As I mentioned in another recent post, I’ll be going back to highlighting upcoming new Cozy Mystery Series and holiday-themed Cozy Mysteries a month ahead of time, as that was the slight preference among site readers who posted an opinion in the comments. So now it’s time to talk about April’s Cozies in both categories!

First we’ll have one new series, the Speakeasy Mystery Series by Susanna Calkins, which will be beginning with Murder Knocks Twice. This period piece set in the 1920s will star Gina Ricci, a cigarette girl in an illegal speakeasy club during Prohibition. Gina’s warned about the unexplained death of her predecessor by the club’s photographer, Marty – who then turns up dead himself. Gina will need to hunt down the killer, not only to find out who killed her friend, but to keep herself from becoming another victim! Susanna Calkin is also the author of the Lucy Campion Mystery Series, another period piece which I have already written a post on.

The other mystery is a Mother’s Day-themed Cozy novella by Lynn Cahoon in her Tourist Trap Mystery Series titled Mother’s Day Mayhem. Jill Gardner is preparing for Mother’s Day by stocking up more Mother’s Day cards for her store, Coffee, Books, and More, when she’s consulted by a neighboring store owner who is returning for the first time in many years – years she has spent in jail. I’ve also written another article on the Tourist Trap Mystery Series, and Lynn Cahoon is also the author of the Cat Latimer Mystery Series and the Farm-to-Fork Mystery Series.

For more upcoming Cozy Mystery Series, check out the New Cozy Mystery Book Series page on the site. For more Mother’s Day-themed Cozy Mysteries, check out the Mother’s Day Mystery Book List page on the site.

Well, last month I tried running this type of post for the “current” month rather than a month early and asked people what their opinion was regarding when they wanted to see it. The results were close, but slightly veered toward seeing it a month in advance, so that’s what I’ll be doing going forward. After this post, we’ll still be a month “behind” at this point by that method, so we’ll be having another of these “upcoming new series and holiday Cozies” in the next few days for April’s releases.

That said, this is March’s releases!

Essie Lang will be releasing Trouble on the Books, the first in her new Castle Bookshop Mystery Series. Shelby Cox is returning to her hometown of Alexandria Bay in upstate New York to take her aunt’s bookstore’s second location on a nearby island, but as the town is preparing for tourist season, her own preparations will be cut short by the death of a local volunteer coordinator. Essie Lang might be a new name, but you may recognize her other pen names, Linda Wiken (under which she writes the Dinner Club Mystery Series) and Erika Chase (under which she writes the Ashton Corners Book Club Mystery Series).

Karen MacInerney will be putting out the fifth book in her Dewberry Farm Mystery Series, Dyeing Season, an Easter-themed Cozy. Lucy Resnick has a lot to prepare for this spring season, and a tornado swinging by her property doesn’t help things… nor does discovering the body of a neighbor’s home health aide when she’s about her property trying to round up her scattered livestock. And that won’t be the only body found this Easter season… Karen MacInerney writes multiple other series, including the Gray Whale Inn Mystery Series, the Margie Peterson Mystery Series, and the Beading Mystery Series.

For more upcoming Cozy Mystery Series, check out the New Cozy Mystery Book Series page on the site. For more Easter-themed Cozy Mysteries, check out the Easter Mystery Book List page on the site.

I’m doing this slightly differently this month. In the past, I’ve presented both upcoming new series and upcoming holiday releases a month ahead of time, but I skipped this post last month so I could try presenting them a bit closer to. So I’d like to hear from you if you prefer it this way, where the books I’m talking about are just about to come out, or coming out in a month or so?

Anyway… February will have two new Cozy Mystery Series, as well as one new holiday-themed Cozy Mystery!

First up, Margaret Dumas will be releasing Murder at the Palace, the first in her new Movie Palace Mystery Series. This paranormal themed series will introduce Nora Paige, a lover of classic films who leaves Hollywood for San Francisco after breaking up with her husband. There, at the historic Palace movie theater, she meets up with an eccentric group of film buffs, including the 1930s ghost of an usherette… and the body of a much more recently murdered stranger! Margaret Dumas hasn’t written much in quite a while, but she is also the author of the short Charley & Jack Fairfax Mystery Series, a wealthy husband and wife sleuthing team in San Francisco.

Next up is Victoria Hamilton‘s newest series, which will be beginning with The Gentlewoman’s Guide to Murder. This historical series set in the English Regency era (1811-1820) will star spinster Emmeline St. Germaine, who has only just rescued a scullery maid from assault by Sir Henry Claybourne before learning of the knight’s untimely death. Considering that she had recently threatened him, she knows she’ll need to determine who truly killed him, if only to ensure her own safety from accusation. Victoria Hamilton also writes the Vintage Kitchen Mystery Series, the Merry Muffin Mystery Series, the Teapot Collector Mystery Series (under the name Amanda Cooper), and the Lady Anne Addison Mystery Series (under the name Donna Lea Simpson).

Finally, Amanda Flower will be releasing Criminally Cocoa, an Easter-themed novella in the Amish Candy Shop Mystery Series. Charlotte Weaver is visiting New York, and her cousin Bailey King, both for Easter and the premier of Bailey’s first cable TV show, Bailey’s Amish Sweets. But a number of odd occurrences start happening on set, apparent coincidences that seem intended to ruin Bailey’s premier. With Bailey preoccupied by the TV production, it will be up to Charlotte to determine if this is just sloppiness… or intentional sabotage! Amanda Flower also writes the Magic Garden Mystery Series, the Living History Museum Mystery Series, the Magical Bookshop Mystery Series, the Appleseed Creek Mystery Series, the India Hayes Mystery Series, and (as Isabella Alan) the Amish Quilt Shop Mystery Series.

For more upcoming Cozy Mystery Series, check out the New Cozy Mystery Book Series page on the site. For more Easter-themed Cozy Mysteries, check out the Easter Mystery Book List page on the site.

PS: I probably won’t respond to each specific opinion of whether people prefer books discussed a month ahead of time or in the month of release, unless there’s more to respond to than a simple “I like it this way”.