been wanting to read Welk’s books for a while.

I read Welk’s A Merry Little Murder (aka A Deadly Little Christmas), the first mystery in the Rhodes to Murder series. This series features Caroline Rhodes, a nurse who has relocated to a small Illinois college town so that she can be close to her son and daughter in law. Caroline has recently lost her husband, and is trying to start her life without him. It hasn’t been an easy road for her. Caroline befriends Professor Carl Atwater (or more accurately, he befriends her) and together they try to solve the mystery of a rather dangerous Christmas tree.

I enjoyed the setting of Welk’s A Merry Little Murder. The little college town is very Cozy, and of course, being Illinois at Christmas time, it was cold and snowy… exactly what I enjoy reading during our 70º winter days. Also, I liked Caroline. She is a flawed woman, but smart. She is a very believable “person”, a fleshed-out character for me. She is someone I could envision knowing and liking. Her relationships with both her son and daughter in law seem real to me. And the fact that she can have a male side-kick who is not a love interest nor a policeman/detective is an added bonus for me!

When I finished the mystery I felt like I was leaving Caroline and wanted to know what she would do next. She was that “real” to me.

[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 January 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 Jary Jane Maffini & Victoria Maffini): Book Collector’s Mystery Series

Robin Allen: Poppy Markham: Culinary Cop Mystery Series

Donna Andrews: Meg Langslow Mystery Series

Emily Brightwell: Mrs. Jeffries Mystery Series

Anne Canadeo: Black Sheep Knitting Mystery Series

Laurie Cass: Bookmobile Cat Mystery Series

Bailey Cates (aka Cricket McRae): Magical Bakery Mystery Series

Joelle Charbonneau: Rebecca Robbins Mystery Series

Laura Childs: Tea Shop Mystery Series

Nancy Coco (aka Nancy J. Parra): Candy-Coated Mystery Series

Hy Conrad: Mr. Monk Mystery Series

Jana DeLeon: Miss Fortune Mystery Series

Elizabeth J. Duncan: Penny Brannigan Mystery Series

Jerrilyn Farmer: Madeline Bean Mystery Series

Barbara Graham: Quilted Mystery Series

Virginia Hamilton: Vintage Kitchen Mystery Series

Betty Hectman: Crochet Mystery Series

Joan Hess: Claire Malloy Mystery Series

Ellen Elizabeth Hunter: Magnolia Mystery Series

Miranda James (aka Dean James, Honor Hartman, & Jimmie Ruth Evans): Cat in the Stacks Mystery Series

Carol Ann Martin: Weaving Mystery Series

Maggie Sefton: Molly Malone Mystery Series

Deborah Sharp: Mace Bauer Mystery Series

Livia J. Washburn: Fresh-Baked Mystery Series

Mary V. Welk: Rhodes to Murder Mystery Series

Christine Wenger: Do or Diner

Jacqueline Winspear: Maisie Dobbs Mystery Series

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

Alice Duncan, Barbara Graham, Dee Henderson, & Kate Parker : Four Mystery Author Additions to the Cozy Mystery Site

I know it has been less than a week since I added four new Mystery Authors to the Cozy Mystery site. I have actually surprised myself! (It usually takes me so long to get pages up for mystery author additions to the site.)

Alice Duncan: Daisy Gumm Majestic Mystery Series (Daisy is a séance and tarot psychc medium in 1920s California.)
Mercy Alcutt Mystery Series (Mercy is the owner of a rooming house in 1920s Hollywood.)
Annabelle Blue Mystery Series (Annabelle works at her family’s dry good store during in 1920s New Mexico.)

Barbara Graham: Quilted Mystery Series (Theo Abernathy is the owner of a quilting shop in Tennessee. Her husband Tony is the county’s sheriff.)

Dee Henderson: O’Malley Family Mystery Series (This Romantic Suspense series features a family of non-related adults who were abandoned as children. All six of the members have chosen professions that help other people. There’s a paramedic, a fireman, a child psychologist, and a hostage negotiator among them.)

Kate Parker: Victorian Bookshop Mystery Series (Georgia Fenchurch is the sleuth in this Victorian London mystery series. Georgia is a member of the secret “Archivist Society” and is an antiquarian bookseller.

Mystery Books Theme: Main Sleuth Who Is In the Medical Field (Sort of…)

Here is the last part of the Medical Field Sleuths theme. This list is comprised of authors who are on the Cozy Mystery site who write mysteries that feature sleuths who are in the medical field, but aren’t your traditional “doctor, nurse, or midwife”. As you can see, these amateur sleuths’ professions are pretty varied.

Here is a list of authors who are on the Cozy Mystery site who write series which feature amateur sleuths who work primarily in the medical fields. 

Susan Wittig Albert: China Bayles Herbal Mystery Series (Herbalist)

Hannah Alexander: Hideaway Mystery Series (Every book has different medical sleuth)

Suzanne Arruda: Jade del Cameron Mystery Series (Ambulance Driver)

Lori Avocato: Pauline Sokol Mystery Series (Medical Fraud Investigator)

Patricia Cornwell: Kay Scarpetta (Medical Examiner)

Barbara D’Amato: Gerritt DeGraaf Mystery Series (Forensic Pathologist)

Claire Daniels (Jaqueline Girdner): Karma Crime Mystery Series (Alternative Healer)

Susan Dunlap: Kiernan O’Shaughnessy Mystery Series (Ex-Medical Examiner)

Kathy Lynn Emerson (aka Kaitlyn Dunnett) : Lady Susanna Appleton Mystery Series (Herbalist)

Chrystle Fiedler: Natural Remedies Mystery Series (Naturopathic Doctor)

Chris Forman: Maria Hart Mystery Series (Insurance Investigator)

Christine Green: Kate Kinsella Mystery Series (Medical Examiner)

Nancy Herriman: Mystery of Old San Francisco Mystery Series (1860s Doctor)

Iris Johansen: Eve Duncan Mystery Series (Forensic Sculptor)

Deryn Lake: John Rawlings Mystery Series (Apothecary)

Liz Osborne: Robyn Kelly Mystery Series (Hospital Patient Representative)

James Patterson: Women’s Murder Club (Medical Examiner)

Ellis Peters: Brother Cadfael Mystery Series (Herbalist)

Kathy Reichs: Temperance Brennan Mystery Series (Forensic Anthropologist)

Fran Rizer: Callie Parrish Mystery Series (Mortuary Cosmetologist)

Annelise Ryan (aka Allyson K. Abbot & Beth Amos): Mattie Winston Mystery Series (Deputy Coroner)

Rebecca Tope: Drew Slocombe Mystery Series (Undertaker)

Elaine Viets: Death Investigator Mystery Series (Medical Examiner)

Patricia Tichenor Westfall (Meal Delivery Program Director)

Lis Wiehl & Pete Nelson: East Salem Trilogy (Forensic Psychiatrist)

If you are interested in finding a Sleuth Who Is a Doctor/Physician, click here.

If you are interested in finding a Sleuth Who Is a Nurse or a Sleuth Who Is a Midwife, click here.

If I have missed any other Cozy Mystery site authors who have a sleuth who works in the medical field (not as a traditional doctor, nurse, or midwife), please post a comment so that I can add the omission.

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

Sandi Ault, Kathi Daley, Gale Deitch, & Jill Marie Landis : Four New Mystery Authors on the Cozy Mystery Site

I have been busy getting eight new authors ready to take their places on the Cozy Mystery site. These are authors who you all have told me about. Some of you have recommended these authors and you have told me they belong on the site. So, here goes!

Sandi Ault     Ault writes the Wild Mystery Series. This series features an agent with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management in Taos. Her name is Jamaica Wild, and all of the mysteries in the series start with the word “wild”. (Incidentally, Ault is a bestselling author who has won the Mary Higgins Clark Award, and several other awards.)

Kathi Daley     Daley writes the Zoe Donovan Mystery Series. Those of you who like your mystery books with recipes, you will pleased to know that you can find them in these books. Zoe is an animal rehabilitation officer who sleuths with her dog, Charlie. Daley also writes the TJ Jensen Paradise Lake Mystery Series, which features a high school teacher/sleuth in Nevada. (I will be adding Daley to the list of authors who feature holidays in their mysteries.)

Gale Deitch     Deitch pens the Trudie Fine Mystery Series. Trudie is the co-owner of a catering company in Washington, D.C. Those of you who enjoy recipes will find that Deitch includes them in her mystery books. 

Jill Marie Landis     Landis writes the Tiki Goddess Mystery Series. This series features Em Johnson, a newly divorced woman who finds herself in need of money. Em takes a job as the manager of the Tiki Goddess Bar. She is assisted in her sleuthing by the Hula Maidens, a dance troupe of senior ladies. (I was told that the Tiki Goddess books are funny and clean.) Landis also writes the Twilight Cove Mystery Series which is a contemporary romantic suspense series.

To return to the Cozy Mystery site, click on this link.

MENU