Unfortunately, January won’t have any major holiday Cozy Mystery releases, which isn’t too surprising, since there won’t be any major holidays until Valentine’s Day. Fortunately, we will be able to pick up five new series from some of our favorite authors!

First up, Lorraine Bartlett will be releasing the first book in her Lotus Bay Mystery Series, titled With Baited Breath. This series will star Tori Cannon, owner of a small bait shop and motel, along with her grandfather Herb, and best friend Kathy. When a guest at the Cannon family motel turns up dead, Tori will need to enlist their help to try to get to the bottom of the mystery, before her business goes bottom up! You might be more familiar with Lorraine Bartlett under one of her other pen names – Lorna Barrett and L.L. Bartlett. Lorraine Bartlett writes the Victoria Square Mystery Series and the adventure-fantasy series, Tales of Telenia. As Lorna Barrett whe writes the Booktown Mystery Series, and as L.L. Bartlett she writes the Jeff Resnick Mystery Series.  If you’re a fan of Bartlett, regardless of name, this should be an easy pick!

Next, Kathi Daley will be putting out Romeow and Juliet, the first book in her Whales and Tails Mystery Series. Catlovers are sure to be fans of Daley’s new protagonist, Caitlin Hart, co-owner of Coffee Cat Books, as well as a part time volunteer at her aunt’s cat shelter. Caitlin doesn’t just love cats, though – it’s while out walking her dog, Cody, that she discovers the body of a local town council member. Can Caitlin – and her adorable four-legged friends – help crack this case? (Kathi Daley also writes the Zoe Donovan Mystery Series as well as the Tj Jensen Paradise Lake Mystery Series.)

Third of our five new series next month will be Sarah Graves‘ Lizzie Snow Mystery Series, Winter at the Door. This series will star Lizzie Snow, Boston cop moving to remote Bearkill, Maine, with the hope of discovering the secret of her sister’s untimely death, as well as the disappearance of her niece. She’ll be teaming up with Sheriff Cody Chevrier, who hopes that her big-city experience will help her avoid becoming the next victim of a killer who preys upon local cops – though officially the deaths are all still considered accidents and suicides. Cozy fans are probably more familiar with Graves’s long-running Home Repair is Homicide Mystery Series, a much more lighthearted Cozy Mystery series.

Next, Victoria Laurie will be releasing the first book in her upcoming young adult mystery series, the Maddie Flynn Mystery Series. Titled When, this novel will introduce us to Maddie and her unsettling ability – she can tell when someone is going to die by the numbers she sees floating above their heads. When Maddie’s mother forces her to use her questionable gift to make quick money, she predicts the imminent death of a client’s child – a prediction that quickly proves accurate. Maddie quickly finds herself both a suspect and a help for the police as more children go missing. Most of you probably already know that Victoria Laurie is the author of the Psychic Eye Mystery Series, the Ghost Hunter Mystery Series, and the children’s mystery series called the Oracles of the Delphi Mystery Series.

Finally, Lea Wait will be releasing the first book in her Mainely Needlepoint Mystery Series, titled Twisted Threads. This series will have Angie Curtis returning to her Maine coastal small-town home from the big city. Angie’s mother disappeared from Harbor Haven when Angie was just a child, and she’s returning because the disappearance has finally been revealed to be a murder. Upon returning home, another Harbor Haven resident dies – and Angie will need to look at this new death to see if there are any connections to her mother’s death. (Lea Wait also writes the Shadows Antique Print Mystery Series.)

Whew! That sure looks like a good crop of new series! Here’s hoping the rest of 2015 looks just as good!