It’s spring already! For some of you that means snow is finally drifting into the past, for others, like me, it means flowers are blooming in the trees, bushes, and ground. The beauty of spring time inspires me every year to want to take up gardening. However, the humid heat of most of spring’s days down here in San Antonio quickly brings me back to the realities of spending any more time outdoors than I need to!

Getting back to the purpose of this blog entry, I have a few Cozy Mystery News tidbits to share with you!

I have great news for all of us who are fans of Leslie Budewitz‘s Spice Shop Mystery Series. She has just signed on to write two more Cozies in that series. It’s been a long wait (since 2016) for us to be able to hang-out with Pepper Reece as she sleuths her way to solving mysteries! So, not only do we have As the Christmas Cookie Crumbles to look forward to (Budewitz’s 5th Food Lovers’ Village mystery -set during the Christmas holidays) but now we have these two more Seattle Spice Shop mysteries. Great news!

I happen to know that a lot of you enjoy holiday Cozies as much as I do! So here’s some more really good news: Lynn Cahoon will be releasing three new holiday novellas in her bestselling Tourist Trap Mystery Series. Rockets’ Dead Glare (Fourth of July), A Deadly Brew (Halloween), and Santa Puppy (Christmas). Pretty exciting for us Cozy Mystery holiday-lovers! (Lynn also writes the Farm-to-Fork Mystery Series which takes place in Idaho and features the owner of a farm to table restaurant and the Cat Latimer Mystery Series which features an ex-English professor who owns a bed and breakfast in Colorado.

Sharon Farrow (aka 1/2 of D.E. Ireland), author of the Berry Basket Mystery Series, has gotten the green light to write two more Cozies in this Lake Michigan based Cozy series. This is terrific news for those of us who have been enjoying Marlee Jacob not only running her berry shop but also have enjoyed reading about her mystery-solving exploits! Sharon Farrow, along with Meg Macy write the Eliza Doolittle & Henry Higgins Mystery Series – as D.E. Ireland.

When Kate Kingsbury stopped writing the Special Pennyfoot Hotel (Holiday) Mystery Series, the Pennyfoot Hotel Mystery Series, and her WW II Manor House Mystery Series, I thought a lot of us Cozy Mystery readers would have a real problem! Luckily, she morphed into Rebecca Kent and brought us the Bellehaven House Mystery Series and then she added Allison Kingsley to her monikers and wrote the Raven’s Nest Bookstore Mystery Series. Recently, she has been writing the Merry Ghost Inn Mystery Series (as Kate Kingsbury!) and she will be releasing Be Our Ghost, which is the 3rd Cozy that features Melanie West, a divorcee who co-owns a bed & breakfast with her grandmother. Now this is good news!

Now on to some very-much anticipated news: Rita Lakin is going to be putting out at least two more Cozies in her Gladdy Gold Mystery Series. That’s right! It’s been a long wait for those of us who follow Gladdy and her retirement community cohorts as they sleuth around Florida (and on a cruise ship). The 7th book in the series was released in 2011! I, for one, thought we had possibly seen the last of Gladdy and the girls, so this bit of news really surprised me… a very happy surprise, indeed!

Oh my goodness! T.C. LoTempio will be starting her new Purr ‘n Bark Pet Shop Mystery Series! How neat is this! As most of you know, T.C. writes the Cat Rescue Mystery Series, which stars Sydney McCall and Toby (her Taby) in North Carolina. T.C. also writes the Nick and Nora Mystery Series (That’s right – as in Nick and Nora Charles from The Thin Man movies!) – in which Nora Charles has a sandwich shop in California and Nick is her cat.

And here’s some super great news for those of us who follow the Wrexford & Sloane Mystery Series by Andrea Penrose. There is a new book slated to come out in this historical mystery series! Charlotte Sloane will have to take some time off from “being” A.J. Quill (satirical artist) to again team up with the Earl of Wrexford to solve a crime in Regency London. So, as you see, I mean super great news! Andrea also writes the (Lady Arianna Regency Mystery Series.)

I hope this month’s Cozy Mystery News update has at least one of you favorite authors on it!

P.S. Be sure to visit the Soon to be Released page on my Cozy Mystery site if you want to find out what some of your favorite Cozy Mystery authors will be releasing in the future. I’ve just added a bunch of Cozies to the list, and am in the process of adding even more!

It’s March already! And as always, time marches on, bringing us Cozy Mystery News, both good and (unfortunately this month) bad!

Anyway, here’s the Cozy Mystery News for March 2018:

Unfortunately, I have to lead off this month’s news with a very sad piece of news. Bill Crider, the author of multiple Cozy Mystery series, most notably the Sheriff Dan Rhodes Mystery Series that has been ongoing for over thirty years, passed away on February 12, 2018. He passed away in Alvin, Texas, where he served for a number of years as the Chair of the Division of English and Fine Arts at Alvin Community College.

On to more cheerful news… Linda Fairstein may not be a Cozy Mystery author, but she is a wildly successful mystery author and I know that she has quite a strong following here. So I’m glad to be able to tell you all that she has been given the go-ahead to continue her Alexandra Cooper Thriller Series for (at least!) another two entries, tentatively slated for release in early 2019 and 2020! She’s also the author of the Devlin Quick Mystery Series, which is a mystery series aimed at middle school readers. (I’m pretty sure both my children would have loved to read about Devlin’s sleuthing escapades!)

 Ellen Hart, author of the Jane Lawless Mystery Series (one of the longer-running Cozy Mystery series) – starring a restaurateur in Minneapolis, has been given the green light to continue writing (at least!) another two entries in the series. Ellen also writes the Sophie Greenway Mystery Series, starring an editor and food critic in Minneapolis. (Unsurprisingly considering both of her series are set in Minneapolis, she lives in Minnesota!)

Finally, Annelise Ryan (aka Allyson K. Abbott & Beth Amos) has been asked to not only write two more entries in her Mattie Winston Mystery Series (starring a deputy coroner in Wisconsin), but also to write two books in a spin-off series featuring a hospital social worker. Annelise also writes (as Allyson K. Abbott) the Mack’s Bar Mystery Series, starring a bar owner in Milwaukee.

That’s the Cozy Mystery News for March 2018. I know this one is a mixed bag, but I hope you can find some good news to outweigh the bad!

It seems like we just started 2018, and already we’re into February! Good grief! Why didn’t time fly like this when I was in the fifth grade? It just seems that as I get older and want time to slow down, time goes a whole lot quicker! And, February, being the shortest month of all will go even faster than January…

Enough about time >>> let’s get to the Cozy Mystery News for February 2018:

Laura Bradford (aka Elizabeth Lynn Casey) has just signed on to writing another book in her Amish Mystery Series. That’s right – Claire will be using her sleuthing skills to tackle yet another mystery. Since we haven’t seen Claire since 2016, I am delighted to find out she will be returning to us. As most of you know, Laura Bradford also writes the Emergency Dessert Squad Mystery Series, the Tobi Tobias Mystery Series, and the Jenkins & Burns Mystery Series. Also, as Elizabeth Lynn Casey,  she writes the Southern Sewing Circle Mystery Series. Great Cozy Mystery news for a lot of us!

Judy Clemens will be releasing the fifth mystery in her Grim Reaper Mystery Series. I thought this series may have been over, since the fourth book in the series was released way back in 2012. So, this is terrific news for Judy Clemens’ fans! (I could be wrong, but it looks like “Death” finds a new person to sleuth with.) Judy also writes the Stella Crown Mystery Series which takes place in Pennsylvania and features a dairy farmer. Judy was nominated for both the Agatha and Anthony awards.

Vicki Delany (aka Eva Gates) is one very busy author! She has just signed on to write three more mysteries in her Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mystery Series. With the third book in the series (The Cat of the Baskervilles) releasing this month, it’s good to know Gemma and best friend (Jane) will have even more sleuthing to do in the future. Vicki also writes the Year-Round Christmas Mystery Series, the Ray Robertson Mystery Series, the Constable Molly Smith Mystery Series, and the Klondike Mystery Series. As Eva Gates, she writes the Lighthouse Library Mystery Series.

OK, all you Rose Pressey fans (and I know she has lots and lots of fans!) you are going to be absolutely delighted to find out that she has just signed on to write the Haunted Craft Fair Mystery Series. That’s right! Rose Pressey will be writing this new series which will feature an artist who not only enjoys the artistic side of craft fairs, but who also manages to find murder at craft fairs! And this paranormal series will feature not only the sleuth/artist, but also her paintings’ “spirits” who help her solving the mysteries. Rose writes several mystery series, some of which are: the Haunted Vintage Mystery Series, Haunted Tour Guide Mystery Series, Halloween LaVeau Series, Sweet Shoppe Mystery Series, and the Paranormal P.I. Mystery Series.

Charles Todd (son and mother duo Charles & Caroline Todd) have just committed to writing two more mysteries in their very popular Bess Crawford Mystery Series. This is great news for those of us who enjoy following Bess as she sleuths her way through those hazardous times in Europe. This fantastic author duo also writes the extremely popular Ian Rutledge Mystery Series.

That’s the Cozy Mystery News for February 2018. I hope one of your favorite authors is on this list!