The Cozy Mystery List Blog

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

Yikes! She’s Running Out of Lilian Jackson Braun’s The Cat Who Mystery Series!

I received a letter from Natalia asking for help finding a new Cozy Mystery series to read. She is a fan of Lilian Jackson Braun‘s The Cat Who Mystery Series, and would like something similar to those Cozies. Here is part of her letter:

I’m new to your website and also new to reading “cozy mysteries”. I was hoping you could help me decide where to start. I’m almost done reading through The Cat Who series by Lilian Jackson Braun. I’m originally from Russia so English is my second language. So I enjoyed the simplicity of Braun’s books. I love cats and anything to do with nature.
The first thing that came to my mind is the Authors Similar to Lilian Jackson Braun list of authors and series, which we compiled way back in 2010. I also thought about the Cat Theme Mysteries : Kittens, Cats, and Cozies entry we started putting together even farther back >>> in 2007. However, I wonder if you all have any other suggestions for Natalia. If you can think of another Cozy Mystery series which might be the perfect fit for Natalia, please post a comment. Thank you!

Christmas Cozy Mystery Recommendations – 2015

Yikes! It’s only a day over a week until Christmas! I’m way behind with my gift-wrapping, however, for some reason, I seem to have found the time to read my Christmas Cozy Mysteries! (Shows you where my priorities seem to be these days!) I just finished my latest Christmas Cozy, and am now at the find another Cozy to read stage in my reading process.  Hmmm…

I mentioned before that I have re-read some of my favorite Cozies from the past. I also read some new-to-me Christmas Cozies. I revisited Jessica Fletcher in Cabot Cove while reading Donald Bain‘s A Little Yuletide Murder, and I had a hankering for re-acquainting myself with Leslie Meier‘s Lucy Stone while reading Mistletoe Murder. I also caught up with three of my favorite authors while reading Cleo Coyle‘s Holiday Buzz (Yes, I was that far behind chronologically!), Joanne Fluke‘s Plum Pudding Murder (Another author with whom I’m playing catch-up!), and Margaret Grace‘s Manhattan in Miniature. That’s a whole lot of Christmas Cozy-reading!

As I said in my first paragraph, I’m trying to decide what to read next. I’m not sure if I should attempt another Christmas themed Cozy. I know I have eight days before Christmas, but our daughter is coming home (from D.C.) for a visit on Monday, and I’m really looking forward to having both our son and daughter here for the holidays, so I doubt I’ll get much reading done.

With that in mind, I thought I would ask you ALL for some ideas about good Christmas Cozies. I know we have done this before (in 2012 and 2013) but I’m curious to ask this again: Which Christmas Cozies would you recommend for the rest of us to NOT miss reading?

So, which Christmas themed Cozy Mysteries would you recommend that the rest of us read? If you mention more than one, please list them in order of your preference so that I can post one or two on the list. Just post a comment. Thank you!

Christmas Mystery Book Recommendations:

Susan Wittig Albert: Mistletoe Man

Stephanie Barron: Jane and the Twelve Days of Christmas

M. C. Beaton: A Highland Christmas

Josie Belle: Buried in Bargains

Rhys Bowen: Twelve Clues of Christmas

Emily Brightwell: Mrs. Jeffries and the Feast of St. Stephen, Mrs. Jeffries and the Yuletide Weddings, & Mrs. Jeffries and the Merry Gentlemen 

Isis Crawford: A Catered Christmas Cookie Exchange

Krista Davis: The Diva Cooks a Goose & The Diva Wraps It Up

Vicki Delany: Rest Ye Murdered Gentlemen

Joanne Fluke, Laura Levine, & Leslie Meir: The Candy Cane Murder & Ginger Cookie Murder

Sally Goldenbaum: Trimmed With Murder

Martha Grimes: Jerusalem Inn

Karen Harper: The Queene’s Christmas

Sofie Kelly: A Midwinter’s Tail

Kate Kingsbury: Pennyfoot Hotel Christmas mysteries

Charlotte MacLeod: Rest Ye Merry

Anne Perry: Christmas mysteries

Livia Washburn: Christmas Cookie Killer

P.S. If you need help remembering other Christmas themed Cozies, you can take a look at the Christmas Mystery Book List page on my site.

Also, here are the two previous lists we came up with:

Christmas Mystery Book List Recommendations – 2013

The Best Christmas Cozy Mystery Book – 2012

Three New Cozy Mystery Series Coming January 2016

Can you believe it’s almost 2016! It seems like only yesterday when we were celebrating the new millennium, and that was 16 years ago!

Back to Cozy Mysteries! Three Cozy Mystery authors will be starting new series this January:

First is Bailey Cattrell‘s Enchanted Garden Mystery Series, which will be beginning with Daisies for Innocence. This novel will introduce Elliana (Ellie) Allbright and her perfume shop in Poppyville, California. When her part-time assistant (Josie) starts dating her ex and turns up mysteriously dead, Ellie will need to find the real culprit before she becomes the prime suspect herself! Bailey Cattrell also writes the Magical Bakery Mystery Series as Bailey Cates and the Home Crafting Mystery Series as Cricket McRae.

Next up will be Dani Pettrey‘s Cold Shot, the 1st in her new Chesapeake Valor Series. In this romantic suspense series, we will be introduced to Griffin McCray, a former SWAT-team sniper and current park ranger at Gettysburg. When a pair of relic hunters uncover a suspiciously fresh corpse near the Little Round Top, Griffin will need to call on current and past skills to help discover the killer. Dani Pettrey also writes the Alaskan Courage Mystery Series, a romantic suspense series starring various members of the McKenna family in Yancey, Alaska.

Finally will be Paige Shelton‘s To Helvetica and Back, the 1st in the new Dangerous Type Mystery Series. This novel will star Clare Henry, assistant typewriter repairer to her grandfather Chester. When a stranger who tried to force Clare to hand over an antique typewriter they are repairing for another customer turns up dead, Clare will need to solve the case for her own peace of mind. Paige Shelton also writes the Farmers’ Market Mystery Series and the Country Cooking School Mystery Series.

As always you can check out these books (and many more!) on the New Cozy Mystery Book Series page.

January 2016 Mystery Book New Releases

The following Mystery Books will be released in January 2016:

Jeff Abbott: The First Order (This will be the 5th in the Sam Capra Mystery Series.)

Christy Barritt: Mountain Hideaway (This will be a Love Inspired Suspense Mystery.)

Jessica Beck (aka Elizabeth Bright, Casey Mayes, Melissa Glazer, Chris Cavender, & Tim Myers): Raspberry Revenge (This will be the 23rd in the Donut Shop Mystery Series.)

Jacklyn Brady (aka Sherry Lewis): The Cakes of Monte Cristo (This will be the 6th in the Piece of Cake Mystery Series.)

Bailey Cattrell (aka Bailey Cates & Cricket McRae): Daisies for Innocence (This will be the 1st in the NEW Enchanted Garden Mystery Series.)

Hy Conrad: Dearly Departed (This will be the 2nd in the Amy’s Travel Mystery Series.)

J.J. Cook (aka Joyce and Jim Lavene & Ellie Grant): Sweet Pepper Hero (This will be the 4th in the Sweet Pepper Fire Brigade Mystery Series.)

Shelley Costa: Practical Sins for Cold Climates  (This will be the 1st in the NEW Val Cameron Mystery Series.)

Kathi Daley: Shamrock Shenanigans (This will be the 19th in the Zoe Donovan Mysteries.)

Kathi Daley: Zimmerman Academy (This will be a novella spinoff of the Zoe Donovan Mysteries.)

Jana DeLeon: Sinister (This will be the 2nd in the Shaye Archer Mystery Series.)

Phillip DePoy: A Prisoner in Malta (This will be a Stand Alone Novel.)

Tim Dorsey: Coconut Cowboy (This will be the 19th in the Serge Storms Mystery Series.)

Anthea Fraser: A Tangled Thread (This will be a Stand Alone mystery.)

Jeanne Glidewell: Rip Tide (This will be the 2nd in the Ripple Effect Cozy Mystery Series.)

Sarah Graves: The Girls She Left Behind (This will be the 2nd in the Lizzie Snow Mystery Series.)

Parnell Hall: Presumed Puzzled (This will be the 17th in the Puzzle Lady Mystery Series.)

Tami Hoag: The Bitter Season (This will be the 5th in the Sam Kovak Mystery Series.)

Julie Hyzy: Foreign Éclairs (This will be the 9th in the White House Chef Mystery Series.)

Tonya Kappes: Murder by the Bay (This will be the 1st in the NEW Blossom Bay story collection. Some of the short stories in this series will be mystery, some will be romance, while others will be women’s fiction.)

Victoria Laurie: A Ghoul’s Guide to Love and Murder (This will be the 10th in the Ghost Hunter Mystery Series.)

Jenn McKinlay (aka Josie Belle & Lucy Lawrence): Copy Cap Murder (This will be the 4th in the Hat Shop Mystery Series.)

Carla Neggers: The Spring at Moss Hill (This will be the 6th in the Swift River Valley Series. This is not a mystery.)

Joyce Carol Oates: The Man Without a Shadow (This will be a Stand-Alone mystery.)

J. Michael Orenduff: The Pot Thief Who Studied Georgia O’Keeffe (This will be the 6th in the Pot Thief Mystery Series.)

Diana Orgain: A Second Chance at Murder (This will be the 2nd in the Love or Money Mystery Series.)

James Patterson & Marshall Karp: NYPD Red 4 (This will be the 4th in the NYPD Red Series.)

Joanne Pence: Three O’Clock Séance (This will be the 3rd in the Rebecca Mayfield Mystery Series.)

Thomas Perry: Forty Thieves (This will be a Stand Alone novel.)

Dani Pettrey: Cold Shot (This will be the 1st in the NEW Chesapeake Valor Series.)

Penny Pike (aka Penny Warner): Death of a Bad Apple (This will be the 3rd in the Food Festival Mystery Series.)

Peter Robinson: Fan Mail (This will be a Stand Alone mystery novella.)

Annelise Ryan (aka Allyson K. Abbott): Stiff Competition (This will be the 7th in the Mattie Winston Mystery Series.)

Sarah R. Shaber: Louise’s Chance (This will be the 5th in the Louise Pearlie Mystery Series.)

Paige Shelton: To Helvetica and Back (This will be the 1st in the NEW Dangerous Type Mystery Series.)

Fran Stewart: A Wee Dose of Death (This will be the 2nd in the ScotShop Mystery Series.)

Tracy Weber: Karma’s a Killer (This will be the 3rd in the Downward Dog Mystery Series.)

Lis Wiehl & Sebastian Stuart: The Newsmakers (This will be a Stand-Alone mystery.)

In case you would like to see this month’s releases: December 2015 Mystery Book New Releases.

I have lots and lots of  Cozies that are scheduled to be released so please click on this link to go to the Soon to be Released Mysteries page on the site.

(These are the mysteries by authors who are currently on the Cozy Mystery site.)

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