My favorite Cozy Mystery of February is Susanna Calkins’ The Masque of a Murderer, the third in her absolutely terrific historical, British Cozy Mystery series. I am an absolute fan of Susanna Calkins‘ Lucy Campion Mystery Series.

The Lucy Campion series follows Lucy, a young woman who starts out as a chambermaid for a local magistrate in 17th century London. Fortunately for Lucy, her employer is a kind man who has taught her to read which opens other employment opportunities for her.

Rather than write why I enjoy Susanna Calkins’ mysteries so much, I’m going to refer you to three of my earlier posts. In May of 2013 I wrote Susanna Calkins, Author of A Murder at Rosamund’s Gate : My Newest Favorite Author and I recommended both of the first books in her series on two previous recommendation entries as well. (Cozy Mystery Books Recommendations – May 2013 and Mystery Book Recommendations – January 2015)

Oh, and there are lots of other Cozy Mystery readers who also think Susanna Calkins is a wonderful mystery author. She has been nominated for a Bruce Alexander Memorial Mystery award, a Lovey Best Historical novel, a Mary Higgins Clark award, and also an Agatha Award for Best Historical mystery.

How about you? Would you please tell us about the really good Cozy Mysteries you read during February, and please tell us why you liked them so much. These should be the Cozies you thought were even better than the other Cozies you read. The rest of us would love reading your recommendations/comments. I know I get lots of new-to-me Cozy Mystery authors based on your comments. (Please list the Cozies you liked the most at the very top of your list.)

As usual, please do not tell us about the Cozy Mysteries you did not like.

What really good Cozy Mystery book did you read during February 2016 that you want the rest of us to know about, and why did you enjoy it?

Here are the current recommended authors who some of you have read and recommended this past month:

Victoria Abbott (Mary Jane Maffini & daughter Victoria Maffini): Book Collectors Mystery Series

Cathy Ace: WISE Enquiry Agency Mystery Series

Ellery Adams: Books by the Bay Mystery Series

Ellery Adams: Book Retreat Mystery Series

Donna Andrews: Meg Langslow Mystery Series

Donald Bain (w/ Renée Paley-Bain & Jessica Fletcher): Murder She Wrote Mystery Series (Two Cozy readers recommended this series this month.)

M.C. Beaton (aka Marion Chesney): Hamish Macbeth Mystery Series

Emily Brightwell: Mrs. Jeffries Mystery Series

Leslie Budewitz: Seattle Spice Shop Mystery Series

Susanna Calkins: Lucy Campion Mystery Series

Kate Carlisle: Fixer-Upper Mystery Series (Two Cozy readers recommended this series this month.)

Amanda Carmack: Elizabethan Mystery Series

Sarah Caudwell: Hilary Tamar Mystery Series

Maia Chance: Discreet Retrieval Agency Mystery Series

Laura Childs: Scrapbooking Mystery Series

Mindy Starns Clark: Million Dollar Mystery Series

Kate Collins: Flower Shop Mystery Series

Sheila Connolly (aka Sarah Atwell): County Cork Mystery Series

E.J. Copperman (aka Jeffrey Cohen): Haunted Guesthouse Mystery Series (Two Cozy readers recommended this series this month.)

Leighann Dobbs: Mooseamuck Island Mystery Series

Elizabeth J. Duncan: Shakespeare in the Catskills Mystery Series (Two Cozy readers recommended this series this month.)

Elizabeth Edmondson: A Man of Some Repute

Jean Flowers (aka Camille Minichino, Margaret Grace, & Ada Madison): Postmistress Mystery Series (Two Cozy readers recommended this series this month.)

Joanne Fluke: Hannah Swensen Mystery Series

Christopher Fowler: Bryant & May (Peculiar Crimes) Mystery Series (reportedly not Cozy)

Dick Francis: Stand Alones (not cozy)

Parnell Hall: Puzzle Lady Mystery Series

David Handler: Berger & Mitry Mystery Series

Charlaine Harris: Aurora Teagarden Mystery Series

B.B. Haywood: Candy Holliday Mystery Series

Julie Hyzy: White House Chef Mystery Series

Mary Lou Kirwin: Librarian Mystery Series

Joyce and Jim Lavene (aka J. J. Cook & Ellie Grant): Christmas Tree Valley Mystery Series

Catherine Lloyd: Kurland St. Mary Mystery Series

Dixie Lyle: Whiskey, Tango, and Foxtrot Mystery Series

Jenn McKinlay (aka Josie Belle & Lucy Lawrence): Hat Shop Mystery Series

Leslie Meier: Lucy Stone Mystery Series

Shirley Rousseau Murphy & Pat J.J. Murphy: Lee Fontana Mystery Series

Ann B. Ross: Miss Julia Mystery Series

Maggie Sefton: Knitting Mystery Series

Dorothy Simpson: Luke Thanet Mystery Series

Fran Stewart: ScotShop Mystery Series

Victoria Thompson: Gaslight Mystery Series

Elaine Viets: Dead-End Job Mystery Series

Lea Wait: Mainely Needlepoint Mystery Series

[If you click on the author’s name (blue) link, it will take you to his/her page on the Cozy Mystery site. The pages have all of the authors’ books listed chronologically.]

I will list the authors and series that have been recommended, but I urge you to read the comments below so you can see the reasons other Cozy Mystery readers thought these were their best reads of the month.

♦To access more Cozy Mystery Books Recommendations, click on this link♦

P.S. I usually don’t comment on your recommendations since they speak for themselves.

This month, I’m going to start out the Cozy Mystery Recommendations by telling you about my favorite Cozy Mystery book that I read during January. As I have mentioned many times before, I try several new-to-me authors in between reading a Cozy by one of my favorite authors. I’m always on the look-out for new authors to add to my favorites list, and this time, I found one!

The Cozy Mystery I tried, and enjoyed a lot, is Plantation Shudders by Ellen Byron. A few days ago, Kimmie wrote some rather glowing comments about this Cozy right here in one of the comments:

LOVED the setting, cast of characters and the family dynamics. This is a place I would absolutely visit!! With all of the descriptive visuals, I was sucked in and felt like I was watching the whole story from the comfort of my comfy couch on the front porch!? (Not to mention, it left me salivating over the delicious dishes referenced throughout the book!!)

Kimmie, I couldn’t have said it better! Plantation Shudders is the first in the new Cajun Country Mystery Series (by Ellen Byron) and it is set between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, which after visiting a few times, I will say is almost like a country within itself. (I can’t think of anywhere else that has its own unique flavor!)

Maggie (short of “Magnolia” >>> which may well be pretty common in Cajun country!) comes from two very respected families in the area. She lives/works at the bed and breakfast that was formerly the plantation on her father’s side of the family. She also works as a guide at the plantation her mother’s side of the family had to bequeath to the state because of financial reasons. Her family’s B&B is finally starting to recover from the devastation brought on my Hurricane Katrina. Unfortunately >>> enter Murder!

I enjoyed all of the characters in the book, both the “regulars” as well as those who were in the book as guests at the B&B >>> who I am guessing won’t reappear. I especially enjoyed Maggie’s interaction with Xander, the Autistic son of one of the “regulars”, and I am hoping he continues to inhabit this Cozy series. (Also, Gopher, the family Basset Hound is too darling!)

The plot, characters, unique setting, small town feeling, mystery, and writing style are all things that I enjoyed, and I find myself looking forward to the release of the second Cozy in this series. Oh, and for those of you who enjoy your Cozies with recipes, there are some pretty appetizing looking recipes included as well!

So now it’s your turn! Would you please tell us about the really good Cozy Mysteries you read during January, and please tell us why you liked them so much. These should be the Cozies you thought were better than the other Cozies you read during the month. This way, the rest of us will be able to read your recommendations/comments, and put those authors on our Cozy Mystery radar. Please list the Cozies you liked the most at the very top of the list.

As usual, please do not tell us about the Cozy Mysteries you did not like.

What really good Cozy Mystery book did you read during January 2016 that you want the rest of us to know about, and why did you enjoy it?

Here are the current recommended authors who some of you have read and recommended this past month:

Susan Wittig Albert: Darling Dahlias Mystery Series

Ellie Alexander (aka Kate Dyer-Seeley): Bakeshop Mystery Series

Sally Andrew: Tannie Maria Mystery Series (Recipes for Love and Murder is book #1)

Donna Andrews: Meg Langslow Mystery Series

Melissa Bourbon (aka Misa Ramirez): Magical Dressmaking Mystery Series

Ali Brandon (aka Diane A.S. Stuckart): Black Cat Bookshop Mystery Series

P.J. Brackston: A Brothers Grimm Mystery Series (Gretel and the Case of the Missing Frog Prints is book #1)

Simon Brett: Fethering Mystery Series

Catherine Bruns: Cookies & Chance Mystery Series (Taste Like Murder is book #1)

Ellen Byron: Cajun Country Mystery Series

Laurie Cass (aka Laura Alden): Bookmobile Cat Mystery Series

Laura Childs: Scrapbooking Mystery Mystery Series

Jane K. Cleland: Josie Prescott Antiques Mystery Series

Kate Collins: Flower Shop Mystery Series

Cleo Coyle (aka Alice Kimberly): Coffeehouse Mystery Series

Vicki Delany (aka Eva Gates): Year-Round Christmas Mystery Series

Laura DiSilverio (aka Lila Dare & Ella Barrick): Readaholics Book Club Mystery Series

Carola Dunn: Cornish Mystery Series

Kate Dyer-Seeley (aka Ellie Alexander): Pacific Northwest Mystery Series

Wendy Sand Eckel: Murder at Barclay Meadow (Stand Alone?)

Amanda Flower (Isabela Alan): Living History Museum Mystery Series

Eva Gates (aka Vicki Delany): Lighthouse Library Mystery Series

Nancy Haddock: Silver Six Crafting Mystery Series

Barbara Hambly: Benjamin January Mystery Series (Crimson Angel is book #13) not Cozy

Susannah Hardy (aka Sadie Hartwell): Greek to Me Mystery Series

Julianne Holmes: Clock Shop Mystery Series (Just Killing Time is book #1)

Christine Husom: Snow Globe Shop Mystery Series

Sofie Kelly (aka Sofie Ryan): Magical Cats Mystery Series

Joyce and Jim Lavene (aka J.J. Cook & Ellie Grant): Sharyn Howard Mystery Series

Joyce and Jim Lavene (aka J.J. Cook & Ellie Grant): Canterville Book Shop Mystery Series

Karen MacInerney: Gray Whale Inn Mystery Series

Jenn McKinlay (aka Josie Belle & Lucy Lawrence): Library Lover’s Mystery Series

Terrie Farley Moran: Read ‘Em and Eat Mystery Series

Patchwork Mystery Series: The Christmas Quilt by Kelly Ann Riley

Kathy Reichs: Temperance Brennen Mystery Series (not Cozy)

Ruth Rendell: Dark Corners (Stand Alone, not Cozy)

Paige Shelton: Dangerous Type Mystery Series

Rosemary Stevens (aka Rosemary Martin): Beau Brummell Mystery Series

Joyce Tremel: Brewing Trouble Mystery Series (To Brew or Not to Brew is book #1)

Ashley Weaver: Amory Ames Mystery Series (Murder at the Brightwell is book #1)

Christine Wenger: Comfort Food Mystery Series

Marty Wingate: Potting Shed Mystery Series (The Garden Plot is book #1)

[If you click on the author’s name (blue) link, it will take you to his/her page on the Cozy Mystery site. The pages have all of the authors’ books listed chronologically.]

I will list the authors and series that have been recommended, but I urge you to read the comments below so you can see the reasons other Cozy Mystery readers thought these were their best reads of the month.

♦To access more Cozy Mystery Books Recommendations, click on this link♦

P.S. I usually don’t comment on your recommendations since they speak for themselves.

Here we are at the end of the month! I can barely believe that we’re going to be wrapping 2015 up in just a few days! As I mentioned in the Christmas Cozy Mystery Recommendations – 2015, I read quite a few Christmas Cozies this month, and I enjoyed every one of them.

Would you please tell us about the really good Cozy Mysteries you read during December, and please tell us why you liked them so much. (They don’t have to be Christmas Cozies!) These should be the Cozies you thought were better than the other Cozies you read this month. This is a great way for the rest of us to sort of put those authors on our Cozy Mystery radar. (If we don’t already know about them!) Please list the ones you liked the most at the very top of the list, that way we’ll know those are the ones you liked the most.

As usual, please do not tell us about the Cozy Mysteries you did not like.

What really good Cozy Mystery book did you read during December 2015 that you want the rest of us to know about, and why did you enjoy it?

Here are the current recommended authors who some of you have read and recommended this past month:

Isabella Alan (aka Amanda Flower): Amish Quilt Shop Mystery Series

Lucy Arlington (aka Susan Furlong): Novel Idea Mystery Series

Terri L. Austin: Rose Strickland Mystery Series (Diners, Dives & Dead Ends is book #1)

Josie Belle (aka Jenn McKinlay & Lucy Lawrence): Good Buy Girls Mystery Series

Rhys Bowen: Molly Murphy Mystery Series

Laura Bradford (aka Elizabeth Lynn Casey): Amish Mystery Series

Ali Brandon (aka Diane A.S. Stuckart): Black Cat Bookshop Mystery Series

Duffy Brown: Consignment Shop Mystery Series

JoAnna Carl (aka Eve K. Sandstrom): Chocoholic Mystery Series

Laurie Cass (aka Laura Alden): Bookmobile CatMystery Series

Bailey Cates (aka Cricket McRae & Bailey Cattrell): Magical Bakery Mystery Series

Jane K. Cleland: Josie Prescott Antiques Mystery Series

Blaize & John Clement: Dixie Hemingway Mystery Series

Sheila Connolly (aka Sarah Atwell): Orchard Mystery Series

J.J. Cook (aka Joyce and Jim Lavene & Ellie Grant): Biscuit Bowl Food Truck Mystery Series

Isis Crawford (aka Barbara Block): Mysteries with Recipes Mystery Series

Jeanne M. Dams: Dorothy Martin Mystery Series

Vicki Delany (aka Eva Gates): Year-Round Christmas Mystery Series

Hannah Dennison: Honeychurch Hall Mystery Series

Kaitlyn Dunnett (aka Kathy Lynn Emerson): Liss MacCrimmon Mystery Series

Martin Edwards (editor): Silent Nights: Christmas Mysteries

Margaret Grace (aka Ada Madison, Jean Flowers, & Camille Minichino): Miniature Mystery Series

Heather Graham: Krewe of Hunters Mystery Series (Phantom Evil is book #1)

Sarah Graves: Home Repair is Homicide Mystery Series

Anne Hillerman: Leaphorn, Chee and Manuelito Mystery Series

Carolyn Hart: Bailey Ruth Ghost Mystery Series

Sadie Hartwell (aka Susannah Hardy): Tangled Web Mystery Series

Maddy Hunter: Passport to Peril Mystery Series

C.H.B Kitchin (editor): Crime at Christmas

Joyce and Jim Lavene (aka J.J. Cook & Ellie Grant): Christmas Tree Valley Mystery Series

Amanda Lee (aka Gayle Trent & Gayle Leeson): Embroidery Mystery Series

Charlotte MacLeod (aka Alisa Craig): Peter Shandy Mystery Series

Nancy Martin: Miss Ruffles Mystery Series

Jenn McKinlay (aka Josie Belle & Lucy Lawrence): Library Lover’s Mystery Series

Carol J. Perry: Witch City Mystery Series

Nancy Pickard: Jenny Cain Mystery Series

Maggie Sefton: Knitting Mystery Series

Dana Stabenow: Liam Campbell Mystery Series

Rex Stout: Nero Wolfe Mystery Series

Victoria Thompson: Gaslight Mystery Series

Charles Todd: Bess Crawford Mystery Series

Ashley Weaver: Amory Ames Mystery Series (Murder at the Brightwell is book #1)

Julie Weston: Nellie Burns and Moonshine Mystery Series (Moonshadows is book #1)

[If you click on the author’s name (blue) link, it will take you to his/her page on the Cozy Mystery site. The pages have all of the authors’ books listed chronologically.]

I will list the authors and series that have been recommended, but I urge you to read the comments below so you can see the reasons other Cozy Mystery readers thought these were their best reads of the month.

♦To access more Cozy Mystery Books Recommendations, click on this link♦

P.S. I usually don’t comment on your recommendations since they speak for themselves.