The Cozy Mystery List Blog

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

Mother’s Day Mystery Book List

Here are some mystery books that have a Mother’s Day theme.

Christine E. Collier…. A Holiday Sampler (Mother’s Day, Father’s Day)

Nancy Fairbanks…. Bon Bon Voyage

Martin Greenberg (editor)….. Murder for Mother (anthology)

Jane Haddam….. Murder Superior

Lee Harris….. The Mother’s Day Murder

Sue Ann Jaffarian ….. Pull My Paw (Short Story)

Patricia MacDonald…… Mother’s Day

Leslie Meier….. Mother’s Day Murder

Nancy Pickard (editor)….. Mom, Apple Pie & Murder (Anthology)

Joshua Quittner & Michelle Slatalla….. Mother’s Day

Motherhood Is Murder: Anthology with 4 mini-mysteries featuring mothers (not Mother’s Day) by Mary Daheim, Carolyn Hart, Jane Isenberg, & Shirley Rousseau Murphy

If you would like to see some other Holiday Mystery Book lists, please click here.

P.S. If you know of any other mystery books that have a Mother’s Day theme, I would appreciate it if you would post a comment. Thank you!

June 2014 Mystery Book New Releases

The following Mystery Books will be released in June 2014:

Catherine Aird: Dead Heading (This will be the 24th in the Inspector Sloan Mystery Series.)

Isabella Alan (aka Amanda Flower): Murder, Simply Stitched (This will be the 2nd in the Amish Quilt Shop Mystery Series.)

Hannah Alexander: Collateral Damage (This will be a Love Inspired Suspense mystery.)

Mary Kay Andrews (aka Kathy Hogan Trocheck): Save the Date (This will be a Stand Alone. Not a mystery.)

Donald Bain: Lights Out! (This will be a Stand Alone thriller mystery.)

David Baldacci: FaceOff (Anthology with Best Selling Mystery Authors – Including: Michael Connelly, Jeffery Deaver, Linda Fairstein, edited by David Baldacci)

Janet Bolin: Night of the Living Thread (This will be the 4th in the Threadville Mystery Series.)

Rita Mae Brown: Nine Lives to Die (This will be the 23rd in the Mrs. Murphy Mystery Series.)

Nancy Bush: I’ll Find You (This will be a Stand Alone – I think.)

Kate Carlisle: The Book Stops Here (This will be the 9th in the Bibliophile Mystery Series.)

Joelle Charbonneau: Graduation Day (This will be the 3rd in the Testing Mystery Series for Young Adults.)

Sheila Connolly (aka Sarah Atwell): Razing the Dead (This will be the 5th in the Museum Mystery Series.)

Hy Conrad: Mr. Monk Is Open for Business (This will be the 18th in the Mr. Monk Mystery Series.)

Amanda Cooper (aka Victoria Hamilton): Tempest in a Teapot (This will be the 1st in the NEW Teapot Collector Mystery Series.)

Shelley Costa: Basil Instincts (This will be the 2nd in the Miracolo Mystery Series.)

Isis Crawford (aka Barbara Block): A Catered Fourth of July (This will be the 10th in the Mystery with Recipes Mystery Series.) (This is a Fourth of July theme mystery.)

Krista Davis: The Diva Wraps It Up (This will be the 8th in the Domestic Diva Mystery Series.) (This is a Christmas theme mystery.)

Christine DeSmet: Hot Fudge Frame-Up (This will be the 2nd in the Fudge Shop Mystery Series.)

Janet Evanovich: Top Secret Twenty-one (This will be the 21st in the Stephanie Plum Mystery Series.)

Linda Fairstein: Terminal City (This will be the 16th in the Alex Cooper Mystery Series.)

Shelley Freydont: Independence Slay (This will be the 3rd in the Celebration Bay Mystery Series.) (This is a Fourth of July theme mystery.)

Frances Fyfield: Playing With Fire (This will be the 7th in the Sarah Fortune Mystery Series.) (I think it’s a novel, but it might be a novella.)

Susanna Gregory (aka 1/2 of Simon Beaufort): Death of a Scholar (This will be the 20th in the Chronicles of Matthew Bartholomew Mystery Series.)

Martha Grimes: Vertigo 42 (This will be the 23rd in the Richard Jury Mystery Series.)

April Henry: The Body in the Woods (This will be the 1st in the NEW Young Adult Point Last Seen Mystery Series.)

April Henry & Lis Wiehl: A Deadly Business (This will be the 2nd in the Mia Quinn Mystery Series.)

Victoria Houston: Dead Lil’ Hustler (This will be the 14th in the Loon Lake Fishing Mystery Series.)

Maria Hudgins: Death in an Ivory Tower (This will be the 5th in the Dotsy Lamb Mystery Series.)

Julie Hyzy: Inaugural Parade (This is a White House Chef omnibus containing books 1-3: State of the Onion, Hail to the Chef, & Eggsecutive Orders)

J.  A. Jance: The Old Blue Line (This will be a Joanna Brady novella.)

Diane Kelly: Paw Enforcement (This will be the 1st in the NEW Megan Luz Mystery Series.)

Amanda Lee (aka Gayle Trent): Thread End (This will be the 7th in the Embroidery Mystery Series.)

Anna Loan-Wilsey: A Sense of Entitlement (This will be the 3rd in the Hattie Darvish Mystery Series.)

Susan Elia MacNeal: The Prime Minister’s Secret Agent (This will be the 4th in the Maggie Hope Mystery Series.) (Actually July 1)

Nancy J. Parra (aka Nancy Coco): Engaged in Murder (This will be the 1st in the NEW Perfect Proposals Mystery Series.)

James Patterson & David Ellis: Invisible (This will be a Stand Alone.)

James Patterson & Chris Tebbetts: Save Rafe! (This will be the 3rd in the Middle School Series.)

Deanna Raybourn: Twelfth Night (This will be a Lady Julia Grey Mystery Series novella.) (This is a Christmas mystery novella.)

Larissa Reinhart: Death in Perspective (This will be the 4th in the Cherry Tucker Mystery Series.)

Emilie Richards: No River Too Wide (This is not a mystery.)

Maggie Sefton: Yarn Over Murder (This will be the 12th in the Knitting Mystery Series.)

Aimée Thurlo: Undercover Warrior (This will be a Stand Alone mystery.)

Nicola Upson: The Death of Lucy Kyte (This will be the 5th in the Josephine Tey Mystery Series.)

Jill Paton Walsh: The Late Scholar (This will be the 4th in the Peter Wimsey & Harriet Vane Mystery Series.)

Lis Wiehl & April Henry: A Deadly Business (This will be the 2nd in the Mia Quinn Mystery Series.)

Lauren Willig: That Summer (This will be a Stand Alone Mystery.)

Jacqueline Winspear: Maisie Dobbs Bundle #4 (This omnibus will include book #9 Elegy for Eddie & book #10 Leaving Everything Most Loved)

Steven Womack & Wayne McDaniel: Resurrection Bay (This will be a Stand Alone.) (This is not Cozy.)

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.)

Mystery Book Recommendations – April 2014

It’s time for our monthly Cozy Mystery book recommendations. If you are new to the Cozy Mystery site, this is the time when we (Cozy Mystery readers) tell each other about our very favorite of favorite Cozy Mystery books that we have read during the month.

For those of you who visit the Cozy Mystery page on Facebook, you already know that I have been reading (listening to) the fourteenth book in Alexander McCall Smith‘s No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon. I absolutely love this series. It is amongst the very gentlest of Cozy Mystery series. You won’t catch Precious Ramotswe (the main sleuth) walking into a dark, abandoned apartment building in the middle of the night, only to meet the killer, who has been waiting for her. Precious won’t be tailing a red herring character in her hot-rod car, nor will she running away from a knife-wielding crazed culprit.

These mysteries by Alexander McCall Smith don’t involve murder. The mysteries are more “real life” type of mysteries: tracking down a loved-one, proving someone is not who he/she claims to be, checking on beauty pageant contestants’ values; those type of “real life” mysteries.

The series takes place in Botswana and is a delightful introduction to what life in its capital (Gaborone) is like. Mma Ramotswe opens the detective agency and bases all of her detecting techniques on a book written by Clovis Andersen: The Principals of Private Detection. This book explains all of the ins and outs that Mma Ramotswe and her very capable associate detective, Mma Makutsi, employ.

The characters and relationships are the most integral part of these “mystery books.” The reader truly gets to know the people and the country, and Alexander McCall Smith is a tremendously gifted story-teller. So, I am going to start the April Mystery Book Recommendations List with him.

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

What Cozy Mystery book (or author) have you read during April 2014, and why did you enjoy it (or him/her)?

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

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

Susan Wittig Albert: China Bayles Mystery Series

Beverly Allen (aka Barbara Early): Bridal Bouquet Shop Mystery Series

Donna Andrews: Meg Langslow Mystery Series

Nancy Atherton: Aunt Dimity Mystery Series

Donald Bain & “Jessica Fletcher”: Murder, She Wrote Mystery Series

JoAnn Bassett: Islands of Aloha Mystery Series (Livin’ Lahainia Loca, book #2)

M.C. Beaton (aka Marion Chesney): Hamish Macbeth Mystery Series

Melissa Bourbon (aka Misa Ramirez): Magical Dressmaking Mystery Series

Emily Brightwell: Mrs. Jeffries Mystery Series

Lynn Cahoon: Tourist Trap Mystery Series (Guidebook to Murder, book #1)

Joelle Charbonneau: Glee Club Mystery Series

Laura Childs: Tea Shop Mystery Series

Mary Higgins Clark: I’ve Got You Under My Skin

Peg Cochran (aka Meg London): Lucille Mystery Series

Peter Conradi: Hot Dogs and Cocktails: When FDR Met King George VI at Hyde Park on Hudson (not a mystery)

J.J. Cook (aka Joyce and Jim Lavene & Ellie Grant): Biscuit Bowl Food Truck Mystery Series

J.J. Cook (aka Joyce and Jim Lavene & Ellie Grant: Sweet Pepper Fire Brigade Mystery Series

Philip R. Craig & William G. Tapply: Brady Coyne & J.W. Jackson Mystery Series (not Cozy)

Cheryl Crane: Nikki Harper Mystery Series (The Bad Always Die Twice, book #1)

Jessie Crockett: Sugar Grove Mystery Series

Mary Daheim: Emma Lord Alpine Mystery Series

Kathi Daley: T J Jensen Mystery Series

Diane Mott Davidson: Goldy Bear Mystery Series

Vicky Delany: Constable Molly Smith Mystery Series (Under Cold Stone, book #7)

Nancy DeMarco: Saving Gracie (not Cozy)

Carola Dunn: Daisy Dalrymple Mystery Series

Dawn Eastman: Family Fortune Mystery Series

Monica Ferris: Needlecraft Mystery Series

Joanne Fluke: Hannah Swensen Cookie Jar Mystery Series

Ann Granger: Markby & Mitchell Village Whodunit Mystery Series

Ellie Grant (aka Joyce and Jim Lavene & J.J. Cook): Pie in the Sky Mystery Series

Joan Hadley (aka Joan Hess): Theo Bloomer Mystery Series

Parnell Hall: Puzzle Lady Mystery Series

Victoria Hamilton (aka Amanda Cooper): Merry Muffin Mystery Series

Julie Hyzy: White House Chef Mystery Series

Julie Hyzy: Manor House Mystery Series

Sharon Ricklin Jones: River of Time (not Cozy)

Shirley Kennedy: Looking for Lucky (not Cozy)

Sherry Lewis: Senior Sleuth Fred Vickery Mystery Series

Dixie Lyle: Whiskey, Tango, and Foxtrot Mystery Series

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

Charlotte MacLeod (aka Alisa Craig): Sarah Kelling Mystery Series

Molly MacRae: Haunted Yarn Shop Mystery Series

Ngaio Marsh: Inspector Roderick Alleyn Mystery Series

Jenn McKinlay (aka Josie Belle & Lucy Lawrence): Cupcake Bakery Mystery Series

Camille Minichino (aka Margaret Grace & Ada Madison): Periodic Table Mystery Series

Gail Oust: Piper Prescott Mystery Series

Ann Purser: Ivy Beasley Mystery Series

Sara Rosett: On the Run Mystery Series

M.L. Rowland: Search and Rescue Mystery Series (Zero-Degree Murder, book #1)

Sofie Ryan (aka Sofie Kelly): Second Chance Cat Mystery Series

Susan Santangelo: Baby Boomer Mystery Series

Julia Spencer-Fleming: Adirondack Mystery Series

Alexander McCall Smith: The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency

Kathy Hogan Trocheck (aka Mary Kay Andrews): Callahan Garrity Mystery Series

Christine Wenger: Comfort Food 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. I do, however, list the recommended books!

Debbie Macomber on Hallmark’s Home and Family…

I know that a lot of you enjoy Debbie Macomber‘s Mrs. Miracle books, as well as her Cedar Cove series, and her Blossom Street series, not to mention several other series. I also know that Debbie Macomber’s books are not Cozy Mysteries, however, they are pretty Cozy, and some of you requested that I add them to the Cozy Mystery site.

I just found out that Debbie Macomber will be on the Hallmark channel this coming Wednesday (in two days) so I wanted to let you know. Here is the synopsis that I have on my DVR’s listing:

 …best-selling Debbie Macomber gives a glimpse into her new novel, “Blossom Street Brides”…

So, if you aren’t going to be home, you might want to set up your taping mode for the Hallmark channel’s Wednesday Home and Family show. I’m looking forward to the show and finding out all about Blossom Street Brides, however, I hope she also gives us a sneak peak into her Mr. Miracle… because I am pleased to tell you that Debbie Macomber will be releasing a new Mrs. Miracle book in October: Mr. Miracle. Also, making this even better news is that the Hallmark channel is going to be airing a Christmas movie. That will make it the third Mrs. Miracle movie they have given us.

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