The Cozy Mystery List Blog

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

Mystery Books with Mothers as Sleuths (Single, Married, Widowed, or Divorced)

Barbara recently asked:

… Does anyone know of another cozy series where the lead character is a woman (single, divorced, or married) with kids?… I was wondering if there was another cozy series where the “heroine” has children. Thanks for any input…

Here is a list of mystery books that feature Mothers as Sleuths. These moms are either single, married, widowed, or divorced. I have only listed the authors who can be found on the Cozy Mystery site…

Susan Wittig Albert: China Bayles Herbal Mystery Series

Laura Alden: PTA Mystery Series

Donna Andrews: Meg Langslow Mystery Series

C. C. Benison: Father Christmas Mystery Series (Tom Christmas is a widowed father.)

Kate Borden: Peggy Jean Turner Mystery Series

Dorothy Cannell: Ellie Haskell Mystery Series

Kaye George (aka Janet Cantrell): Imogene Duckworthy Mystery Series

Nora Charles (aka Noreen Wald): Kate Kennedy Mystery Series

Jill Churchill: Jane Jeffry Mystery Series

E. J. Copperman (aka Jeffrey Cohen): Haunted Guesthouse Mystery Series

Deborah Crombie: Kincaid & James Mystery Series

Mary Daheim: Hillside Manor Bed & Breakfast Mystery Series

Diane Mott Davidson: Goldy Bear Mystery Series

Carola Dunn: Daisy Dalrymple Mystery Series

Nancy Fairbanks (aka Nancy Herndon): Culinary Food Writer Mystery Series

Sharon Fiffer: Jane Wheel Mystery Series

Yasmine Galenorn (aka India Ink): Chintz ‘n China Mystery Series

Sarah Graves: Home Repair is Homicide Mystery Series

Kerry Greenwood: Phryne Fisher Mystery Series

Terris McMahan Grimes: Theresa Galloway Mystery Series

Joan Hess: Claire Malloy Mystery Series

Lee Hollis: Hayley Powell Food & Cocktail Mystery Series

Jane Isenberg: Bel Barrett Mystery Series

J. A. Jance:Joanna Brady Mystery Series

Alice Kimberly (aka Cleo Coyle): Haunted Bookshop Mystery Series

Evan Marshall: Jane Stuart & Winky Mystery Series

Tamar Myers: Den of Antiquity Mystery Series

Diana Orgain: Maternal Instincts Mystery Series

Katherine Hall Page: Faith Fairchild Mystery Series

Sara Rosett: Mom Zone Mystery Series

Cindy Sample: Laurel McKay Mystery Series

Joanna Campbell Slan: Kiki Lowenstein Scrap-n-Craft Mystery Series

Sarah Stohmeyer: Hairdresser Mystery Series

Teresa Trent: Pecan Bayou Mystery Series

Elaine Viets: Josie Marcus, Mystery Shopper Mystery Series

If you can think of any other sleuths who are mothers of children still at home, please post a comment.

PS>>>> GOOD GRIEF!!!! How about my Stay-at-Home Moms Mystery Series?!?

You would think I could have remembered this theme!!! My excuse is that I wrote it in April of 2008>>> which clearly is not a valid excuse! But, in all fairness, this is not limited to Stay-at-Home Moms. For example, Kate Borden’s Peggy Jean Turner is the mayor of her town AND Diane Mott Davidson’s Goldy Bear runs a successful catering business. Claire Malloy (Joan Hess) is the owner of a book store. So for a more in-depth list of Mothers as Sleuths, you could incorporate both of these themes…

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

July 2011 Mystery Book New Releases

The following Mystery Books will be Released in July 2011:

Jeff Abbott: Adrenaline (This will be the 1st in the NEW Sam Capra Thriller Series…)

Susan Wittig Albert: The Darling Dahlias and the Naked Ladies (This will be the 2nd in the Darling Dahlias Mystery Series…)

Donna Andrews: The Real Macaw (This will be the 13th in the Meg Langslow Mystery Series…)

Annette Blair: Skirting the Grave (This will be the 4th in the Vintage Magic Mystery Series…)

Alys Clare: The Rose of the World (This will be the 13th in the Hawkenlye Mystery Series…)

Sheila Connolly (aka Sarah Atwell): Let’s Play Dead (This will be the 2nd in the Museum Mystery Series…)

Bill Crider: The Wild Hog Murders (This will be the 18th in the Sheriff Dan Rhodes Mystery Series…)

Kate Ellis: Kissing the Demons (This will be the 3rd in the Joe Plantagenet Mystery Series…)

P. L. Gaus: Harmless as Doves (This will be the 7th in the Ohio Amish Country Mystery Series…)

Patricia M. Hale: How to Moon a Cat (This will be the 3rd in the Cats and Curios Mystery Series…)

Reginald Hill (aka Patrick Ruell): The Woodcutter (This will be a Stand Alone…)

Suzette A. Hill: A Bedlam of Bones (This will be the 5th in the Reverend Oughterard Mystery Series…)

J. A. Jance: Betrayal of Trust (This will be the 20th in the J. P. Beaumont Mystery Series…)

Victoria Laurie: Vision Impossible (This will be the 9th in the Psychic Eye Mystery Series…)

Laura Levine: Pampered to Death (This will be the 10th in the Jaine Austen Mystery Series…)

Ada Madison (aka Camille Minichino & Margaret Grace): The Square Root of Murder (This will be the 1st in the NEW Sophie Knowles Mystery Series…)

Jenn McKinlay (aka Lucy Lawrence): Books Can Be Deceiving (This will be the 1st in the NEW Library Lover’s Mystery Series…)

Cricket McRae: Wined and Died (This will be the 5th in the Home Crafting Mystery Series…)

Perri O’Shaughnessy: Dreams of the Dead (This will be the 13th in the Nina Reilly Mystery Series…)

David Rosenfelt: One Dog Night (This will be the 9th in the Andy Carpenter Mystery Series…)

Margaret Truman: Monument to Murder (This will be the 16th in the Capital Crimes Mystery Series…)

Melinda Wells (aka Linda Palmer): Pie à la Murder (This will be the 4th in the Della Cooks Mystery Series…)

Patricia Wynn: A Killing Frost (This will be the 4th in the Blue Satan Mystery Series…)

***No Rest for the Dead (One mystery novel written by 26 Best Selling Mystery Authors – Including: Jeff Abbot, Jeffery Deaver, J. A. Jance, Faye Kellerman, Lisa Scottoline, Alexander McCall Smith, Kathy Reichs, Marcia Talley, w/introduction by David Baldacci)

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

Authors Who Are Similar to Leslie Meier

I received a request for a list of authors who write Cozy Mysteries that are similar to those written by Leslie Meier. So, here goes!

Authors Who Are Similar to Leslie Meier:

Donna Andrews: Meg Langslow Mystery Series

Kate Borden (aka Kate Grilley): Peggy Jean Turner Mystery Series

Laura Childs: Tea Shop Mystery Series

Jill Churchill: Jane Jeffry Mystery Series

Cleo Coyle (aka Alice Kimberly) : Coffee House Mystery Series

Mary Daheim: Emma Lord Mystery Series AND Hillside Manor Bed & Breakfast Mystery Series

Diane Mott Davidson: Goldy Bear Catering Mystery Series

Monica Ferris: Needlecraft Mystery Series

Joanne Fluke: Cookie Jar Mystery Series

Earlene Fowler: Benni Harper Mystery Series

Carolyn Haines: Sarah Booth Delaney Mystery Series

Caroline Hart: Death on Demand Mystery Series

Betty Hechtman: Crochet Mystery Series

Joan Hess: Claire Malloy Mystery Series

Tamar Myers: Pennsylvania Dutch Inn Mystery Series

Maggie Sefton: Knitting Mystery Series

Elaine Viets: Dead End Job Mystery Series AND Mystery Shopper Mystery Series

Valerie Wolzien: Susan Henshaw Mystery Series

Please post your recommendations of authors who are similar to Leslie Meier, and I will add them to the list.

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

Authors Similar to Carola Dunn

Diana sent me a letter asking for help finding authors similar to sleuth Daisy Dalrymple’s creator, Carola Dunn:

“I’m hoping you’ll be willing to give me a suggestion or two – I especially love …  Carola Dunn (Daisy Dalrymple).  … do you have any specific author suggestions?”

I am going to start the list off with Jacqueline Winspear (who Diana suggested in her letter) and some other authors who I think Diana might be able to substitute Carola Dunn with, now that she is all caught up with Dunn’s Daisy Dalrymple mysteries.

Authors Who Are Similar to Carola Dunn:

Susan Wittig Albert: Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter Mystery Series

Nancy Atherton: Aunt Dimity Mystery Series

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

Rhys Bowen: Molly Murphy Mystery Series AND Lady Georgiana Mystery Series

Emily Brightwell: Mrs. Jeffries Mystery Series

Marion Chesney (aka M. C. Beaton): Edwardian Murder Mystery Series

Jeanne M. Dams: Dorothy Martin Mystery Series

Dianne Day: Freemont Jones Mystery Series

Ann Granger: Markby & Mitchell Village Whodunit Mystery Series

Kerry Greenwood: Phryne Fisher Mystery Series and Corinna Chapman Mystery Sereis

Kate Kingsbury (aka Rebecca Kent): Pennyfoot Hotel Mystery Series

Catriona McPherson: Dandy Gilver Mystery Series

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

Victoria Thompson: Gaslight Mystery Series

Jacqueline Winspear: Maisie Dobbs Mystery Series

Please post your recommendations of authors who are similar to Carola Dunn, and I will add them to the list.

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

MENU