The Cozy Mystery List Blog

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

New Releases – May 24 to May 30, 2021

Here is the list of new releases for May 24 to May 30!

Ginger Bolton: Beyond a Reasonable Donut (This will be the 5th in the Deputy Donut Mystery Series.)

Lynn Cahoon: Body in the Book Drop (This will be a novella in the Cat Latimer Cozy Mystery Series.)

Krista Davis: The Diva Serves Forbidden Fruit (This will be the 14th in the Domestic Diva Mystery Series.)

Agatha Frost: Scones and Scandal (This will be the 22nd in the Peridale Cafe Cozy Mystery Series.)

Carol J. Perry: See Something (This will be the 11th in the Witch City Mystery Series.)

Ashley Weaver: A Peculiar Combination (This will be the 1st in the NEW Electra McDonnell Mystery Series.)

Cozy Reader Questions

It’s been a while, and I’ve accumulated quite a few reader questions! Here’s hoping that we can come up with answers to some of these “Do you know a series where..?” questions.

From Lisa:

Hello! I am looking for a children’s mystery book series that has recipes in the back on each book. I read one about 20 years ago and have been making a tuna salad recipe from it ever since, but I have no idea what it was called! I remember the protagonist was a girl but that’s it. Does this ring any bells for anyone?

EDIT: Lenora and Ellen both suggested this could be The Boxcar Children Series, which has a Boxcar Children Cookbook that includes a tuna salad sandwich recipe referenced in a book.

From Elise:

I cannot think of the name of the series that has an elderly lady that lives in a house with a thrift shop on the bottom and has a vicar’s wife that runs it. The lady goes around picking up donations all over the English country side where she lives and has a niece who is a constable and is always having to help her aunt stay out of trouble because of her mean boss in the constabulary. Her next door neighbor is an artist and has a shop. I want to read more badly. Thank you!

EDIT: The same answer came in from many, many readers… Marie, Dorothy, Amy, Peggy, gf48, Ginger, Cheryl, Ellen, Michael, Teresa… Maryann, Ruth, Cindy, Elaine… Terry, Annie, Michelle… and Judith, Kate, Sandy, and Paula… from the huge response, this is almost certainly the Cornish Mystery Series by Carola Dunn! Thanks for all the responses!

From Karen:

Hoping you can help me remember a series, I believe is set in a mansion turned into a hotel and museum owned by an elderly gentleman with a stepdaughter who visits when she needs money. In the first book the manager is murdered and his young female assistant is promoted to the position, she solves the murders in the series. There is a long-time assistant to the owner who doesn’t get along with the new manager until much later in the series after they work together solving the various murders. I can’t remember any of the characters’ names or the author, just that I enjoyed the series several years ago and would like to find out if there are additional books.

EDIT: Karen (presumably a different Karen), Penny, Jackie, Bev, Judith, and Ann, all suggested this could be Julie Hyzy‘s Manor House Mystery Series.

From dcarnall:

I’m hoping you or another fellow reader can help me find a series of books I started reading several years ago. I have so little info to offer though, so there lies the problem. I remember it was a cozy series, it was about a female realtor living & working in Florida (???). I seem to remember she was in her 40s, & she was unhappy. Out of the blue she inherited a home on a coast or island from a relative she didn’t know at all or very little. She quit her job & started driving. When she arrived at her destination a dead body was found on the property, I believe, in or near a shed in the back yard. The paranormal aspect of the story begins to show up along with a strange supernatural “animal” I can’t remember the name of. Well, if anyone likes a mystery this is a mystery I have not been able to solve. Please help me! I would like to read more of this authors books!

EDIT: Purplemamajj suggested this could be by Mary Kay Andrews. I don’t know whether this is correct or not, as I haven’t read her entire catalog (mostly I have read her work as Kathy Hogan Trocheck) so confirmation one way or another would be nice!

From Sarah:

I wish I could recall the name of an author who did a series about an antique shop in Virginia horse country around Winchester. Any clues?

EDIT: A few possible options – Julie suggested it might be the Sterling Glass Mystery Series, by Emyl Jenkins, while Robin suggested it could be the Antiques & Collectibles Mysteries, by J.B. Stanley (now more popular as Ellery Adams). Both sound possible, though neither is exactly a 100% match.

Thank you in advance to anyone who answers! As I get possible answers, I’ll post them with the question…

PS: I have been very bad about replying to these sort of questions lately… so don’t be surprised if there is another post similar to this in a week or two… Very sorry to those who have been waiting on answers!

Sally Goldenbaum: Seaside Knitters Mystery Series

Death by Cashmere: A Seaside Knitters Mystery Sometimes I come across a Cozy that is especially satisfying. Possibly because of the year that we just had, or maybe for other reasons that are mostly mysterious to me, I was looking to read a Cozy this month that has an especially strong  sense of a small community of friends who I could fantasize that I was a part of. Sally Goldenbaum’s Death by Cashmere, the first book in her Seaside Mystery series, was just the right book for me – and I recently re-read it so that this series could be the next in my Most Popular and Recommended series of blog posts.

Death by Cashmere is set in the small fictional town of Sea Harbor, Massachusetts. And, as the name of the series suggests, one of the main characters in the series, Izzie Chambers, is the owner of a shop that sells knitting supplies and teaches knitting classes. Izzie opened her shop after returning to the town she grew up in and after having left a big-time job as an attorney.

Izzie, her aunt Nell, and their friends Cass and Birdie form the Thursday-night knitting group. This close group of friends gets together at Izzie’s shop for a pot-luck dinner and some knitting every Thursday evening after Izzie closes the store. (This is a group I’d enjoy being in!)

Pretty soon there is a murder in Sea Harbor, and the friends become sleuths as well as knitters. One of the charms of this mystery is that the author does a much better job than average of explaining why the friends start their sleuthing career. Sometimes the sleuth in a Cozy seems to start investigation almost as soon as the police do. In this book, the group of friends seems to get involved largely because it slowly dawns on them that life in their small village will not return to normal until the case is solved. They don’t just jump into the case, instead, clues turn up naturally that they feel compelled to follow up.

I know it isn’t real, but the writing makes it seem as though it could be, and I was drawn to the knitters. A fantasy group set in a fantasy setting — but I felt it was real and want to join. And, the food — with a lot of seafood being featured — on top of the friendship and the knitting  — makes me want to drop everything and head to Sea Harbor!

The author, Sally Goldenbaum, has an interesting background which includes having worked for the PBS station that hosted Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood, spending a short time as a nun, and teaching creative writing. Her website is a model that I wish all authors would try to copy. Instead of a jumbled and disorganized Facebook page, her site provides a lot of useful information and a comprehensive bio — brava Sally Goldenbaum! Check out her site here at Sally Goldenbaum.com.

P.S. I forgot to tell you that instructions for a knitting project are included.

Click here to read more posts about the most popular and recommended Cozy Mystery series.

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