I previously wrote about one friend of mine who has almost the same/exact taste for cozy mystery books that I have. I have yet another friend who has a somewhat different taste for cozy mystery books, with her preference sometimes going for the more "hard-boiled" mysteries, but at the same time, she likes one particular "funny" author who I just don’t like at all. This author is a huge best seller, so there are obviously many other readers who think she is tops in the cozy mystery book field. I, on the other hand, find that the particular author "tries too hard" to be funny. I am not going to name the author, and, since there are so many authors who really and truly are funny, it will probably be difficult to guess who I am referring to…

This friend of mine, with the somewhat different taste in cozy mystery books, has "turned me on to" some authors who I never would have tried. And, I have added many of those authors to my "favorite author" list. I never would have guessed that I would like Jeffery Deaver, Michael Connelly, Harlan Coben, but, I DO!

I guess that the moral of this blogging story is that sometimes you have to go outside the box (or should I say "book"?) and try different authors. Who knows, you may surprise yourself and enjoy someone who you had absolutely no intention of ever trying.

I have one friend in particular who shares the same likes and dislikes as I do when it comes to cozy mystery books and authors. When she recommends a cozy mystery author or cozy mystery series to me, I am 99% sure that I will share her opinion of the author or series. There have been very few times that I have tried one of "her" authors or series that I didn’t end up adding to my "favorites" list.

This particular friend has told me about many authors who I now follow. She also shares my enjoyment for reading seasonal/holiday cozy mysteries. I know that I can safely add an unknown (to me) recommended author to my Amazon wish list. I hope that I have been able to supply her with at least half of the author/series ideas that she has shared with me.  I am always in quest of a good cozy mystery book to read, and enjoy getting her suggestions.

 

As I have been compiling the lists of cozy mystery book authors, I have included several authors who I have not yet read. It’s not because I don’t want to read them, it’s simply that I haven’t had the time or opportunity to read every one of these authors.

Among all of the authors I have listed, the majority of them are authors who I have tried. My problem is that once I find that I like an author, I tend to want to continue reading all of the books the author has written until I catch up to the current published book of the author. When you look at the lists of series, you can see that this can be very  time consuming.

I remember when I discovered the Hamish Macbeth series by M. C. Beaton. I started the series at the beginning (as I like to do) and it took me a while to get myself "all caught up." Unfortunately, I had to put a lot of my other favorite authors "on hold."

Of course, once I "catch up" with the author, then I am disappointed that I have to wait for the publication of the next book of the series.  It seems like I am happiest when I have the luxury of simply starting the next book of the series, and not when I have to wait for the author to finish up a book.

I also have included many authors who my friends strongly recommend. Since I have friends who love to read mysteries as much as I do, I anticipate reading some of their favorite authors, knowing that I will soon have more wonderful books to add to my "catch up" pile.

 I am at the "end of the line" with several of my favorite authors, and sure do wish that they would hurry up and publish their next books!