The Cozy Mystery List Blog

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

I Couldn't Sleep, So I Thought I Would Read…..

Well, another one bites the dust! I am always very sad when I find that I absolutely cannot be faithful to an author who I have followed through several books. 

Tonight, I found that I could not sleep, so I got my current trusty cozy mystery novel out to read, in hopes that I would be able to get so interested in the mystery that I didn’t just lie there in bed worrying about things that are simply not big enough worries to worry about… As I read the book, I kept finding myself worrying about things that weren’t worth worrying about…. and then I found myself worrying about how I was going to get out of bed to go find another book to read… without waking my husband.

As any devoted cozy mystery reader knows……. we should be enjoying our novels, not wondering how we are going to be able to get another one easily…. (As I am writing this, I am thinking that I sound like an addict, wondering how I am going to get my next "fix" without attracting attention!) That’s not how our novels should make us feel…

So, before I go get another cozy from my "TBR" pile of books (TBR=To Be Read), I find myself at my computer, writing this blog, almost as an homage to one of my once-favorite-cozy series. I am truly sorry to take this author off of my favorite authors list, but I find that it’s time to do so. I know that I won’t be revisiting the books’ characters in the future and I will miss them, not so much as the characters they have become, but as the characters they were when I first got to know them… several books ago.

How Did I Miss Them?

I just posted four "new" authors who I absolutely cannot believe I didn’t know about! I certainly am glad that I am going through all of the nominations (and winners) of the Agatha Awards. I will try to make a mental note to post the "new" authors on the What’s New page of this site, as I "discover" them.

As many years as I have been reading cozy mysteries, it is always a very pleasant surprise when I find a new author who I can spend time reading. Of course, they aren’t "new" authors to the cozy mystery reading world, just authors who I somehow overlooked during my quest for cozy mystery authors. I can see that most of them have been writing cozies for years, which is a great thing for those of us who previously hadn’t heard of them………. since we have several years of cozy mysteries to catch up on.

And, what better time to be looking through the Agatha Award lists……. since the Malice Domestic convention is taking place this very weekend. I will post this year’s winners as soon as I find out who they are. But, let’s face it………. being nominated for an Agatha is winning already! 

Good Grief! Almost a month later………

I had to actually go back in my blogs to find out when I started reading the first book in the Madoc Rhys series (by Alisa Craig.) I posted the blog entry on March 31, and finally finished the book a few days ago. I simply cannot believe that it took me almost a month to finish that book!

A site-user asked me if there are more than the five novels in the Madoc Rhys series…. No, unfortunately, there are not. I mentioned in my comment back (Yes, I have enabled the comment button, and am going to see how it goes…. the button can be found at the bottom of the blog entry.) Anyway, I told her that my "verdict" on the Craig/MacLeod issue is that Alisa Craig can stand up to Charlotte MacLeod. (The same person, but different series.) Well, I have been thinking about the Craig/MacLeod issue, and after pondering the idea for a few days, I think that I still prefer MacLeod’s two series over her Craig series.

I like Madoc Rhys, but not as much as I like Sarah Kelling or Peter Shandy. I don’t know if my preference stems from the fact that since I have read so many of those books, I have gotten to really know the characters, or if I simply like those books more. Perhaps if I had started with the Craig books and then only read the first two in the Peter Shandy series, I would have preferred the Craig books. (Does this make sense…. I’m not sure I even understand what I am saying?!)

I have all of the Craig books, so I am going to try another one before I firmly decide. And, since I like the Madoc Rhys books that I have read (I read the second one first, and then the first one second…. which is always a mistake!!!— If you have read some of the comments on the site, you will know that I am a firm believer in reading a series in the correct order!…. But, since the second book of the series is a Christmas book, I jumped ahead one holiday season.)

So, I guess that my verdict isn’t firmly in…. I will have to wait and read another Craig book, and then see if I can "firmly" decide. I hope it doesn’t take close to a month! I don’t care how hectic life gets, we should always have time for reading a cozy!

Charlotte MacLeod VS Alisa Craig…One person, Two names, Very good books…

I think that I have mentioned that I am a huge fan of Charlotte MacLeod‘s Peter (and Helen) Shandy mystery series and her Sarah Kelling (and Max Bittersohn) mystery series.  I have read (and enjoyed!) almost all of the books in both of these series, but I must admit that I am putting off reading the remaining few that I haven’t read. I have always hated finishing a good cozy mystery series, so I am simply saving the rest of the novels. I know this sounds rather silly….. Why don’t I simply read the remaining novels and "enjoy the moment" now?

Well, I think that the reason I like to "save books" that I own (for future reading enjoyment) probably comes from the times when I read books for my mystery reading groups that I didn’t particularly enjoy. That is one of the main reasons I no longer belong to a mystery reading group. I found that a lot of time I had to work at finishing a novel. And then, I was always a little hesitant about stating how much I disliked the novel that someone else had nominated for us to read. (Let’s face it…. we should love our novels, not feel like we HAVE to finish them!)

But, I am losing the point that I was going to make about Charlotte MacLeod vs. Alisa Craig….

I have only read one of the Inspector Madoc Rhys books that Craig/MacLeod wrote….. Murder Goes Mumming. I remember enjoying it a lot, but at the time, I was reading so many other authors (for my mystery reading groups) that I sort of put the Craig books on the back burner to the MacLeod books. Well, I finally decided that I want to resume my Craig pursuit, so I have started reading the first in the series…. A Pint of Murder. I am such an advocate of reading book series in the correct chronological order that I am ashamed to admit that I read the second book (Murder Goes Mumming) of the series first!

I will have to write a blog once I get farther in the book, and see if Craig’s books stand up to MacLeod’s!  Yes, I know that the author is (was) the same person, but her two MacLeod series set the standard pretty high. My verdict later……………………

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