The Cozy Mystery List Blog

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

Mystery Books with Men as Sleuths – Male Amateur Sleuths, That Is

There is one place that I can name where “Equal rights for women.” has been taken very seriously, and that is in the amateur sleuth mystery book realm. Let’s face it, men simply are a very tiny, itsy-bitsy minority in the amateur sleuth world!

I have received several letters from people asking that I include this theme. The latest letter is from Carla:

“I was wondering if you could add another theme to your list.  It is very hard to find cozy mysteries with male protagonists.   It seems that mysteries with male detectives seem to be more procedurals and have a harder edge.  I prefer cozy mysteries with amateur detectives.”

Men as Amateur Sleuths in Cozy Mystery Series:

Peter Abresch: James P. Dandy Elderhostel Mystery Series (ex-physical therapist)

Bruce Alexander (aka Bruce Cook): Sir John Fielding Mystery Series (18th century judge)

Jeffrey Allen (aka Jeff Shelby): Stay at Home Dead (stay-at-home dad)

Margery Allingham: Albert Campion Mystery Series (semi nobility)

L.L. Bartlett (aka Lorna Barrett & Lorraine Bartlett: Jeff Resnick Mystery Series

Mike Befeler: Paul Jacobson Geezer Lit Mystery Series (octogenarian)

Lilian Jackson Braun: The Cat Who Mystery Series (journalist)

Simon Brett: Charles Paris Mystery Series (actor)

C. S. Challinor: Rex Graves Mystery Series (Scottish barrister)

G. K. Chesterton: Father Brown Mystery Series (British priest)

Jeffrey Cohen (aka E. J. Copperman): Aaron Tucker Mystery Series (stay-at-home dad)

Jeffrey Cohen (aka E. J. Copperman): Double Feature Mystery Series (owner of a theater)

Edmund Crispin: Gervaise Fen Mystery Series (Oxford professor)

Lindsey Davis: Marcus Didius Falco Mystery Series (ancient Roman detective)

Aaron Elkins: Gideon Oliver Mystery Series (professor of Anthropology)

Janet Gleeson: The Grenadillo Box (journeyman carpenter)

Lee Goldberg: Diagnosis Murder Mystery Series (doctor)

Jane Haddam: Gregor Demarkian Mystery Series (retired FBI agent)

The Hardy Boys: Credited under Franklin W. Dixon, but written by many ghost authors

Edward D. Hoch: Dr. Sam Hawthorn Mystery Series (country doctor)

Victoria Houston: Loon Lake Fishing Mystery Series (retired dentist)

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

Harry Kemelman: Rabbi Small Mystery Series (rabbi)

John J. Lamb: Bear Collectors’ Mystery Series (retired police detective)

Jane Langton: Homer Kelly Mystery Series (professor)

Peter Lovesey: Bertie, Prince of Wales Mystery Series

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

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

Deborah Morgan: Antique Lovers’ Mystery Series (antiques dealer)

Tim Myers  (aka Elizabeth Bright, Melissa Glazer, Chris Cavender, & Casey Mayes): Lighthouse Inn Mystery Series (lighthouse inn keeper) & Soapmaking Mystery Series & Candlemaking Mystery Series

Robin Paige (aka Susan Wittig Albert and husband Bill Albert): Kate Ardleigh Sheridan & Sir Charles Sheridan Mystery Series (Victorian, nobility)

Hugh Pentecost: Pierre Chambrun Mystery Series (hotel manager)

Ellis Peters: Brother Cadfael Mystery Series (Medieval herbalist monk)

Ellery Queen: Ellery Queen Mystery Series (mystery author)

David Roberts: Lord Edward Corinth Mystery Series (nobility)

Sax Rohmer: Fu Manchu Mystery Series

Sapper: Bulldog Drummond Mystery Series

Dorothy L. Sayers: Lord Peter Wimsey Mystery Series (nobility)

Steven Saylor: Roma Sub Rosa Mystery Series (one century B.C. Roman investigator)

Malcolm Shuman: Alan Graham Mystery Series

J. B. Stanley (aka Jennifer Stanley, Ellery Adams, & 1/2 of Lucy Arlington): Supper Club Mystery Series (“retired” professor, librarian)

Dornford Yates: Chandos Mystery Series

Margaret Yorke: Dr. Patrick Grant Mystery Series (professor)

Sherban Young: Stand Alones

If you know of any other Men as Amateur Sleuths in Cozy Mystery Series, please post a comment. Thank you!

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

August 2012 Mystery Book New Releases

The following Mystery Books will be released in August 2012:

Sarah Andrews: Rock Bottom (This will be the 11th in the Em Hansen Mystery Series.)

Connie Archer: A Spoonful of Murder (This will be the 1st in the NEW Soup Lover’s Mystery Series.)

Jessica Beck: Powdered Peril (This will be the 8th in the Donut Shop Mystery Series.)

Heather Blake (aka Heather Webber) A Witch before Dying (This will be the 2nd in the Witchcraft Mystery Series)

Rita Mae Brown: Sneaky Pie for President (This will be the 21st in the Mrs. Murphy Mystery Series.)

Nancy Bush: Nowhere To Run (This will be a Stand Alone.)

Kate Carlisle: Peril in Paperback (This will be the 6th in the Bibliophile Mystery Series.)

Judy Clemens: Dying Echo (This will be the 4th in the Grim Reaper Mystery Series.)

Barbara Cleverly: Not My Blood (This will be the 10th in the Joe Sandilands Mystery Series.)

Peg Cochran (aka Meg London): Allergic to Death (This will be the 1st in the NEW Gourmet De-Lite Msytery Series.)

Sheila Connolly (aka Sarah Atwell): Sour Apples (This will be the 6th in the Orchard Mystery Series.)

Cleo Coyle (aka Alice Kimberly): A Brew to a Kill (This will be the 11th in the Coffeehouse Mystery Series.)

Bill Crider: Murder of a Beauty Shop Queen (This will be the 19th in the Dan Rhodes Mystery Series.)

Carol Culver (aka Grace Carroll): Never Say Pie (This will be the 2nd in the Pie Shop Mystery Series.)

Carole Nelson Douglas: Cat in a White Tie and Tails (This will be the 24th in the Midnight Louie Mystery Series.)

Kaitlyn Dunnett (aka Kathy Lynn Emerson): Bagpipes, Brides, and Homicides (This will be the 6th in the Liss MacCrimmon Mystery Series.) (Actually, July 31)

Anthea Fraser: A Question of Identity (This will be the 8th in the Rona Parish Mystery Series.)

Jeanne Glidewell: Haunted (This will be the 3rd in the Lexie Starr Mystery Series.) (This will be a Halloween theme mystery.)

William Kent Krueger: Trickster’s Point (This will be the 12th in the Cork O’Connor Mystery Series.)

Laura Levine: Death of A Neighborhood Witch (This will be the 11th in the Jaine Austen Mystery Series.) (This will be a Halloween theme mystery.)

Laura Lippman: And When She Was Good (This will be a Stand Alone.)

Virginia Lowell: When the Cookie Crumbles (This will be the 3rd in the Cookie Cutter Shop Mystery Series.)

Nancy Martin: No Way to Kill a Lady (This will be the 8th in the Blackbird Sisters Mystery Series.)

Louise Penny: The Beautiful Mystery (This will be the 8th in the Chief Inspector Gamache Mystery Series.)

Kathy Reichs: Bones Are Forever (This will be the 15th in the Temperance Brennan Mystery Series.)

Ruth Rendell (aka Barbara Vine): The St. Zita Society (This will be a Stand Alone.)

Maggie Sefton: Deadly Politics (This will be the 1st in the NEW Molly Malone Mystery Series.)

Joanna Campbell Slan: Death of a Schoolgirl (This will be the 1st in the NEW Jane Eyre Chronicles Mystery Series.)

Melinda Wells (aka Linda Palmer): Seven-Layer Death (This will be the 5th in the Della Cooks Mystery Series.)

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

The Cozy Chicks Kitchen

Have you ever read a Cozy Mystery culinary themed book and thought you absolutely HAD to try a recipe? Have you ever listened to a Cozy Mystery culinary themed book and thought that a recipe being described sounded wonderful,  but alas, since you didn’t own a hard copy of the book, you couldn’t try the recipe?

Well, seven Cozy Mystery authors have gotten together and decided to do something about those types of “problems”.  The book is called The Cozy Chicks Kitchen, and the seven authors are:

Ellery Adams/J. B. Stanley (Charmed Pie Shoppe Mystery Series & Supper Club Mystery Series),

Deb Baker/Hannah Reed (Yooper Mystery Series & Beekeeping Mystery Series),

Lorraine Bartlett (Victoria Square Mystery Series),

Kate Collins (Flower Shop Mystery Series),

Maggie Sefton (Knitting Mystery Series),

Leann Sweeney (Cats in Trouble Mystery Series), and

Heather Webber (Lucy Valentine Mystery Series).

In the book’s description, it says they cover all types of food categories: appetizers, entrées, vegetable sides, soups and salads, desserts, and even drinks.

Several people have written to tell me about the book, so that I could tell you all. It sounds like a really cute premise for a cookbook, and I’m hoping that authors who typically include several recipes at the end of their Cozy Mystery books (like Diane Mott Davidson) take up this great idea and put out cookbooks of their own. (Actually, with my cooking skills, I doubt I could replicate any of Goldy Bear’s recipes!)

Cozy Mystery Books Recommendations – June 2012

Since we started this monthly recommendation of Cozy Mystery books, I have tried several new authors who some of you recommended… about a dozen. I thank you all for your previous recommendations! I have added a few of the new-to-me authors you all recommended to my list of “favorite authors” –  and will soon be reading  the second mysteries in their series.

These monthly recommendations of authors are great ways for us to take a look at your authors, and read the reasons you like them. Then, for those of us who are looking for the same things you listed, we can try the authors. So, please nominate one, two, or even three of your favorite Cozy Mystery authors who you read during the month of June 2012, and please tell us why you enjoyed the authors’ mystery books. (And, please don’t tell us about the authors you tried reading and didn’t like.)

What Cozy Mystery book (or author) have you read during June 2012, and why did you enjoy it (or him/her)?

Here are the current authors who some of you have read this past month, and wanted to tell the rest of us about:

Nancy Atherton: Aunt Dimity Mystery Series

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

K. K. Beck: Iris Cooper Mystery Series

Emily Brightwell: Mrs. Jeffries Mystery Series

Frances Brody: Kate Shackelton Mystery Series

Heron Carvic: Miss Setton Mystery Series

Erika Chase: Ashton Corners Book Club Mystery Series

Laura Crum: Gail McCarthy Mystery Series

Krista Davis: Domestic Diva Mystery Series

Anna Dean: Dido Kent Mystery Series

Charlotte & Aaron Elkins: Alix London Mystery Series

Janet Evanovich: Stephanie Plum Mystery Series

Judy Fitzwater: Jennifer Marsh Mystery Series

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

Anne George: Southern Sisters Mystery Series

Isidore Haiblum: Murder in Gotham

Victoria Hamilton: Vintage Kitchen Mystery Series

Janice Hamrick: Jocelyn Shore Mystery Series

B. B. Haywood: Candy Holliday Mystery Series

Hazel Holt: Mrs. Malory Mystery Series

P. D. James: Adam Dalgliesh Msytery Series

Rita Lakin: Gladdy Gold Mystery Series

Edward Marston (aka Conrad Allen & Keith Miles): Railway Detective Mystery Series

Nancy Martin: Blackbird Sisters Mystery Series

Leslie Meier: Lucy Stone Mystery Series

Julie Moffett: No One to Trust

Katherine Hall Page: Faith Fairchild Mystery Series

Patricia Rockwell: Bingoed, an Essie Cobb Senior Sleuth Mystery Series

Sax Rohmer: Hangover House

Mark Schweizer: Liturgical Msytery Series

Cynthia Smith: Emma Rhodes Mystery Series

Lillian Stewart: The Blue Hackle 

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

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