Can you believe the year 2012 is almost over? I can’t! It seems like I just got used to putting “2012” on what little I actually write, and already I know that I’m going to have to get used to “2013.”

And since it is the end of November, it is the time when I ask you to please tell us about a few of your very favorite Cozy Mystery reads of this month. The authors should be people who you think the rest of us need to know about.  They can be authors who you just started reading, or authors who you have revisited this past month. Please include WHY you enjoyed these authors. What makes these authors stand out from the other authors you read this past month, but who “didn’t rate” as much in your book?

*****

I will add the recommended authors to this entry as they come in. (Please do not tell us about the authors you did not like.) Thank you!

What Cozy Mystery book (or author) have you read during November 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:

Avery Aames: Cheese Shop Mystery Series

Ellery Adams (aka Jennifer Stanley, J. B. Stanley, 1/2 of Lucy Arlington: Mystery By the Bay Series

Tasha Alexander: Lady Emily Mystery Series

Madelyn Alt: Bewitching Mystery Series

Connie Archer: Soup Lover’s Mystery Series

Charlotte Banchi: Foul Deeds (“Cozy thriller”)

Lorna Barrett (aka Lorraine Bartlett & L. L. Bartlett): Booktown Mystery Series

M. C. Beaton: Agatha Raisin Mystery Series

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

Ali Brandon (aka Diane A.S. Stuckart): Black Cat Bookshop Mystery Series

Lilian Jackson Braun: The Cat Who *** Mystery Series

Elizabeth Lynn Casey (aka Laura Bradford): Southern Sewing Circle Mystery Series

Kate Collins: Flower Shop Mystery Series

Sheila Connolly (aka Sarah Atwell): Museum Mystery Series

Isis Crawford (aka Barbara Block): Mysteries with Recipes Mystery Series

Waverly Curtis: Barking Detective Mystery Series

Deborah Crombie: Kincaid and James Mystery Series

Krista Davis: Domestic Diva Mystery Series

Jana DeLeon: Mystere Parish Series (The Vanishing)

Barbaras Delinsky: Escape

Laura DiSilverio (aka Ella Barrick & Lila Dare): Mall Cop Mystery Series

Elizabeth J. Duncan: Penny Brannigan

Janet Evanovich: Stephanie Plum Mystery Series

Christopher Fowler: Peculiar Crimes Unit Mystery Series

Dashiell Hammett: The Thin Man

David Handler: Berger & Mitry Mystery Series

Lee Hollis: Hayley Powell Food & Cocktails Mystery Series

Maddy Hunter: Passport to Peril Mystery Series

Michael Innes: Inspector Sir John Appleby Mystery Series

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

P.D. James: Adam Dalgliesh Mystery Series

Rita Lakin: Gladdy Gold Mystery Series

Jill Marie Landis: Tikki Goddess Mystery Series (Mai Tai One On)

Amanda Lee (aka Gayle Trent): Embroidery Mystery Series

Susan Elia MacNeal: Mr. Churchill’s Secretary

Molly MacRae: Haunted Wool Shop Mystery Series

Margaret Maron: Deborah Knott Mystery Series

J. J. Marric (aka John Creasey): Gideon’s Month

Kate Morton: The Secret Keeper

Katherine Hall Page: Faith Fairchild Mystery Series

Dornford Yates: Cost Price

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

Yes, indeed, it’s that time of the month again! Time for us to share both the new (to us) authors we have discovered and/or the authors we follow. These are authors who we have read during the month of October, who we think are so good, we just want to tell everyone. (Or at least everyone who reads the Cozy Mystery blog!)

I’m going to begin by telling you about Spencer Quinn‘s Chet and Bernie Mystery Series, which is my October 2012 mystery book recommendation. I am only a little more than half-way finished with the first book in the series (Dog Gone It) but I enjoyed the prequel story and this half of the book so much, that I simply had to tell you all.

Let me start by saying that I had been contemplating reading this series ever since the first book in the series was published back in 2009. But, as with a lot of new-to-me authors, I felt like I follow so many authors already, that I sort of put this series on the back burner. All that changed when I listed the first book in the series (and then the prequel story to the series) on the Kindle Free and Kindle Cheap mystery book list. I quickly added Spencer Quinn to my long Kindle queue.

When I finished the current mystery book I was reading, I went through my rather long list of Kindle books, and thought it might be a good time to give Chet a try. I know I should say Chet and Bernie, but I have to be honest, reading a book with the first “person” narration coming from a “canine person” intrigued me. And, I am doggone happy I tried this series!

I have a deep-seated passion for dogs, and this dog hits all the right notes for me. As I mentioned, the narrator is a dog. This dog is personified just the way we used to think Sprite was. For those of you dog (and cat) owners out there, you probably know exactly what I am saying. How often do you think you know exactly what your pet is thinking?

Chet’s attention span is rather short, he is easily distracted, he is loyal beyond that word’s description, he has his own agenda – yet is passionate about following his co-worker’s plans (and by co-worker I mean his owner, although I don’t think Chet sees their relationship quite that way!), and he eats hot dogs that have been sitting under couches with much gusto; in short, Chet’s your typical dog… almost.

The only difference between Chet and a “typical” dog is that he was a K-9 school attendee. (Notice I didn’t say “graduate”>>> but you know how I feel about posting a SPOILER.) Oh, and another difference between Chet and a “typical” dog is, of course, your typical dog doesn’t narrate mysteries. (I have to admit, there was one rather harrowing part in the book in which I had to keep reminding myself that Chet and Bernie is an ongoing series, so I knew everything would turn out OK. But, again, no SPOILER here.)

Do not be fooled by the idea of a dog narrating the mystery. This is not a mystery series that is suitable for children. This is definitely a mystery series written by an adult, for adults. But, so far, other than that one tense, small part, I have felt good while reading this mystery. Chet makes me smile. So, I guess you could say that Spencer Quinn makes me smile. I think that the Chet and Bernie Mystery Series might make you smile!

*****

I will add the recommended authors to this entry as they come in. (Please do not tell us about the authors you did not like.) Thank you!

What Cozy Mystery book (or author) have you read during October 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:

Susan Wittig Albert: Darling Dahlias Mystery Series

Jeffrey Allen: Stay at Home Dad Mystery Series

Lucy Arlington (aka Jennifer Stanley & Sylvia May): Novel Idea Mystery Series

Jessica Beck: Donut Shop Mystery Series

Melissa Bourbon:Magical Dressmaking Mystery Series

Laura Bradford (aka Elizabeth Lynn Casey): Amish Mystery Series

Michael Brandman (Robert B. Parker’s successor): Robert B. Parker’s Fool Me Twice

Duffy Brown: Consignment Shop Mystery Series

JoAnna Carl (aka Eve K. Sandstrom): Chocoholic Mystery Series

Laura Childs: Tea Shop Mystery Series AND Scrapbooking Mystery Series

Kate Collins: Flower Shop Mystery Series

Lesley Cookman: Libby Sarjeant Mystery Series

Susan Rogers Cooper: Milt Kovak Mystery Series

Cleo Coyle: Coffee House Mystery Series

Philip R. Craig: Martha’s Vineyard Mystery Series

Isis Crawford (aka Barbara Block): Mysteries with Recipes Mystery Series

Jeanne M. Dams: Dorothy Martin Mystery Series

Dianne Mott Davidson: Goldy Bear Mystery Series

Ruth Dudley Edwards: Robert Amiss Mystery Series

Tim Ellis: Parish & Richards Mystery Series (#1 A Life for a Life)

Joanne Fluke: Hannah Swensen Cookie Jar Mystery Series

Shelley Freydont: Celebration Bay Mystery Series

Anne George: Southern Sisters Mystery Series

Carolyn Hart: Nela Farley Mystery Series

Ellen Hart: Jane Lawless Mystery Series

Veronica Heley: Ellie Quicke Mystery Series

Ellen Elizabeth Hunter: Magnolia Mystery Series

Judith K. Ivie: Kate Lawrence Mystery Series

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

Sofie Kelly: Magical Cats Mystery Series

Janice Law: Anna Peters Mystery Series (A Safe Place to Die)

Meg London (aka Peg Cochran): Sweet Nothings Vintage Lingerie Mystery Series

Susan Elia MacNeal: Mr. Churchill’s Secretary

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

Spencer Quinn (aka Peter Abrahams): Chet and Bernie Mystery Series

Cynthia Riggs: Martha’s Vineyard Mystery Series

Sara Rosett: Ellie Avery Mystery Series

Paige Shelton: Country Cooking School Mystery Series

Denise Swanson: Scumble River Mystery Series

Victoria Thompson: Gaslight Mystery Series

Elaine Viets: Dead-End Job Mystery Series

Peggy Webb: Southern Cousins Mystery Series

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