The Cozy Mystery List Blog

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

February 2015 Mystery Book New Releases

(If you would like to see this month’s releases, click here: January 2015 Mystery Book New Releases)

The following Mystery Books will be released in February 2015:

Avery Aames (aka Daryl Wood Gerber): As Gouda as Dead (This will be the 6th in the Cheese Shop Mystery Series.) (This is a Valentine’s Day theme mystery.)

Jeffrey Archer: Mightier Than the Sword (This will be the 5th in the Clifton Chronicles Mystery Series.)

Lucy Arlington (aka Susan Furlong): Played by the Book (This will be the 4th in the Novel Idea Mystery Series.)

Maggie Barbieri: Lies That Bind (This will be the 2nd in the Maeve Conlan Mystery Series.)

L.L. Bartlett (aka Lorraine Bartlett & Lorna Barrett): Crybaby (This will be a Jeff Resnick Mystery Series story.)

M.C. Beaton (aka Marion Chesney): Death of a Liar (This will be the 31st in the Hamish Macbeth Mystery Series.)

Emily Brightwell: Mrs. Jeffries and the One Who Got Away (This will be the 33rd in the Mrs. Jeffries Mystery Series.)

Duffy Brown: Dead Man Walker (This novella will be the 4th in the Consignment Shop Mystery Series.)

Kate Collins: A Root Awakening (This will be the 16th in the Flower Shop Mystery Series.)

Sheila Connolly (aka Sarah Atwell): An Early Wake (This will be the 3rd in the County Cork Mystery Series.)

J.J. Cook (aka Joyce and Jim Lavene & Ellie Grant): Fry Another Day (This will be the 2nd in the Bowl Food Truck Mystery Series.)

Kathi Daley: The Mad Catter (This will be the 2nd in the Whales and Tails Mystery Series.)

Kathi Daley: Puppies in Paradise (This will be the 5th in the Tj Jensen Paradise Lake Mystery Series.)

Hallie Ephron: Photoplay (This will be a Stand Alone mystery novella.)

Kathleen Ernst: The Smuggler’s Secrets (This will be an American Girls: Caroline mystery for children.)

Monica Ferris: Darned if You Do (This will be the 18th in the Needlecraft Mystery Series.)

Joanne Fluke: Double Fudge Brownie (This will be the 18th in the Hannah Swensen Mystery Series.)

Susan Froetschel: Allure of Deceit (This will be a Stand Alone mystery.) (Not Cozy)

Gemma Halliday: Deadly in High Heels (This will be the 9th book in the High Heels Mystery Series.)

David Handler: Phantom Angel (This will be the 2nd in the Benji Golden Mystery Series.)

B.B. Haywood: Town in a Sweet Pickle (This will be the 6th in the Candy Holliday Mystery Series.)

Mary Ellen Hughes: License to Dill (This will be the 2nd in the Pickled and Preserved Mystery Series.)

Jonathan Kellerman: Motive (This will be the 30th in the Alex Delaware Mystery Series.)

Laurie R. King: Dreaming Spies (This will be the 13th in the Mary Russell Mystery Series.)

Laura Lippman: Hush Hush (This will be the 12th in the Tess Monaghan Mystery Series.)

Jess Lourey: February Fever (This will be the 10th in the Murder by Month Mystery Series.) (This will be a Valentine’s Day theme mystery.)

Edward Marston (aka Conrad Allen & Keith Miles): Shadow of the Hangman (This will be the 1st in the NEW Bow Street Rivals Mystery Series.)

Mary McHugh: Flamenco, Flan, and Fatalities (This will be the 2nd in the Happy Hoofers Mystery Series.)

Jenn McKinlay (aka Josie Belle & Lucy Lawrence): At the Drop of a Hat (This will be the 3rd in the Hat Shop Mystery Series.)

Staci McLaughlin: A Healthy Homicide (This will be the 4th in the Blossom Valley Mystery Series.)

Dani Pettrey: Sabotaged (This will be the 5th in the Alaskan Courage Mystery Series.)

Shirley Rousseau Murphy & Pat J.J. Murphy: The Cat, the Devil, and the Last Escape (This will be the 2nd book in the Lee Fontana Cat & Devil Mystery Series.)

J. D. Robb (aka Nora Roberts): Obsession In Death (This will be the 41st in the Eve Dallas in Death Mystery Series.)

Annelise Ryan (aka Allyson K. Abbott & Beth Amos): Stiff Penalty (This will be the 6th book in the Mattie Winston Mystery Series.)

C. J. Sansom: Lamentation (This will be the 6th book in the Matthew Shardlake Mystery Series.)

Joanna Campbell Slan: Shotgun, Wedding, Bells (This will be the 11th in the Kiki Lowenstein Scrap-N-Craft Mystery Series.)

Alexander McCall Smith: Bertie’s Guide to Life and Mothers (This will be the 9th book in the 44 Scotland Street Series.) (This is not a mystery.)

Wendy Corsi Staub: The Black Widow (This will be a Stand Alone thriller mystery.)

*****If you want to see all of the covers for both this month’s releases as well as the releases for future months’ releases, you can find them on the side-bar of my Soon to be Released Mysteries page.

To go back to the Cozy Mystery New Book Release page, click here.

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

Soon to be Released Mysteries Page is All Caught Up!

It’s been rather hectic around here this past week, but since our daughter headed out to see her last year’s work place boss and friends this morning, I’ve been playing catch-up on my computer. I’ve been getting my Soon to be Released Mysteries page all caught up. I just finished updating that page, as well as all of the authors’ pages who have new mysteries coming out in the near future. Whew! I found a whole lot of new Cozy Mystery releases! (And, when I say “a whole lot” that’s exactly what I mean!)

As you can see, Sally Goldenbaum will be releasing A Finely Knit Murder, her 9th Seaside Knitters mystery, which looks like it will be a fun read. >>> I would have had my tech guy (aka my husband) teach me how to put the title for the book under the picture, but he’s napping. (Of course, since his techno-help is free to me, I can’t complain about a few naps here and there.)

I have been posting some of the new releases that I have found over on my Facebook page. I think I’m getting the hang of it over there. Well, at least I’m sort of getting the hang of it! This reminds me, I have been meaning to thank ALL of you for “liking” my Cozy Mystery page over on Facebook. I’m still learning the ropes, so to speak, but people have been so kind to me over there. Thank you, ALL!

Getting back to what I’ve been up to while searching around the internet for new Cozy Mystery releases, I have found two new Cozy Mystery series that will be starting in 2015 >>> Susan Furlong‘s (aka Lucy Arlington) Georgia Peach Mystery Series and Peg Cochran‘s (aka Meg London) Cranberry Cove Mystery Series. Both of them look really good to me.

Anyway, while updating the Soon to be Released Mysteries page, I posted a few of the new Cozies over on my Facebook page. And then, since I seem to never feel complete without worrying about something or other, I started feeling guilty about spending all my time on my Facebook page, while sort of ignoring my Cozy-Mystery blog page. Good grief! (My husband would ask me: “When don’t you feel guilty about something or other?”)

Again, thank you, ALL, who have liked my Facebook page, and also, thank you, ALL, who participate in the blog area. I truly feel like we have a Cozy Mystery community going on over here!

Mystery Book Recommendations – December 2014

We’re all going to have to remember to write (or type) 2015 in just a few days! Where has this past year gone?

I know this is a very busy time of year for a lot of us, but I wonder if you could find the time to tell us about an extremely good Cozy Mystery book you read during December. Also, please tell us why you consider this Cozy to be so good that it stands out from the rest of the Cozies you read during the month. Please only tell us about the Cozies that were much better than the rest of the other Cozy Mystery books you read during December. Of course, if you read only one or two Cozy Mysteries this month, and liked both of them a lot, then please tell us about them.

I’m going to start by saying I’m currently in the middle of an Inspector Wexford mystery by Ruth Rendell. I know he’s an inspector, so he doesn’t qualify for the amateur sleuth category, but I think of these mysteries as more Cozy à la Agatha Christie style than police procedural. Rather than write the reason for my recommendation, I will refer you to two entries I wrote about why I like Ruth Rendell’s Inspector Wexford mysteries so much:

Ruth Rendell: From Doon with Death, Reginald Wexford, Revisited

Ruth Rendell…. Timeless….

There’s a reason the  Crime Writers’ Association (British) added two of Ruth Rendell’s books to their Top 100 Crime Novels of All Time and the Mystery Writers of America added one of her mysteries to their  Top 100 Crime Novels of All Time list!

[As usual, I ask that you don’t tell us about the mystery books you read that you didn’t like.]

What terrific Cozy Mystery book(s) did you read during December 2014 that you think the rest of us would definitely enjoy reading, and why did you enjoy it (them)?

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

Victoria Abbott (Mary Jane Maffini & Victoria Maffini): Book Collector Mystery Series

Isabella Alan (aka Amanda Flower): Amish Quilt Shop Mystery Series

Nancy Atherton: Aunt Dimity Mystery Series

Donald Bain: Capital Crimes Mystery Series

Juliet Blackwell (aka Hailey Lind): Haunted Home Renovation Mystery Series

Rhys Bowen: Royal Spyness Mystery Series

Simon Brett: Fethering Mystery Series

Duffy Brown: Cycle Path Mystery Series

Rita Mae Brown: Mrs. Murphy Mystery Series

Molly Cox Bryan: Cumberland Creek Mystery Series

Lucy Burdette (aka Roberta Isleib): Key West Food Critic Mystery Series

Lynn Cahoon: Tourist Trap Mystery Series

V.C. Clinton-Baddeley: No Case for the Police

Shelley Costa: Miracolo Mystery Series

Cleo Coyle (aka Alice Kimberly): Coffeehouse Mystery Series

Kathi Daley: Zoe Donovan Mystery Series

Evelyn David: Ghosts of Lottawatah Mystery Series

Krista Davis: Domestic Diva Mystery Series

Cyril Hare: An English Murder (Stand Alone)

Sherry Harris: Sarah Winston Garage Sale Mystery Series (Tagged for Death – book #1)

Carolyn Hart: Bailey Ruth Ghost Mystery Series

Betty Hechtman: Crochet Mystery Series

Lee Hollis: Hayley Powell Food & Cocktail Mystery Series

Maria Hudgins: Lacy Glass Archaeology Mystery Series

Julie Hyzy: White House Chef Mystery Series

Miranda James (aka Honor Hartman, Jimmie Ruth Evans, & Dean James): Southern Ladies Mystery Series

Miranda James (aka Honor Hartman, Jimmie Ruth Evans, & Dean James): Cats in the Stacks Mystery Series

Diane Kelly: Tara Holloway Death and Taxes Mystery Series

Sofie Kelly (aka Sofie Ryan): Magical Cats Mystery Series

Joyce and Jim Lavene (aka J.J. Cook & Ellie Grant): Retired Witches Mystery Series

Joyce and Jim Lavene (aka J.J. Cook & Ellie Grant): Pet Psychic Mystery Series

Joyce and Jim Lavene (aka J.J. Cook & Ellie Grant): Renaissance Faire Mystery Series

T.C. LoTempio: Nick and Nora Mystery Series (Meow If It’s Murder – book #1)

Charlotte MacLeod (aka Alisa Craig): Peter Shandy Mystery Series

Susan Elia MacNeal: Maggie Hope Mystery Series

Rose Pressey: A Haunted Vintage Mystery (If You’ve Got It, Haunt It – book #1)

Ann Purser: Lois Meade Mystery Series

Spencer Quinn (aka Peter Abrahams): Chet and Bernie Mystery Series

Hannah Reed (aka Deb Baker): Scottish Highlands Mystery Series

Ruth Rendell: Inspector Wexford Mystery Series

Ruth Rendell: The Girl Next Door 

Connie Shelton: Samantha Sweet 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.]

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

P.S. While I try to respond to all of the comments that are made on the Cozy Mystery blog, I generally don’t respond to the comments on these monthly recommendation entries.

First Person Narrator in Cozy Mysteries

Recently, I was asked the following question, by mystery reader Garaghty:

… So, I have a strange question: Have (you) come across a cozy written from the first person point of view? I know that a feature of the cozy is that intimacy, where the reader solves right along with the likable protagonist, but I’ve noticed that most are still written in 3rd person.  I was wondering if you knew of an exception…

Thank you, Garaghty, for such an interesting question, and I hope you come to love Cozies as much as I do! My initial response was that I have read very few Cozies that have been written from a first person point of view, but the more I thought about it, the more examples I came up with that actually use the first person perspective to help immerse the reader into the setting.

Agatha Christie herself, perhaps the greatest Cozy Mystery author ever, occasionally used first person perspective, especially early in her career. Poirot’s chief assistant and friend, Captain Arthur Hastings, was her most common narrator, narrating both the first Poirot case, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, as well as the last, Curtain – if you’re interested in reading a first person point of view Cozy, the Mysterious Affair at Styles would be an excellent selection!

Another excellent example of first person point of view in Cozy Mysteries is one of the earliest examples of detective fiction, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Though not considered a Cozy at the time (obviously, since the term “Cozy” wouldn’t be coined for decades), the Sherlock Holmes novels have many of the elements later covered by Cozies – an amateur (albeit brilliant, in the case of Holmes) detective, solving cases using a unique perspective not shared by the police, with relatively little graphic bloodshed or other unsavory elements. All of Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes famous cases were narrated by his faithful chronicler and assistant, Doctor Watson. Even the few mysteries where Watson was absent for part of the mystery were often recounted afterwards as Watson’s retelling of Holmes’s story, such as in The Adventure of the Empty House, when Holmes explains how he managed to survive what seemed like certain death at Reichenbach Falls.

That said, it is worth noting that the individual we follow in these novels is rarely the detectives themselves, but is far more often their primary assistant. I think this is because entering the mind of the detective is often too much of a risk – exposing the “inner workings” of a genius mind like Sherlock Holmes while retaining the character’s mystique might be too tall an order, even for the character’s creator! There are some exceptions – Christie did have Miss Marple narrate one story, Miss Marple Tells a Story, though portrayed as a letter to her nephew Raymond after the fact rather than as the case occurred – but these seem to be exceptions rather than the rule.

Even using the assistant has the risk of making the narrator seem slow or incompetent, especially if the reader can solve the puzzle faster than the narrator. With a more traditional third-person point of view, there is always some question when exactly the detective learns who committed the crime – hardly a possibility if we know their every thought! In some circles, a relatively slow, bumbling character who only exists to ask questions for the detective to answer is often referred to as “the Watson”, despite the fact that as a medical doctor, Watson must have been quite intelligent in his own right! Unfortunately it only takes one or two cases where the narrator seems at a loss while the reader has already noticed the true culprit before a character’s credibility is seriously damaged. A more distant detective might instead reasonably claim that they were waiting for decisive evidence to move against the criminal, who they naturally identified much earlier.

I can think of two more books and one series that have the first person perspective right off the top of my head: Marion Babson‘s The Twelve Deaths of Christmas, Agatha Christie‘s The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, and Spencer Quinn‘s Chet and Bernie Mystery Series, although, Chet is a first tail-waggin’ narrator!

Yikes! It looks like I’ve gone a little longer than I realized on this one! Thanks again, Garaghty, for such a good question – I hope I answered it fully!

Can anyone else think of some good examples of first person point of view in Cozies? Please leave a comment!

P.S. I am getting so many great comments about mysteries that are told in the first person perspective that, rather than list them on this entry, I’m going to highlight them in the comments so that if you’re interested, you can check the authors out. Be sure to read the terrific comments!

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