The Cozy Mystery List Blog

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

New Releases – July 20 to July 26, 2020

Here is the list of new releases for July 20 to July 26!

Susan Wittig Albert: Fault Lines (This will be the 2nd in the Pecan Springs Enterprise Trilogy. A novella.)

Lorna Barrett (aka L. L. Bartlett & Lorraine Bartlett): Handbook for Homicide (This will be the 14th in the Booktown Mystery Series.)

Leslie Budewitz: The Solace of Bay Leaves (This will be the 6th in the Food Lovers’ Village Mystery Series.)

Kay Finch: The Black Cat Breaks a Mirror (This will be the 5th in the Bad Luck Cat Mystery Series.)

Carolyn Haines: The Devil’s Bones (This will be the 21st in the Sarah Booth Delaney Mystery Series.)

Kirsten Weiss: Stream (This will be the 9th in the Witches of Doyle Mystery Series.)

Many Cozy Reader Questions…

Well, I’ve been holding off on this longer than I should… quite a few questions by Cozy Mystery readers have started to pile up. Here’s hoping that some of our keen-minded readers can help these people find their forgotten favorites!

From Lenda…

I have been trying to remember which mystery writer includes recipes that also list the gluten free version. All I can remember is that the writer is a woman.

EDIT: Numerous readers have suggested Nancy J. Parra‘s Baker’s Treat Mystery Series. Others have suggested Daryl Wood Gerber‘s Cookbook Nook Mystery Series. Catherine suggested Libby Klein‘s Poppy McAlliester Mystery Series, which features a gluten-free baker. Debby suggested Lorna Barrett‘s Booktown Mystery Series, which does include recipes.

From Carole…

I am trying to remember the name of the author who wrote a few mystery books about an older woman who ran a salvage business in the Sacramento area. I think the character’s name was Henry O. or something like that.

EDIT: Actually, Carole found the answer to her own question – the author is Mary Bowen Hall. Several others have suggested the Henrie O. Series by Carolyn Hart, but at least in this case that isn’t the answer! (Still might be worth looking at though!)

From Robert…

Trying to find name of author who wrote about a Florida keys murder mystery. She was a district attorney, her boyfriend was a cop.

EDIT: Not many suggestions on this one yet… Amy suggested it could be Barbara Parker‘s Suspicion Mystery Series, which stars Miami lawyers.

From Glen…

[I’m looking for ] some books about a couple of elderly men, a bit scatterbrained maybe? Or maybe just a bit naive. They do solve mysteries, and the books are very funny. They’re older books and out of print now. In fact, out of print for quite awhile…

EDIT:  Not too many possibilities for this one yet either. Rickee suggested this could be the Peculiar Crimes Unit by Christopher Fowler. Lydia suggested it might be from Phoebe Atwood Taylor, either the Asey Mayo Mystery Series or the Leonidas Witherall Mystery Series.

From Neater…

I’m looking for a cozy mystery series about a Golden retriever female dog trainer and kennel owner In New York. She lives on a compound with her family. She travels to dog shows around the country. Her whole family is involved with the dogs…

EDIT: Several possible answers, but not a strong consensus on this one yet… Marsha suggested Laurien Berenson‘s Melanie Travis Mystery Series, though there are some differences (poodles and Connecticut instead of golden retrievers and New York). Amy suggested Carol Lea Benjamin‘s Rachel Alexander Mystery Series, which does feature a dog trainer in New York, but not necessarily a focus on golden retrievers either. Rhonda suggested the Dog Lover Mystery Series, by Susan Conant.

From Este…

… [it] took place onboard a harbored ship, I believe during a will-reading or murder mystery dinner. The book was part of an existing series that normally is not onboard ships. I believe the MC was a caterer or chef for the party…

EDIT: S’more Murders, an entry in Maya Corrigan‘s Five-Ingredient Mystery Series, might be the answer to this one – a suggestion by the author, actually, as well as several readers. Rickee suggested the Diane Mott Davidson Goldy Bear Mystery Series, which stars a caterer. And Amy suggested the author could be Faith Martin.

Thanks in advance! I will add anything that seems like it is probably the answer to the post! 

Eva Gates: Lighthouse Library Mysteries

By Book or By Crook (A Lighthouse Library Mystery 1) This time around, I decided to read a multi-themed Cozy as part of my series about the most popular and recommended mystery series. This book incorporates no less than three Cozy mystery themes – librarians, lighthouses, and cats! Two of these, librarians and cats are among the most popular of all the themes. 

I read By Book or by Crook, the first in the Lighthouse Library Mystery Series by Eva Gates. Eva Gates, you may already know, also writes several popular series as Vicki Delany. (It still mystifies me why such a popular author needs to write under two names — oh well, it is lucky for us that the world is full of mysteries!)

The story follows Lucy Richardson, the new assistant librarian at the Bodie Island Lighthouse Library. (By the way, in an “Author’s Note” at the beginning of the book, we learn that although the lighthouse actually exists, it is not big enough in real life for a library or much else that the book’s lighthouse contains.)

Lucy has newly arrived from Boston. She has arrived just in time for a very special exhibit — a complete set of Jane Austen’s first editions on loan for a few months. In celebration of the arrival of these special books, the library hosts a small party for staff and board members to see the books for the first time. During the party, as is often the case in Cozy Mysteries, a murder occurs. 

Of course, the person murdered as disliked and/or hated by quite of few of the library staff and board members. So, it is a real mystery that must be solved. Lucy is especially interested in discovering the culprit since one of the prime suspects is Bertie, the head librarian who recently hired Lucy.

Besides the usual long list of suspects, the small town also includes several other characters, including two different men who are interested in Lucy as well as the murder. The first, Connor McNeil, is the mayor of the town and an old acquaintance of Lucy who first met Connor during one of the summer vacations that her family had spent in the area. The second, Butch Greenblatt, a police officer. Before the party is over, both Connor and Butch have asked Lucy out of for a date at the new seafood restaurant in town. (I must have been doing something wrong when I was single. When I moved to a new town, this never happened to me!!)

I forgot to mention another important character, the cat, Charles (Dickens), who spends his time in the library and ends up living with Lucy in the small apartment inside the lighthouse above the library.

The book is a charming delight of a read. I zoomed through the pages trying to solve the mystery before the plucky Lucy could do so. Fun and light (in the good sense of the word), By Book or by Crook is a delightful start to a Cozy series that hits all the right notes.

P.S. If you are interested in reading some of the other entries about highly recommended Cozy Mystery series, you can find them at the Most Recommended Cozy Mystery Series page on the site.

Three New Cozy Mystery Series Coming August 2020

August will have three new Cozy series by established site authors!

First, Lynn Cahoon will be putting out Chili Cauldron Curse, the first in the Kitchen Witch Mystery Series. Mia Malone has taken a week away from her restaurant job to visit her grandmother in Magic Springs Idaho. Both Mia and her Grans are witches, though that isn’t the reason for the visit – rather, she is going to help set up a local food bank. Unfortunately, while visiting, Mia discovers the body, that of her grandmother’s new beau, and she will need to help stick around to make sure her Grans doesn’t end up blamed for the death. Lynn Cahoon is also the author of the Tourist Trap Mystery Series, the Cat Latimer Mystery Series, and the Farm-to-Fork Mystery Series.

Next, Hannah Dennison‘s Island Sisters Mystery Series will begin with Death at High Tide. Evie Mead’s husband has only recently died of a heart attack, and she finds a note in his possessions indicating that she might own the rights to an old hotel on Tregarrick Rock, one of the Isles of Scilly off the coast of Cornwall. Though Evie isn’t interested in investigating at the moment, her sister Margot has decided that the two should visit the island – but the impromptu vacation will be interrupted by another death, this one a murder. Hannah Dennison also writes the Honeychurch Hall Mystery Series and the Vicky Hill Mystery Series.

Finally, Amanda Flower (aka Isabella Alan) will be releasing Dead End Detective, the first novel in the Piper and Porter Mystery Series. Darby Piper is one of the members of the Two Girls Detective Agency – but now she’s working alone, as her mentor and business partner Samantha has died in a suspicious car crash – and evidence points toward Darby. Meanwhile, Samantha’s nephew, Tate Porter, a veteran and seasoned traveler, has returned to town when he hears that he has inherited half of the business. Both will need to delve into the mystery of Samantha’s death. Amanda Flower is the author of numerous other mystery series, including the Amish Candy Shop Mystery Series, the Magical Bookshop Mystery Series, the Amish Matchmaker Mystery Series, and the Magic Garden Mystery Series.

For more new Cozy Mystery Series, check out the New Cozy Mystery Book Series page on the site.

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