The Cozy Mystery List Blog

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

Stephen Booth, Ellen Crosby, Eileen Davidson, & Elspeth Huxley: Four New Authors to the Cozy Mystery Site…

Yes, it’s that time again! I just added four new authors to the site and want to thank you all for the recommendations. Of course, it goes without saying that since they are just newly recommended authors, I can’t vouch for them. I haven’t read any of the four of them YET, but they do look very interesting.

Stephen Booth: Cooper & Fry Mystery Series. Stephen Booth was a journalist before he decided to become an author full-time. His series takes place in Derbyshire, England.  (He is also considered a goat expert!)

Ellen Crosby: Wine Country Mystery Series. Crosby holds a Master’s in International Relations and was a journalist. Her series takes place in Virginia and features a winery owner.

Eileen Davidson: Soap Opera Mystery Series. Davidson writes this series which is set in the world of soap operas. If any of you are fans of the very popular Young and Restless soap opera… you will no doubt recognize her name, as she has been one of the leading actresses on that particular show for years.

Elspeth Huxley: Superintendent Vachell Mystery Series. This series takes place in Kenya. When a site reader recommended Huxley for me to add to the site, I could not believe that the recommendation came at the exact same time that my husband and I were watching The Flame Trees of Thika… a non-mystery written by Huxley!

John Mortimer's Rumpole of the Bailey

The creator of one of the most memorable mystery characters has passed away. John Mortimer wrote the Rumpole of the Bailey books which have entertained many people for many years. Mortimer passed away on Friday, January 16th (2009). His creation of Horace Rumpole, a Barrister at the Old Bailey in London, is such a uniquely different character.

Horace isn’t a flashy “know it all” type of defense lawyer. If anything, the other lawyers in the office think of him as not very smart, someone who drinks a “little” more than he should, someone with whom they don’t want to chair a case. But for some reason, Horace usually wins his cases. Perhaps because he believes that everyone deserves a second chance, a third chance, a fourth chance… as many chances as it takes before they retire from their lives of crime. 

Horace is that type of character. He may not be the smartest in the group, but if he’s on your side, you have a very good chance of getting to go home instead of staying in jail. And all of this is because Horace Rumpole is a cunning barrister who is able to manipulate the system.

As a barrister himself, Mortimer was able to show the reader (and in the case of the television series, the viewer) the petty machinations of a British law office. Fortunately for us, Horace was almost oblivious to the dog-eat-dog environment. He actually seemed to prefer being at the office than going home to “She who must be obeyed.” (his wife Hilda.) Mortimer was able to make us (the readers and/or viewers) like Horace, even though Horace is very flawed.

So, although John Mortimer passed away, Horace Rumpole will live on…

Annette Blair, Kate Carlisle, & Joanne Clarey : New Authors to the Site…

I don’t know if anyone noticed, but this is the first time that I put authors on the “New Mystery Book Releases” page before I actually had added the authors to the site. Right after I get your recommendations of authors to add to the site, I add their names to the list of all of the authors who I currently have on the site. Usually, I have posted the new recommended authors before they release a new book, but not this time… (This is probably way more information than you want to know!)

I have the new authors’ little “blips” on the “What’s New” page, so I won’t repeat myself. But, here are the three new authors to the site:

Annette Blair

Kate Carlisle

Joanne Clarey

I am trying to make my way through my list of recommended authors so that I can get them posted soon. I just hate starting the new year with a back log of things I didn’t get accomplished last year!

February 2009 Mystery Book New Releases

The following mystery books will be released in February 2009:

Nancy Atherton: Aunt Dimity Slays the Dragon (This will be the 14th in the Aunt Dimity Mystery Series…)

Lorna Barrett (aka L. L. Bartlett): Bookmarked for Death (This will be the 2nd in the Booktown Mystery Series…)

M. C. Beaton (aka Marion Chesney): Death of a Witch (This will be the 25th in the Hamish Macbeth Mystery Series…)

Annette Blair: A Veiled Deception (This will be the 1st in the NEW Vintage Magic Mystery Series…)

Kate Carlisle: Homicide in Hardcover (This will be the 1st in the NEW Bibliophile Mystery Series…)

Kate Collins: Evil in Carnations (This will be the 8th in the Flower Shop Mystery Series…)

Susan Conant & Jessica Conant-Park: Fed Up (This will be the 4th in the Gourmet Girl Mystery Series…)

Jimmie Ruth Evans (aka Honor Hartman & Dean James): Leftover Dead (This will be the 5th in the Trailer Park Mystery Series…)

Linda Fairstein: Lethal Legacy (This will be the 11th in the Alexandra Cooper Mystery Series…)

Jerrilyn Farmer & Joan Rivers: Murder at the Academy Awards® (This will be the 1st in the NEW Red Carpet Murder Mystery Series…)

Joanne Fluke: Cream Puff Murder (This will be the 11th in the Cookie Jar Mystery Series…)

Margaret Grace (aka Camille Minichino): Malice in Miniature (This will be the 3rd in the Miniature Mystery Series…)

Rosemary Harris: The Big Dirt Nap (This will be the 2nd in the Dirty Business Mystery Series…)

Sue Ann Jaffarian: Booby Trap (This will be the 4th in the Odelia Grey Mystery Series…)

Alice Kimberly (aka Cleo Coyle): The Ghost and the Haunted Mansion (This will be the 5th in the Haunted Bookshop Mystery Series…)

Shirley Rousseau Murphy: Cat Playing Cupid (This will be the 14th in the Joe Grey Cat Mystery Series…)

Tamar Myers: Batter Off Dead (This will be the 17th in the Pennsylvania Dutch Inn Mystery Series…)

Robert B. Parker: Night and Day (This will be the 9th in the Jesse Stone Mystery Series…If you don’t count Back Story as a Jesse Stone mystery…)

James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge: Run for Your Life (This will be the 2nd in the Michael Bennett Mystery Series…)

Louise Penny: A Rule Against Murder (This will be the 3rd in the Three Pines Mystery Series…) (Actually Jan. 20…)

Cathy Pickens: Can’t Never Tell (This will be the 5th in the Southern Fried Mystery Series…)

Emilie Richards: A Lie for a Lie (This will be the 4th in the Ministry is Murder Mystery Series…)

Joan Rivers & Jerrilyn Farmer: Murder at the Academy Awards® (This will be the 1st in the NEW Red Carpet Murder Mystery Series…)

J. D. Robb (aka Nora Roberts): Promises in Death (This will be the 29th in the Eve Dallas Mystery Series…)

David Roberts: No More Dying (This will be the 9th in the Edward Corinth/Verity Browne Mystery Series…)

Peter Robinson: All the Colors of Darkness (This will be the 18th in the Inspector Banks Mystery Series…)

S. J. Rozan: The Shanghai Moon (This will be the 9th in the Bill Smith & Lydia Chin Mystery Series…)

Michele Scott: Corked by Cabernet (This will be the 5th in the Wine Lover’s Mystery Series…)

Dana Stabenow: Whisper to the Blood (This will be the 16th in the Kate Shugak Mystery Series…)

Melinda Wells: Death Takes the Cake (This will be the 2nd in the Della Cooks Mystery Series…)

Jacqueline Winspear: Among the Mad (This will be the 5th in the Maisie Dobbs Mystery Series…)

♦To go back to the Cozy Mystery Book New Releases page click here♦

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