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♦

I can’t believe that May is almost over! What a month!!! School terms are over,  neighborhood pools are opening, barbecues are being heated up, and birds are VERY abundant. (I wish we got more Cardinals here, and less of those drab-colored Doves and House Finches!)

Since it is the end of May, how about if we share the Cozy Mystery books we have enjoyed this month? Let’s tell each other why we are “nominating” these authors as writers we think other Cozy Mystery readers should try reading >>> it they aren’t already.

Once you tell us about the author you really enjoyed, and of course, why you enjoyed him/her, I will start accumulating the authors names on a list below. Please tell us a little about why you are recommending this author/book, >>> we’d especially like to know why the author is good.  (I hate to keep droning on about this next thing, but please don’t tell us about the authors you tried reading and disliked.)

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

The Cozy Mystery author who I read this month, who I think others might really enjoy is Margaret Grace. She’s also known as Camille Minichino and Ada Madison.

Perhaps the reason I enjoy Grace so much, is that her main sleuth has a lot of the same thoughts as I do. I find her main sleuth, Gerry Porter, thinking a lot of the same things I would have thought if I had encountered the exact event. Does that make sense? I hope so. I am sure I would not be able to identify with some of Gerry’s thoughts if she weren’t such a three-dimensional character. Grace’s characters are three-dimensional characters, much like those you would encounter in “real life”.

The main characters of the Miniature Mystery Series are Gerry and her granddaughter, Maddie, who is an elementary school age girl. Their relationship is a joy to read about. Gerry simply dotes on Maddie, and the feelings are mutual. Gerry’s nephew, Skip, is a police officer in this Cozy almost-everybody-knows-everybody town. Skip is (quite often!) aggravated by his Aunt Gerry, but he loves her all the same. The relationships between all of the  characters ring true to me, and very life-like. These are “people” who I would love to know!

I really enjoy the writing style of Grace. It isn’t super flowery, with big words sprinkled in to show us just how intelligent the author is, and it also doesn’t rely on profanity to get the different moods across. We “get it” when a character is mad, even without “*!#^*” being used as adjectives and adverbs. Her writing style is effortless and smooth, a very conversational tone, without being simplistic.

I strongly recommend the Miniature Mystery Series by Margaret Grace.

April 2012 Author and Series Recommendations:

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

Charlotte Armstrong: The Turret Room & A Dram of Poison

Nancy Atherton: Aunt Dimity Mystery Series

Melissa Bourbon: Magical Dressmaking Mystery Series

Barbara Bretton: Chloe Hobbs’ Paranormal Mystery Series

Emily Brightwell: Mrs. Jeffries Mystery Series

Frances Brody: Kate Shackleton Mystery Series

Dorothy Cannell: Ellie Haskell Mystery Series

Sheila Connolly (aka Sarah Atwell): Orchard Mystery Series

Deborah Coonts: Lucky O’Toole Mystery Series

Ellen Crosby: Wine Country Mystery Series

Diane Mott Davidson: Goldy Bear Catering Mystery Series

Anna Dean: Dido Kent Mystery Series

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

Carola Dunn: Daisy Dalrymple Mystery Series

Anne George: Southern Sisters Mystery Series

Margaret Grace (aka Camille Minichino and Ada Madison): Miniature Mystery Series

Victoria Hamilton: Vintage Kitchen 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

Diane Kelly: Tara Holloway Mystery Series

Sofie Kelly: Magical Cats Mystery Series

Liz Lipperman: Clueless Cook Mystery Series

Nancy Martin: Blackbird Sisters Mystery Series

Amy Patricia Meade: Rosie the Riveter Mystery Series

Katherine Hall Page: Faith Fairchild Mystery Series

Mark Schweizer: Liturgical Mystery Series 

Paige Shelton: Farmers’ Market Mystery Series

Alexander McCall Smith: No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency Mystery Series

Leann Sweeney: Cats in Trouble Mystery Series

Marcia Talley: Hannah Ives Mystery Series

Elaine Viets: Dead End Job Mystery Series

Dornford Yates: Jonathan Mansell Mystery Series

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

It’s the end of April and, as some of you know, it is time for me to ask you all to tell us about the mystery books you all have been enjoying this month. And, of course, since this is for the Cozy Mystery site, I am hoping that you will tell us about those Cozy Mysteries you have enjoyed. (Please do not tell us about the authors you have disliked!)

I will make up a list of all of the Cozy Mystery Books Recommendations for the month of April, but will leave your comments up so that people can see the reasons you enjoyed the mystery.

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

I’m going to start this thread by telling you about a book I just finished. It’s called Never Buried, and is by Edie Claire. About a month ago, Claire contacted me to let me know that all of her Leigh Koslow “Never” mystery books are now on Kindle and Nook format. My daughter tried Claire’s first mystery in the series and wrote to tell me how much she enjoyed it. (I’m surprised she told me, since she is currently studying for her last semester finals!) I knew I had to try the book when she told me that it reminded her of Anne George’s books.

I read the book, and totally agree with her. The relationships between all of the major (and minor) characters really have a ring of authenticity. These are three dimensional “people”. There was no overtly saccharine “everybody loves everybody” relationship that I could see, these characters (like people) have their foibles and different motivations.

I also really enjoyed the “mystery part” of the book. A lot of times, I am willing to overlook a weak mystery because the characters (my most important interest) are so good. In this case, both the mystery and the characters are strong.

I strongly recommend Never Buried by Edie Claire.

April 2012 Author and Series Recommendations:

Avery Aames (aka Daryl Wood Gerber): Cheese Shop Mystery Series

Tasha Alexander: Lady Emily Mystery Series

Marian Babson:  Trixie Dolan & Evangeline Sinclair Mystery Series

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

Ella Barrick (aka Lila Dare & Laura DiSilverio): Ballroom Dance Mystery Series

M. C. Beaton: Hamish Macbeth Mystery Series

Simon Brett: Fethering Mystery Series

Emily Brightwell: Mrs. Jeffries Mystery Series

Rita Mae Brown: Mrs. Murphy Mystery Series

Lucy Burdette (aka Roberta Isleib): Key West Food Critic Mystery Series

Dorothy Cannell: Ellie Haskell Mystery Series

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

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

Edie Claire: Leigh Koslow “Never” Mystery Series

Jane K. Cleland: Josie Prescott Antiques Mystery Series

Harlan Coben: Stand Alones

Kate Collins: Flower Shop Mystery Series

Susan Conant: Dog Lover’s Mystery Series

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

Carola Dunn: Daisy Dalrymple Mystery Series

Anne Emery: Father Brennan Burke & Monty Collins, Esq. Mystery Series

Vivienne Fagan: Hilda Hopkins Mystery Series

Monica Ferris: Needlecraft Mystery Series

Amanda Flower: India Hayes Mystery Series

Carolyn Hart: Henrie O Mystery Series

B. B. Haywood: Candy Holliday Mystery Series

Marianna Heusler: St Polycarp Mystery Series

Anthony Horowitz: The House of Silk

Sofie Kelly: Magical Cats Mystery Series

Amanda Lee (aka Gayle Trent): Embroidery Mystery Series

Virginia Lowell: Cookie Cutter Shop Mystery Series

G. A. McKevett: Savannah Reid Mystery Series

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

Donna Huston Murray: Ginger Barnes Main Line Mystery Series

Mark Schweizer: Liturgical Mystery Series

Paige Shelton: Farmer’s Market Mystery Series

Charles Todd: Bess Crawford Mystery Series

Nicola Upson: Josephine Tey Mystery Series

Jacqueline Winspear: Maisie Dobbs Mystery Series

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