The Cozy Mystery List Blog

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

Mystery Books that Take Place in Hawaii

Hawaii's HibiscusHere are some Fun Hawaii Facts:

Hawaii is known as the “Aloha State.”
Honolulu is the capital and also the largest city.
State Motto: The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness.
State Flower: Hibiscus
State Animal: Monk Seal
Hawaii is the only state that has a tropical rain forest and also a royal palace (Iolani Palace).

Mystery authors who are found on the Cozy Mystery Site and who feature Hawaii locations in their books:

Donald Bain & “Jessica Fletcher”: Murder, She Wrote Mystery Series – Aloha Betrayed (Maui)

JoAnn Bassett: Island of Aloha Mystery Series

K.K. Beck: Iris Cooper Mystery Series – Peril Under the Palms (Honolulu)

Frankie Bow: Professor Molly Mystery Series (remote Mahina)

Catherine Bruns: Death of the Big Kahuna

Kathi Daley: Zoey Donovan Mystery Series – Maui Madness

Earl Derr Biggers: Charlie Chan Mystery Series

Carolyn Hart: Henri O Mystery Series – Death in Paradise (Kauai)

Maddy Hunter: Passport to Peril Mystery Series – Hula Done It? (cruise)

Madison Johns: Agnes Barton Senior Sleuth Mystery Series – Hawaiian Hangover

Josi S. Kilpack: Culinary Mystery Series – Banana Split (K’auai)

Mai Tai One On by Jill Marie Landis Jill Marie Landis: Tiki Goddess Mystery Series – Em Johnson manages the Tiki Goddess bar on Kauai, Hawaii. A senior dance troupe called the Hula Maidens help Em in her sleuthing.

Leslie Langtry: Ukulele Murder (Kauai)

Sujata Massey: Rei Shimura Mystery Series – Shimura Trouble (Oahu)

 Toby Neal: Lei Crime Mystery Series (not Cozy)

Please feel free to contact me if you see an author from the Cozy Mystery Site who belongs on this list, or if you have any comments.

♦To access more Cozy Mysteries by Theme click on this link.♦

 

Three New Cozy Mystery Series Coming July 2015 – Cathy Ace: WISE Enquiries Agency, Susan Furlong (aka Lucy Arlington): Georgia Peach, Karen MacInerney: Dewberry Farm

Well, it looks like June is going to be a bit “light” on new Cozy Mystery series getting started, but fortunately it appears that we’ll have three new series from established Cozy authors to look forward to in July!

First up is Cathy Ace, who will be starting her second Cozy Mystery series, the WISE Enquiries Agency Mystery Series, with the introductory novel The Case of the Dotty Dowager. This British mystery set in the scenic Welsh countryside will introduce the four women detectives of the WISE Enquiries Agency, one each of whom is Welsh, Irish, Scottish, and English… thus the acronym WISE.  All four of the women working at WISE have their own reason for needing money, so when Henry Twyst, Duke of Chellingworth, asks the ladies to investigate his aging mother’s questionable claims to have seen a corpse in the dining room, they jump at the chance. Cathy Ace also writes the Cait Morgan Mystery Series, starring plus-size professor and criminal profiler, as well as several anthologies of murder mysteries. (Also, she won the Canadian Bony Blithe Award this year for one of her Cait Morgan mysteries!)

The next new Cozy Mystery series will be Susan Furlong‘s Georgia Peach Mystery Series, which will begin with the book Peaches and Scream. When Nola Harper returns home to help run her family’s orchard in the small town of Cays Mill, Georgia, the last thing she expects to be asked to do is solved a murder. Despite this, when a local businessman is found dead in the orchard, she’ll need to help solve the case in order to clear the business (and herself!) of any wrongdoing. Susan Furlong also writes the Pippi O’Brien Mystery Series, starring the online seller of used merchandise, and is the current author of the Novel Idea Mystery Series, starring middle aged ex-journalist and current literary agency internt, Lila Wilkins.

Finally, Karen MacInerney will be releasing Killer Jam, the first in her new Dewberry Farm Mystery Series. Houston reporter Lucy Resnick is done with fast-paced city life >>>  she’s ready to retire to a more quiet countryside living, and has cashed in her early retirement to buy her grandmother’s farm in Buttercup, Texas. Unfortunately, when a local oil executive who hoped to buy out the farm and replace it with an oil derrick turns up dead, Lucy will be the most obvious suspect, forcing her to get to the bottom of the murder to help clear her name and keep the family business open! Karen MacInerney also writes the Gray Whale Inn Mystery Series, starring Natalie Barnes, the owner of a small bed and breakfast.

If you would like to see what some of our Cozy Mystery authors have in store for us, in regards to NEW Cozy Mystery series, click on this link to go to my New Cozy Mystery Book Series page on the site.

July 2015 Mystery Book New Releases

The following Mystery Books will be released in July 2015:

Allyson K. Abbott (aka Annelise Ryan): In the Drink (This will be the 3rd in the Mack’s Bar Mystery Series.)

Cathy Ace: The Case of the Dotty Dowager (This will be the 1st in the NEW WISE Enquiries Agency Mystery Series.)

Donna Andrews: Lord of the Wings (This will be the 19th in the Meg Langslow Mystery Series.) (Actually, August 4)

Christy Barritt: Dust and Obey (This will be the 10th in the Squeaky Clean Mystery Series.)

Carrie Bebris: The Suspicion at Sanditon, (Or, The Disappearance of Lady Denham) (This will be the 7th in the Mr. & Mrs. Darcy Mystery Series)

Juliet Blackwell (aka Hailey Lind): Spellcasting in Silk (This will be the 7th in the Witchcraft Mystery Series.)

Stephen Booth: The Murder Road (This will be the 16th in the Cooper & Fry Mystery Series.)

Simon Brett: Blotto, Twinks and the Heir to the Tsar (This will be the 6th in the Blotto and Twinks Mystery Series.)

Leslie Budewitz: Butter Off Dead (This will be the 3rd in the Food Lovers’ Village Mystery Series.)

Lucy Burdette (aka Roberta Isleib): Fatal Reservations (This will be the 6th in the Key West Food Critic Mystery Series.)

Ellen Byerrum: The Dollhouse in the Crawlspace (This will be a non-Cozy Stand-Alone novel.)

Dorothy Cannell: Death at Dovecote Hatch (This will be the 2nd in the Florence Norris Mystery Series.)

Bailey Cates (aka Cricket McRae): Magic and Macaroons (This will be the 5th in the Magical Bakery Mystery Series.)

Mary Higgins Clark: Death Wears a Beauty Mask and Other Stories (This is a collection of mystery stories.)

Kathi Daley: Much Ado About Felines (This will be the 4th in the Whales and Tails Mystery Series.)

Kathi Daley: The Relic (This will be the 3rd in the Seacliff High Mystery Series for young adults.) (This is a Thanksgiving themed mystery.)

Lindsey Davis: Deadly Election (This will be the 3rd in the Flavia Albia Mystery Series.)

Jana DeLeon: Malevolent (This will be the 1st in the NEW Shaye Archer Mystery Series.)

Lesley A. Diehl: A Sporting Murder (This will be the 3rd in the Eve Appel Mystery Series.)

Kate Ellis: Walking by Night (This will be the 5th in the Joe Plantagenet Mystery Series.)

Shelley Freydont: Trawling for Trouble (This will be a novella in the Celebration Bay Mystery Series.)

Susan Furlong (aka Lucy Arlington): Peaches and Scream (This will be the 1st in the NEW Georgia Peach Mystery Series.)

Ann Granger: Dead In the Water (This will be the 4th in the Campbell and Carter Mystery Series.) (This is a Christmas themed mystery.)

Victoria Hamilton (aka Amanda Cooper): Death of an English Muffin (This will be the 3rd in the Merry Muffin Mystery Series.)

Sherry Harris: The Longest Yard Sale (This will be the 2nd in the Garage Sale Mystery Series.) (Actually, June 30)

Betty Hechtman: Wound Up In Murder (This will be the 3rd in the Yarn Retreat Mystery Series.)

Julie Hyzy: Grace Cries Uncle (This will be the 6th in the Manor House Mystery Series.)

J.A. Jance: Dance of the Bones  (This will be the 22nd in the J.P. Beaumont Mystery Series and the 5th in the Walker Mystery Series.)

J.A. Jance: The J.A. Jance Casebook (This includes 10 short stories, fiction and non-fiction.)

Tonya Kappes: A Charming Fatality (This will be the 7th in the Magical Cures Mystery Series.)

Jonathan Kellerman: The Right Thing to Do (This will be a prequel short story to The Murderer’s Daughter.)

Diane Kelly: Upholding the Paw (This will be a Paw Enforcement Mystery Series novella.)

Victoria Laurie: Sense of Deception (This will be the 13th in the Psychic Eye Mystery Series.)

Joyce and Jim Lavene (aka J.J. Cook & Ellie Grant): Fatal Fairies (This will be the 8th in the Renaissance Faire Mystery Series.)

Anna Loan-Wilsey: A Deceptive Homecoming (This will be the 4th in the Hattie Darvish Mystery Series.)

Virginia Lowell: Dead Men Don’t Eat Cookies (This will be the 6th in the Cookie Cutter Shop Mystery Series.)

Karen MacInerney: Killer Jam (This will be the 1st in the NEW Dewberry Farm Mystery Series.)

Jennifer McAndrews: Death Under Glass (This will be the 2nd in the Stained-Glass Mystery Series.)

Susan McBride: Say Yes to the Death (This will be the 6th in the Debutante Dropout Mystery Series.)

Catriona McPherson: Dandy Gilver & the Unpleasantness in the Ballroom (This will be the 9th in the Dandy Gilver Mystery Series.)

Terrie Farley Moran: Caught Read-Handed (This will be the 2nd in the Read ‘Em and Eat Mystery Series.)

Marcia Muller: Someone Always Knows (This will be the 32nd in the Sharon McCone Mystery Series.)

Sara Paretsky: Brush Back (This will be the 17th in the V.I. Warshawski Mystery Series.)

Kate Parker: The Royal Assassin (This will be the 3rd in the Victorian Bookshop Mystery Series.)

James Patterson & Chris Grabenstein: Lights Out (This will be the 7th in the Daniel X Series for teens.)

Thomas Perry: The Book of the Lion (This will be a Stand-Alone novella.)

Spencer Quinn (aka Peter Abrahams): Scents and Sensibility (This will be the 7th in the Chet and Bernie Mystery Series.)

Hannah Reed (aka Deb Baker): Hooked on Ewe (This will be the 2nd in the Scottish Highlands Mystery Series.)

David Rosenfelt: Who Let the Dog Out? (This will be the 13th in the Andy Carpenter Mystery Series.)

David Rosenfelt: Lessons from Tara: Life Advice from the World’s Most Brilliant Dog (This is a Stand Alone non-mystery.)

Alexander McCall Smith: The Novel Habits of Happiness (This will be the 10th in the Isobel Dalhousie Series. This is not a mystery.)

Karen Rose Smith: Drape Expectations (This will be the 4th in the Caprice De Luca Mystery Series.)

Marcia Talley: Daughter of Ashes (This will be the 14th in the Hannah Ives Mystery Series.)

Aimée & David Thurlo: Looking Through Darkness (This will be a Stand Alone or New Series mystery.)

June Thomson: Sherlock Holmes and the Lady in Black (This will be an entry in the Sherlock Holmes Series.)

Kari Lee Townsend: Perish in the Palm (This is the 4th in the Fortune Teller Mystery Series.)

Peter Tremayne: The Devil’s Seal (This will be the 25th in the Sister Fidelma Mystery Series.)

Christine Wenger: Macaroni and Freeze (This will be the 4th in the Comfort Food Mystery Series.)

Lauren Willig: The Other Daughter (This will be a Stand Alone novel.)

Lois Winston: A Stitch to Die For (This will be the 5th in the Anastasia Pollack Crafting Mystery Series.) (This is a Halloween themed mystery.)

Here are this month’s releases: June  2015 Mystery Book New Releases.

If you would like to see lots and lots of Cozy Mystery books that are scheduled to be released, 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.)

Cozy Mystery Book Recommendations – May 2015

This month has been pretty hectic for me so I feel like my Cozy Mystery reading sort of was put on a type of semi hold. Also, I ventured out of my Cozy Mystery realm, and tried a few non mysteries. I am currently back to my Cozies, and am reading one of my favorite Cozy authors right now.

How about you? Did you find a particularly good Cozy Mystery this month? Was it the type of Cozy that stands way out from the other Cozies you have read this month? If you did find a Cozy Mystery that good, would you please write a comment and tell us why you think this book is so much better than the rest of the Cozy Mysteries you read during May 2015? The rest of us would love to hear about it! Let’s face it, we’re all looking for a great Cozy Mystery read!

And, since some of you have read several Cozies this month that you think are terrific, would you please put the one you liked the very best at the top of your list? That way the rest of us will know that you think that Cozy is particularly greeeeeaaaaat!

As usual, please do not tell us about the Cozy Mysteries you read this month that you did not like.

What really good Cozy Mystery book did you read during May 2015 that you know the rest of us would enjoy reading, and why did you enjoy it?

Here are the current recommended authors who some of you have read and recommended this past month:

Lucy Arlington: Novel Idea Mystery Series

Heather Blake (aka Heather Webber): Magical Potions Mystery Series

Simon Brett: Mrs. Pargeter Mystery Series

Rita Mae Brown: Mrs. Murphy Mystery Series

Anne Canadeo (aka Katherine Spencer): Black Sheep Knitting Mystery Series

Janet Cantrell (aka Kaye George): Fat Cat Mystery Series

Kate Carlisle: Bibliophile Mystery Mystery Series

Laura Childs: Tea Shop Mystery Series

Hy Conrad: Mr. Monk Mystery Series

Ellen Crosby: Sophie Medina Mystery Series

Krista Davis: Domestic Diva Mystery Series

Peter Dickinson: Princess Louise Mystery Series (King and Joker, book #1)

Elizabeth J. Duncan: Penny Brannigan Mystery Series

Sally Goldenbaum: Seaside Knitters Mystery Series

Rebecca M. Hale: Cats and Curios Mystery Series

Victoria Hamilton (aka Amanda Cooper & Donna Lea Simpson): Vintage Kitchen Mystery Series

Charlaine Harris: Aurora Teagarden Mystery Series

Joan Hess: Claire Malloy Mystery Series

Sue Ann Jaffarian: Ghost of Granny Apples Mystery Series

Craig Johnson: Wait for Signs (12 Longmire stories in the Longmire Mystery Series)

Alex A. King: Kat Mafris Greek Mafia Mystery Series (Disorganized Crime, book #1)

Kylie Logan (aka Miranda Bliss & Casey Daniels): Murder at the orient express

G.A. McKevett: Savannah Reid Mystery Series

Max McCoy: Ophelia Wylde Paranormal Mystery Series (Of Grave Concern, book #1)

Staci McLaughlin: Blossom Valley Series

Liz Mugavero (aka Cate Conte): Pawsitively Organic Mystery Series

Meg Muldoon: Christmas River Mystery Series (Murder in Christmas River, book #1)

Jeanne Quigley: Veronica Walsh Mystery Series (All Things Murder, book #1)

Kathy Reichs: Temperance Brennen Mystery Series

Barbara Ross: Maine Clambake Mystery Series

Alexander McCall Smith: No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency Mystery Series

Lea Wait: Mainely Needlepoint Mystery Series

[If you click on the author’s name (blue) link, it will take you to his/her page on the Cozy Mystery site. The pages have all of the authors’ books listed chronologically.]

I encourage all of you to read the comments below, since it’s a great way to “hear” about Cozies that stand out from the crowd.

♦To access more Cozy Mystery Books Recommendations, click on this link♦

P.S. I usually respond to all of the comments on the Cozy Mystery blog, but I don’t respond to the comments on these monthly recommendation entries because they speak for themselves!

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