The Cozy Mystery List Blog

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Five New Cozy Mystery Holiday Books Coming September 2016

Those of you who have been with me for a while know I absolutely love holiday themed Cozies! September will have only one new Cozy Mystery series starting up, but it will have a good number of Cozy holiday themed releases! We’ll have five holiday themed mysteries >>> two for Halloween, three for Christmas! (Is “Yow-zee! ” too big a word to describe how happy I am to see so many holiday themed Cozies?)

The first Halloween themed mystery for September will be Vickie Fee‘s It’s Your Party, Die if You Want To, the 2nd in the Liv and Di In Dixie Mystery Series. Dixie, Tennessee, located party planner Liv McKay is very busy this Halloween preparing for two different themed parties as well as locating a dead body in the local cemetery. Liv will need to solve the mystery quickly if she wants to keep her own business afloat and enjoy the spooky holiday season!

The other new Halloween Cozy mystery will be A Charming Voodoo, the 10th in Tonya Kappes‘s Magical Cures Mystery Series. June Heals’s town of Whispering Falls is experiencing something of a boom, with new housing developments and businesses moving to the quaint town, but this is threatened when a body is discovered in a local pumpkin patch hours before it is planned to open for hayrides! Can June solve this crime before it scares off all the newcomers? Tonya Kappes also writes the Ghostly Southern Mystery Series, the Divorced Diva Mystery Series, and the Spies and Spells Mystery Series.

On to Christmas Cozy releases! Julia Buckley will be releasing Cheddar Off Dead, the 2nd in the Undercover Dish Mystery Series. Caterer Lilah Drake is hoping for a fun and uneventful holiday season, but her plans are interrupted by the discovery of the body of a mall Santa in a parking lot. (Mall Santa sure does seem to be a dangerous job >>> at least according to Cozies!) Julia Buckley also writes the Writer’s Apprentice Mystery Series and the Madeline Mann Mystery Series.

 Joanne Fluke will be putting out the 20th in the Hannah Swensen Mystery Series, Christmas Caramel Murder. Hannah’s friend Lisa’s husband will be playing Santa (look out!), which wouldn’t necessarily be a problem except his former girlfriend will be playing Mrs. Claus. When the prospective Mrs. Claus turns up dead, Hannah will need to work fast to keep her friend’s husband out of jail – and clear his name before the festivities begin!

Last on the list of holiday releases will be Mary McHugh‘s Christmas-themed High Kicks, Hot Chocolate, and Homicides, the 5th in the Happy Hoofers Mystery Series. The Happy Hoofers are taking part in a big gig at New York City’s Radio City Music Hall with the legendary Rockettes, when one of the Rockettes turns up dead under the stage! Can the Hoofers discover the murderer before the show is scheduled to begin, or will this holiday season be dance-free?

Of course, you aren’t limited to these Cozies if you’re looking to scratch that holiday itch >>> be sure to check the below links for many other great Halloween and Christmas themed Cozies!

Halloween Themed Cozies

Christmas Themed Cozies

Two New Cozy Mystery Holiday Books & One More New Cozy Series Coming August 2016

Two days ago I told you about five very interesting looking series starting in August from established Cozy Mystery authors, and here’s one more! I just found out that Linda Wiken (aka Erika Chase) is starting a new Cozy Mystery series. We’ll also be fortunate enough to have two holiday themed Cozy releases! (Over the years, I have noticed that August is sort of the beginning of the Cozy Mystery holiday themed time-of-year >>> and I can’t wait!)

I’ll start with Linda Wiken‘s new Dinner Club Mystery Series (since I’m late in telling you about it and it was just released today!) Toasting Up Trouble introduces us to J.J. Tanner, an event planner who is also a member of the Culinary Capers Dinner Club. The club members are all very interested in food, both eating it and preparing it. And for those of you who absolutely love Cozies with recipes, you’ll be happy to know they are included in these Cozy Mysteries! As Erika Chase she writes the very popular Ashton Corners Book Club Mystery Series. (The first Cozy in this series was nominated for the very prestigious Agatha Award.) Now she’ll be using her “real name” to write this series. (Toasting Up Trouble is available now.)

Site author Lee Hollis will be releasing Death of a Pumpkin Carver, a holiday themed Cozy and the 8th in Hailey Powell Food & Cocktail Mystery Series. In this entry, Hailey will be preparing for a fun Halloween when an unexpected guest arrives in Bar Harbor, Maine >>> Hailey’s ex-husband. Despite her trouble with her ex-husband in the past, she just can’t believe that he’s capable of murder – which he is unfortunately accused of after the suspicious death of his uncle. As always, this novel will feature delectable recipes, no doubt centered around the fall season!

The other Cozy Mystery author who will be releasing a Halloween themed Cozy during August is Kathi Daley. Costume Catastrophe will be the 21st in the Zoe Donovan Mystery Series. Zoe will be trying to avoid any major problems at the haunted house this year. Since it’s Homecoming weekend all of her high school friends are having a reunion in town. Unfortunately, not all of her high school cronies live through this gathering!

If you’re looking for more Halloween themed Cozy Mysteries, be sure to check out the Halloween Theme page on my site!

Favorite Summer Cozy Mysteries!

summerWow, it feels like it’s already summer down here in San Antonio! But at the same time >>> the year seems to be going so quickly that I can’t believe summer’s almost here! Whenever the weather starts getting hot (and here in Texas it gets pretty doggone hot pretty quickly), I’m sure to start thinking about reading summer-themed Cozies.

I was thinking maybe we could compile a list of our ultra favorite Summer Cozy Mysteries.

As you all might be aware, we do already have a Summer Cozy Mystery Theme page. So what I’m talking about isn’t necessarily just every possible summer themed Cozy Mystery you can think up >>> that’s what the theme page is for after all! Instead I’m just looking for a short number of your “personal favorites” so to speak, so just one pick (or maybe two or three) would be great! And yes, considering that all three are squarely within the summer time frame, some of your favorite Fourth of July Mystery Cozies, Father’s Day Mystery Cozies, and Labor Day Mystery Cozies would definitely be appropriate recommendations! (Of course, feel free to recommend Cozies that aren’t already on those lists!)

I’ll put up a few quick recommendations of my own, just to get things started. Please leave a comment to add your favorites.

FAVORITE SUMMER COZY MYSTERIES:

Donald Bain & “Jessica Fletcher”: Murder on Parade (I couldn’t stop myself and read this holiday Cozy out of chronological order!)

Donna Andrews: Some Like It Hawk

Susan Bernhardt: Murder by Fireworks

Nancy Coco (aka Nancy J. Parra): Oh Say Can You Fudge

Cleo Coyle (aka Alice Kimberly): Murder Most Frothy

Isis Crawford (akaBarbara Block): A Catered Fourth of July

Kathi Daley: Bikinis in Paradise

Joanne Fluke: Lemon Meringue Pie Murder 

Shelley Freydont: Independence Slay

Victoria Hamilton (aka Amanda Cooper & Donna Lea Simpson): Bowled Over

Lee Harris: 

Leslie Meier: Tippy Toe Murder

P.S. If you want to see a whole bunch of Cozy Mystery themes, visit the Cozy Mysteries by Themes page on my site. But, if you’re only interested in Cozies with holiday themes, visit the Holiday Mystery Book List page on my site.

One New Cozy Mystery Holiday Book Coming July 2016

In addition to three new great looking mystery Series, July looks like it will start the “Cozy Holiday Book Season” >>> even if it will only be one new holiday Cozy coming out. Still it is always a welcome change to see the holidays starting in July! (You’ve heard of the expression “Christmas in July”, haven’t you?)

Allyson K. Abbott will be releasing Shots in the Dark, the fourth book in her Mack’s Bar Mystery Series, and it’s a Christmas themed Cozy Mystery. When bouncer Gary Gunderson turns up dead a week before Christmas, Mackenzie “Mack” Dalton knows she just won’t be able to enjoy the holiday properly unless she can shed some light on the unfortunate death. Unfortunately her bouncer appears to have had something of a troubled past, so it’s going to be difficult >>> even with her extra perception and the help of her regular clientele of faithful bar patrons! Abbott also writes the Mattie Winston Series under the name Annelise Ryan, starring an ex-nurse and current coroner in Wisconsin, and a number of stand alone novels under the name Beth Amos.

If you’re interested in more Christmas-themed Holiday Cozy Mystery novels (and there are many, many, many of them!) please be sure to check the Christmas section of my Cozy Mystery List.

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