The Cozy Mystery List Blog

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

Cozy Mystery House Keepers, Cleaners, Maid Services, Laundromats…

OK, I know that most of us don’t like this particular subject matter… Who likes to clean? Isn’t it nice that it is possible to pay someone to do the cleaning for you? Not everyone has a cleaning service, but I am guessing that all of us would like one. (I know that I would love to have someone who came in and did all of the chores I don’t particularly like doing… We can all dream, though, can’t we?!?)

Here is a list of sleuths who work in the cleaning arena:

Christy Barritt: Squeaky Clean Mystery Series… Gabby St. Claire has almost completed her college degree in forensic science. Since she is the owner of a crime scene cleaning service, she has opportunities to look at the evidence first-hand.

C.C. Benison: Her Majesty Investigates Mystery Series… Jane Bee is a Canadian housemaid who works at Buckingham Palace in London, and sleuths with Her Majesty.

Emily Brightwell: Mrs. Jeffries Mystery Series… Mrs. Jeffries works as the housekeeper for Inspector Witherspoon in Victorian London.

Barry S. Brown: Mrs. Hudson of Baker Street Mystery Series… Yes, the housekeeper of Sherlock Holmes!

Fiona Buckley: Ursula Blanchard Mystery Series… In this historical mystery series, Ursula happens to be a Lady-in-Waiting for Queen Elizabeth I.

Susanna Calkins: Lucy Campion Mystery Series… Lucy is a chambermaid in 17th century London.

Dorothy Cannell: Florence Norris Mystery Series… Florence is the housekeeper of the Stodmarch family in their country house during the 1930s.

Barbara Colley: Charlotte LaRue Mystery Series… Charlotte runs a maid service in New Orleans and is kept busy cleaning and solving.

Jeanne M. Dams: Hilda Johansson Mystery Series… In this historical mystery series, Hilda moves from Sweden and becomes a maid in Indiana during the early 1900s.

Celina Grace: Miss Hart and Miss Hunter Investigate Mystery Series  – Set in the 1930s and features the head kitchen maid and the lady’s maid at an estate.

Charlaine Harris: Lily Bard Mystery Series… Lily is a house cleaner who works in different houses while sleuthing in Shakespeare, Arkansas.

Susan S. James: Solace Glen Mystery Series… Flip (Felicity Ann) Paxton is a cleaning lady in Maryland who sleuths while cleaning.

Dolores Johnson: Mandy Dyer Mystery Series… Mandy owns a dry cleaning business in Denver.

Kate Kingsbury: WW II Manor House Mystery Series… Lady Elizabeth Compton owns the manor and is in charge of making sure that all of the housekeeping is done, while she solves mysteries.

Barbara Neely: Blanche White Mystery Series: Blanche is a housekeeper in North Carolina.

Suzanne Price: Grime Solvers Mystery Series… Sky Taylor is the cleaning lady to book if you have a mystery that needs to be solved.

Ann Purser: Days of the Week Mystery Series… Lois Meade cleans houses in her English village every day of the week.

Ann Purser: Lois Meade Mystery Series… Lois owns a cleaning service and solves mysteries in her English Village.

Cyndy Salzman: Friday Afternoon Club Mystery Series… a group of stay-at-home mothers who are good friends ar also great sleuths! (Salzmann bases her novels on her Christian faith.)

Sharon Short: Stain-Busting Mystery Series… Josie Toadfern owns a laundromat in Ohio and sleuths between the cycles.

Kathy Hogan Trocheck: Julia Callahan Garrity Mystery Series… Julia owns the House Mouse cleaning service in Atlanta, and she does a great job ferreting out solutions to mysteries.

If there are any other Cozy Mystery Authors from the site who you think belong on this list, please let me know.

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

J. G. Goodhind, Nadia Gordon, Clare O'Donohue, & Cyndy Salzman… Four New Authors to the Site

Here are the latest (four) authors who I have added to the site, after receiving  recommendations from you all. I haven’t read any of their work yet, since these are new recommendations to me, also!

J. G. Goodhind: Honey Driver Mystery Series… Honey manages a hotel in Bath and is also the police liaison with the police force…

Nadia Gordon: Sunny McCoskey Napa Valley Mystery Series… Sunny is a chef in Napa Valley who is good at solving crimes…

Clare O’Donohue: Someday Quilts Mystery Series… This is a new quilting mystery series that takes place in a small town in New York…

Cyndy Salzmann: Friday Afternoon Club Mystery Series… This series features a group of stay-at-home moms who are good friends, as well as good sleuths…

Stephen Booth, Ellen Crosby, Eileen Davidson, & Elspeth Huxley: Four New Authors to the Cozy Mystery Site…

Yes, it’s that time again! I just added four new authors to the site and want to thank you all for the recommendations. Of course, it goes without saying that since they are just newly recommended authors, I can’t vouch for them. I haven’t read any of the four of them YET, but they do look very interesting.

Stephen Booth: Cooper & Fry Mystery Series. Stephen Booth was a journalist before he decided to become an author full-time. His series takes place in Derbyshire, England.  (He is also considered a goat expert!)

Ellen Crosby: Wine Country Mystery Series. Crosby holds a Master’s in International Relations and was a journalist. Her series takes place in Virginia and features a winery owner.

Eileen Davidson: Soap Opera Mystery Series. Davidson writes this series which is set in the world of soap operas. If any of you are fans of the very popular Young and Restless soap opera… you will no doubt recognize her name, as she has been one of the leading actresses on that particular show for years.

Elspeth Huxley: Superintendent Vachell Mystery Series. This series takes place in Kenya. When a site reader recommended Huxley for me to add to the site, I could not believe that the recommendation came at the exact same time that my husband and I were watching The Flame Trees of Thika… a non-mystery written by Huxley!

John Mortimer's Rumpole of the Bailey

The creator of one of the most memorable mystery characters has passed away. John Mortimer wrote the Rumpole of the Bailey books which have entertained many people for many years. Mortimer passed away on Friday, January 16th (2009). His creation of Horace Rumpole, a Barrister at the Old Bailey in London, is such a uniquely different character.

Horace isn’t a flashy “know it all” type of defense lawyer. If anything, the other lawyers in the office think of him as not very smart, someone who drinks a “little” more than he should, someone with whom they don’t want to chair a case. But for some reason, Horace usually wins his cases. Perhaps because he believes that everyone deserves a second chance, a third chance, a fourth chance… as many chances as it takes before they retire from their lives of crime. 

Horace is that type of character. He may not be the smartest in the group, but if he’s on your side, you have a very good chance of getting to go home instead of staying in jail. And all of this is because Horace Rumpole is a cunning barrister who is able to manipulate the system.

As a barrister himself, Mortimer was able to show the reader (and in the case of the television series, the viewer) the petty machinations of a British law office. Fortunately for us, Horace was almost oblivious to the dog-eat-dog environment. He actually seemed to prefer being at the office than going home to “She who must be obeyed.” (his wife Hilda.) Mortimer was able to make us (the readers and/or viewers) like Horace, even though Horace is very flawed.

So, although John Mortimer passed away, Horace Rumpole will live on…

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