The Cozy Mystery List Blog

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

Cozy Mystery News – June 2016

I hate to start this Cozy Mystery tidbit entry with bad news >>> but it is! Some of you have told us about CBS’ new Nancy Drew television show. Apparently CBS had the pilot made, but decided against buying it. There are conflicting stories about why the pilot wasn’t bought by CBS, one of which is that it was just too feminine. (Imagine that! A show based on a female sleuth was just too feminine!) In all fairness,  the president of the network later said they also passed on other shows, and that the feminine factor wasn’t the reason they chose to pass on this project.

On to the good news points of interest…

 Susan Furlong (aka Lucy Arlington) will be writing a new suspense series with a sleuth who was once a police in the military and is now an “Irish Traveller”. As a lot of you know, Susan writes both the Georgia Peach and the Pippi O’Brienthe mysteries as well as the Novel Idea mysteries which she writes as Lucy Arlington.

It looks like Eliza Doolittle & Henry Higgins will be busy in yet another of their sleuthing situations! D.E. Ireland (aka Sharon Farrow & Meg Macy) will be featured in their third: Get Me to the Grave on Time. But wait, that’s not the only good news! There will then be two more mysteries that follow this one! (Sharon Farrow also writes the Berry Basket Mystery Series.)

Here’s some terrific news for Cozy Mystery readers who love cats, pets, or simply love Cozies! T.C. LoTempio (aka Toni LoTempio) will be starting a new series called the Cat Rescue Mystery Series. Purr M for Murder (how about that for a clever title?) will be the first book in this series which is set in a shelter for animals. LoTempio currently writes the Nick & Nora Mystery Series.

 Jenn McKinlay (aka Josie Belle & Lucy Lawrence) will be releasing the ninth Cozy in her Cupcake Bakery Mystery Series, titled Caramel Crush. Now that’s great news! (McKinlay also writes the Library Lover’s series as well as the Hat Shop Mystery Series. As Josie Belle she writes the GoodBuy Girls mysteries, and as Lucy Lawrence she writes the Decoupage Mystery Series.)

Some of us have followed the exploits of Lucy Stone for years! Leslie Meier writes the very popular Lucy Stone (holiday) Mystery Series, and she will be releasing the 24th in the series, Turkey Trot Murder. However, the good news doesn’t stop here! She has just been green-lighted for at least three more mysteries in this series. Yahoo!

Here’s some more good news: Dorothy St. James (who writes the White House Gardener Mystery Series) has just been given the go-ahead for a new Cozy Mystery series: the Chocolate Shop series. The sleuth will own a gourmet shop in an “artsy” community in South Carolina.

And for those of you who read Maggie Toussaint‘s Dreamwalker Mystery Series >>> her sleuth, Baxley Powell will be featured in two more mysteries as she communicates telepathically with the pets she takes care of in Georgia. Dadgummit and Counfound It will be the next two in this series. Toussaint also writes the Cleopatra Jones and the Moss Bog mystery series.

And, that’s a wrap!

Lorna Barrett: Booktown Mystery Series

Murder Is Binding (A Booktown Mystery Book 1) Lately I’ve been going through some of the most recommended Cozy Mystery series among this site’s visitors. Some of the earlier posts on these topics covered the Kate Carlisle Bibliophile Series and the League of Literary Ladies Series by Kylie Logan. This time I’m focusing on Lorna Barrett‘s Booktown Mystery Series. As long time visitors might know, I’ve been lucky enough to have had the opportunity to interview Lorraine Bartlett (aka Lorna Barrett & L.L. Bartlett). (It was a WOW occasion in my life!)

So I finally got around to rereading Murder is Binding, the first book in Lorna Barrett’s Booktown series. This book is the introduction to Tricia Miles, owner of the Haven’t Got a Clue mystery bookstore, in the town of Stoneham, New Hampshire. Tricia is a big city former upper class woman who has moved to Stoneham following her amicable divorce >>> to start-up her dream shop, a mystery bookstore. (Something I’m sure a lot of us would love doing!)

Tricia opened her store on the main street area of small town Stoneham as part of an effort to revitalize the town’s flagging economy to help develop the town as a stop for local tour buses. She wasn’t the only one, though. There were others who follow suit and opened book-related shops as well. Unfortunately, not all the locals are pleased to have so many out of towners coming in to take over prominent real estate area >>> and this conflict is an important part of some of these early books, and part of the reason Tricia finds local law enforcement less than cooperative when she finds an unpleasant neighbor dead.

Tricia’s problems aren’t limited to dying neighbors though, as she also has to contend with her sister (Angelica) coming to town. Tricia and Angelica never got along terribly well as children, so Tricia is less than completely happy when Angelica’s stay turns out to be a more or less indefinite duration. Fortunately Angelica does turn out to give some helpful advice and help in getting to the bottom of the recent murder >>> including suggesting actually getting a lawyer, a completely reasonable step to consider when potentially faced with a serious murder charge!

Another interesting touch to this particular series is that since the protagonist is an unabashed fan of mystery novels, she also does often bring up other mystery authors that the reader might already read – or might be interested in reading afterward! And from the names that she lists, it does sound like Tricia might be a fan of Cozy Mysteries in particular…

If you’re interested in reading more of these brief revisits of some of the more popular Cozy Mystery Series that I’ve written in the past, you can find them at the Most Recommended Cozy Mystery Series page on my site.

One New Cozy Mystery Holiday Book Coming July 2016

In addition to three new great looking mystery Series, July looks like it will start the “Cozy Holiday Book Season” >>> even if it will only be one new holiday Cozy coming out. Still it is always a welcome change to see the holidays starting in July! (You’ve heard of the expression “Christmas in July”, haven’t you?)

Allyson K. Abbott will be releasing Shots in the Dark, the fourth book in her Mack’s Bar Mystery Series, and it’s a Christmas themed Cozy Mystery. When bouncer Gary Gunderson turns up dead a week before Christmas, Mackenzie “Mack” Dalton knows she just won’t be able to enjoy the holiday properly unless she can shed some light on the unfortunate death. Unfortunately her bouncer appears to have had something of a troubled past, so it’s going to be difficult >>> even with her extra perception and the help of her regular clientele of faithful bar patrons! Abbott also writes the Mattie Winston Series under the name Annelise Ryan, starring an ex-nurse and current coroner in Wisconsin, and a number of stand alone novels under the name Beth Amos.

If you’re interested in more Christmas-themed Holiday Cozy Mystery novels (and there are many, many, many of them!) please be sure to check the Christmas section of my Cozy Mystery List.

Three New Cozy Mystery Series Coming July 2016

July looks like it will be another packed Cozy Mystery month >>> we’ll have three new series starting up in July by established Cozy Mystery site authors!

First up will be Julia Buckley‘s Writer’s Apprentice Mystery Series, which will debut with A Dark and Stormy Murder. Lena London has just landed her dream job as a writer’s assistant in Blue Lake, Indiana, to bestselling suspense novelist Camilla Graham. Unfortunately, as is often the case with new jobs, this one comes with a most unfortunate corpse, which has turned up on Camilla’s property. Lena will need to figure out “who dunnit” – and fast – if she wants to keep this fabulous new opportunity – and keep her employer out of jail! Julia Buckley also writes the Undercover Dish Mystery Series, starring the owner of a catering company where clients can claim to have prepared the meals themselves, and the Madeline Mann Mystery Series, starring a reporter.

Next will be Elizabeth Kane Buzelli‘s A Most Curious Murder, the first book in her new Little Library Mystery Series. This series will be our introduction to Jenny Weston, who returns to her hometown of Bear Falls, Michigan, to rebuild her life, only to find murder and intrigue waiting for her. Buzelli also writes the Emily Kincaid Mystery Series, starring a reporter in Michigan, and the Nut House Mystery Series (as Elizabeth Lee), starring a plant biologist and pecan farm employee in Texas.

Last will be Little Girl Gone by Laura Childs, written under her real name, Gerry Schmitt, as part of the new Afton Tangler Thriller Series. Though this series isn’t Cozy, I’m including it here because it is written by a familiar author who many of us enjoy. This series will star Afton Tangler, a Minnesota family liaison officer, who will need to brave the harsh Minneapolis winters if she wants to track down a missing child. Laura Childs also writes the Tea Shop Mystery Series, starring the owner of a Charleston Tea Shop, the Scrapbooking Mystery Series, and the Cackleberry Club Mystery Series, set in a cozy café with a knitting and reading area.

As always, if you’re looking for these or many more new series, they can be found on the New Cozy Mystery Book Series page, as well as the Soon to Be Released Mysteries page of my Cozy Mystery site.

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