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 
I mentioned before that I have re-read some of my favorite Cozies from the past. I also read some new-to-me Christmas Cozies. I revisited Jessica Fletcher in Cabot Cove while reading Donald Bain‘s 
As I said in my first paragraph, I’m trying to decide what to read next. I’m not sure if I should attempt another Christmas themed Cozy. I know I have eight days before Christmas, but our daughter is coming home (from D.C.) for a visit on Monday, and I’m really looking forward to having both our son and daughter here for the holidays, so I doubt I’ll get much reading done.
With that in mind, I thought I would ask you ALL for some ideas about good Christmas Cozies. I know we have done this before (in 2012 and 2013) but I’m curious to ask this again: Which Christmas Cozies would you recommend for the rest of us to NOT miss reading?
What a month! I feel like I crunched a whole lot of chores and errands into the middle of November, but I know I’ll be happy that I did. However, that means that I didn’t get much Cozy Mystery reading done. I didn’t want to get back from Washington, D.C. and then have to decorate the house and put the tree up and do the other things that, since our children grew up, I have done on my own. (Don’t get me wrong, my husband always asks if I need help. But, sometimes it’s just easier to do it myself, rather than have to explain what I want done. >>> Very OCD!)