The Cozy Mystery List Blog

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

Cold, Howling Wind, Snow – Any Ideas of Mystery Books with Those Characteristics?

I got a letter from a cozy mystery book reader who wanted some help with the following theme. Right off the top of my head, I thought of Patrick Ruell‘s (aka Reginald Hill) Red Christmas. Can any of you think of others?

“I am wondering if you know of any new releases that have as their theme –at least in part –winter/cold/bad weather?
 
I know that probably most Christmas- themed mysteries would have snow,etc. as part of their story, but I’m interested in books that really use howling winds, winter, etc. as a key component? (I know that Diane Mott Davidson often has the weather as a key part of her drama, so that kind of book is good.)
 
I am in a writing class, and want to write a little essay about such books.
 
Any thoughts???
Many thanks!
Barbara” 

So, if any of you have ideas on this cold/windy/snowy theme, please drop us a comment.

Dorothy Gilman and Other Mystery Books…

I got a letter on Sunday asking for some help finding mystery book authors who write in the same vein as Dorothy Gilman.

“…I came across your Cozy Mystery website and was hoping you could suggest authors you have read with a similar style to Dorothy Gilman’s Mrs. Pollifax series.”

I loved the Mrs. Pollifax character and found the mystery series to have a light comedic flare and would love to read more mystery books with this type of style.

Any suggestions you can give me you have read would be greatly appreciated.

First of all, I love the Emily Pollifax books by Dorothy Gilman. I spent MANY hours enjoying Mrs. Pollifax as she traveled from one exotic location to another… always wearing one of her exotic hats! My local library carried a lot of Gilman’s books in audio form… back when the audio books were cassettes, not CDs!

Back to the question at hand: Does anyone have any suggestions of authors who are similar to Dorothy Gilman? Some authors who come to my mind are:

Heron Carvic… Miss Seeton

Mignon F. Ballard… Augusta Goodnight

Jane Langton… Homer Kelly

P.S. >>> If you haven’t tried one of the Mrs. Pollifax books, do yourself a favor and try one. The series is without a doubt VERY Cozy!

A Very Favorite Mystery Book that You Know Won't Disappoint You…

I recently got a letter from a Cozy Mystery site reader who asked the following:

“I’ve been re-reading some of my old favorites (Ngaio Marsh currently) and would like to read other books of like quality.  I wondered whether you’d consider a top 50 (or 100) list created by votes from your website visitors?  I’ve no idea what the logistics of that would be but thought I’d mention it in case you thought it was a good idea.”

I love the idea of making a list of the VERY BEST individual mystery books. I am guessing that a lot of us enjoy series, but we also probably have an all time VERY FAVORITE mystery book out there that we just cannot part with… You know the book >>> every so many years you just feel like you have to read it in order to savor it once again.

Rather than taking votes, I thought that people could just drop us a comment and we could make a list of the mystery books that you all think deserve to be acknowledged as your very favorite. (If you have more than one individual book, then feel free to tell us about those favorite few you think qualify to be on this list.)

Now, I know that this isn’t fair, but I just went through my lists of authors and mystery books that I read, and I haven’t been able to cut my favorites down to just one or two books. So, I can’t go first. However, I will eventually find a very favorite mystery book…

Right now I think that it will undoubtedly be the first mystery book that I read of an author… since I feel like that first book is what led me to want to stay with the author. I hate to sound unoriginal… but I will probably be choosing a Ngaio Marsh, Ellis Peters, Patricia Moyes, Ruth Rendell, or … Agatha Christie. These seem to be the authors who I listen to (or read) over and over, collecting their books in either audio or “real” book format.  (And, when I’m in the mood for a “harder type” of mystery book, I usually end up with R. D. Wingfield, Colin Dexter, or Reginald Hill.)

So, I have my “favorites” list laying where I can’t forget it… I will be posting my fave soon, just have to whittle my list down a little.

P.S. I know that we already made a list of authors who we were currently enjoying, but this list should include our all time favorite mystery book (or books.)

Hmmm… Does Anyone Know What’s Happening with Lilian Jackson Braun’s The Cat Who ***

I have received e-mails from several Cozy Mystery site readers asking if I know when the latest Lilian Jackson Braun The Cat Who *** mystery will be released. I am always sorry when I am not able to track down information… and this is a case that has stumped me.

When I got my first e-mail asking for this information, I wrote to her publishing company. But (wouldn’t you know it?) I never even received an auto-response form letter telling me they got my letter. This brings me to the reason for this entry:

Do any of you know if they plan to release the latest (The Cat Who Smelled Smoke) in Braun’s series?  OR  Is The Cat Who Had Sixty Whiskers the last in Braun’s Cozy Mystery Series? If it is, I know that there are a lot of Braun’s fans who will be very saddened by this information.

So, if you have any information on the latest in the mystery of Braun’s mystery, please send us a comment!

PS >>>> My husband just did an online search for Lilian Jackson Braun and told me that he found that she was born in 1913 >>> Unfortunately, we can’t find a way to verify this information since the Detroit News (newspaper) no longer has the interview on file…

PS#2>>>> I just posted this very short entry to let people know about Lilian Jackson Braun’s passing away.

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