The Cozy Mystery List Blog

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

Two New Cozy Mystery Series and One New Holiday Cozy Coming January 2021

January will start off the year well for Cozies, with two new Cozy Mystery Series by established authors as well as one holiday-themed release!

First up, Nancy Coco will be releasing Death Bee Comes Her, the first in her new Oregon Honeycomb Mystery Series. Wren Johnson is the owner of Let It Bee, a honey specialty store in the tourist town of Oceanview, Oregon. She has the misfortune of stumbling across a body clutching a sample of her own wares, leading her to become a leading suspect in the death. Coco also writes the Candy-Coated Mystery Series, starring the owner of a fudge shop in Michigan, as well as several smaller series under the names Nancy J. Parra and Nell Hampton.

NOTE: Actually, this came out about a year ago, but as a Barnes & Noble exclusive… I’m leaving this here because a lot of people might not be aware of it yet.

Dorothy St. James will be starting the A Beloved Bookroom Mystery Series, with first entry The Broken Spine. Trudell Becket is a book-loving librarian who is suddenly out of work when her library changes to a bookless library, but decides to rebel against the change and start a secret book room in the basement. Unfortunately, the town councilman who was leading the change is found crushed beneath a shelf of DVDs – and Trudell’s opposition to the change leads her to become a primary suspect. St. James also writes the Raven’s Run Romantic Mystery Series, the Southern Chocolate Shop Mystery Series, and the White House Gardener Mystery Series.

Finally, Leslie Meier will be continuing her long-running holiday-themed Lucy Stone Mystery Series with St. Patrick’s Day themed Irish Parade Murder. Lucy is faced with possible replacement by up-and-coming reporter Rob Callahan, and only manages to become assigned to the St. Patrick’s Day parade story after he passes on it. But Rob has bigger problems – he’s been accused of causing the death of a corrections officer, and Lucy doubts that he’s responsible for the crime. 

For more upcoming Cozy Mystery Series, check out the New Cozy Mystery Series page.

For more St. Patrick’s themed Cozies, check out the St. Patrick’s Day Mysteries page.

One New Holiday Cozy Coming November 2020

Unfortunately, November is going to be a bit light for Cozies… I only have one new holiday-themed Cozy on the schedule.

Anne Perry will be releasing Christmas Resolution, a spin-off novel from her William Monk Mystery Series. John Hooper, William Monk’s main assistant at the Thames River Police, is preparing for Christmas with his new wife, Celia, when the two learn that one of Celia’s close friends is about to get married as well. However, a series of threatening about the death of the would-be husband’s first wife leave a number of questions regarding his character – and the possibility that a murder has gone unsolved.

For more Christmas Cozies, check out the Christmas Mystery Book List page on the site.

Six New Holiday Cozies Coming October 2020

You can tell that the holidays are coming up by the Cozies that are coming out… October will have six new holiday-themed Cozies, all of them Christmas in this case!

First, Donna Andrews will be putting out The Gift of the Magpie, the 28th in the Meg Langslow Mystery Series, and one of many Christmas entries in the series. Meg is taking some time out of the holiday season to volunteer at Caerphilly’s Helping Hands, a charity where locals volunteer to help out at tasks that their neighbors can’t do and can’t afford to have done for them. When one of the locals she’s been helping out is murdered, she needs to investigate to help make sure that the killer comes to justice.

Next up, Nancy Coco (aka Nancy J. Parra and Nell Hampton) will be releasing Have Yourself a Fudgy Little Christmas, which will be the 9th in the Candy-Coated Mystery Series. Allie is trying to finish up renovation s on the Historic McMurphy Hotel and Fudge Shop to return in time for the holidays, but for now is staying at Frances’s apartment. When she gets a mysterious note, she goes to meet the sender only to find her dying in a snowdrift – and her dying words are “Frances”, which the police take to be the name of her killer. Allie will need to find the real killer in time for the holidays. 

Carolyn Haines will be putting out A Garland of Bones, which will be the 22nd in the Sarah Booth Delaney Mystery Series. Instead of taking a traditional Christmas, Saras is enjoying this holiday by taking a road trip with her friends to a B&B in Columbus, Mississippi. However, the trip is quickly plagued by strange injuries, with incidents occuring at karaoke, at a historic home tour, and later, when a woman who became suspicious of the accidents, a near fatal incident with an arrow. Sarah will need to help determine whether these really are just accidents, or if someone is hoping for something a little more sinister for Christmas this year.

Next up, Carlene O’Connor will be putting out Murder at an Irish Village, the 6th in the Irish Village Mystery Series. Siobhán’s brother, James, is planning on getting married soon, and the entire O’Sullivan family is enjoying the holidays with his fiancee’s family. The festivities are cut short, however, when the grandfather, a famous conductor, is crushed beneath a harp in a local concert hall. The family suspects that it might be murder, and Siobhán is the best bet for determining what really happened to grandfather this holiday.

David Rosenfelt will be releasing Silent Bite, which will be the 22nd in the Andy Carpenter Mystery Series. Andy is starting to enjoy the holiday, having just finished up a Caribbean holiday cruise to get into the Christmas spirit. Returning home, his first check-in is naturally the Tara Foundation, his animal rescue organization that has always been closer to his heart than his law practice. When he arrives, he learns that his partner Willie’s old cellmate, Tony, has been arrested for murder, and Willie believes he didn’t do it. Andy might not believe Tony, but he certainly hopes Willie is right, and takes him on as a client.

Finally, Rebecca Tope will be putting out A Cotswold Christmas Mystery, the 18th in the Cotswold Mystery Series. Thea is preparing for a family Christmas, and her daughter Jessica has come to stay at the house. Unfortunately, a the mother of a neighboring family has gone missing, which will demand a lot of the family’s attention, not only from Thea but also from her stepdaughter Stephanie.

For more Christmas Cozies, check out the Christmas Mystery Book List page on the site. 

Two New Cozy Mystery Series and One New Holiday Cozy Coming September 2020

September will have two new Cozy series by established site authors and a new Christmas Cozy!

First, Melissa Bourbon and Wendy Lyn Watson will be releasing Murder in Devil’s Cove, the first in their new Book Magic Mystery Series. Pippin Lane Hawthorne and Cora Lane are cousins living on opposite sites of the country (the first in Devil’s Cove, North Carolina, the other in Laurel Point, Oregon). However, they both have different attitudes to their shared gift – the ability to read both the future and the past through reading books. Melissa Bourbon also writes the Magical Dressmaking Mystery Series, the Bread Shop Mystery Series (as Winnie Archer) and the Lola Cruz Mystery Series (as Misa Ramirez). Wendy Lyn Watson is the author of the Mystery a la Mode Mystery Series and the Pet Boutique Mystery Series (as Annie Knox).

The other new series will be Lee Hollis‘s May and Sandra Mystery Series, which will start with Murder at the PTA. Sandra Wallage is the newly elected PTA president, while Maya Kendrick is a private detective. Both are unhappy that someone is using Portland High as a source for a gossip website, but when the pair track down and attempt to confront the columnist, they find them dead. Though the police consider the case a suicide, neither are satisfied with that conclusion, feeling that someone else was involved. Lee Hollis is also the author of the Hailey Powell Mystery Series and the Desert Flowers Mystery Series.

Finally, we’ll be getting one Christmas themed Cozy, Dying in a Winter Wonderland, the fifth entry in the Christmas-themed Year-Round Christmas Mystery Series by Vicky Delany. Christmas has once again arrived in Rudolph, New York, and Merry Wilkinson is looking forward to what will hopefully be a restful holiday, but a local bride is looking to move up her wedding and is pressuring Merry to help make sure the decorations are ready for the new, earlier deadline. Unfortunately, the wedding will never happen, as the bride’s fiance is found murdered at the proposed venue, and it will once again be up to Merry to help solve the case before the end of the holiday season.

For more new Cozy Mystery Series, check out the New Cozy Mystery Book Series page on the site.

Form more Christmas Cozies, check out the Christmas Mystery Book List page on the site. 

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