Halloween is less than a week away, which means we will soon be saying goodbye to October. Having said that, I can think of no better time for me to ask you all to tell us about your favorite Cozy Mystery books that you read this October. (Isn’t this Agatha Christie’s Hallowe’en Party graphic neat?)

Please tell us if you read an extremely good Cozy Mystery book during October, and tell us what made that Cozy Mystery stand out as being so good. Please only tell us about the Cozies that were much better than the rest of the other Cozy Mystery books you read during October.

[As usual, I ask that you don’t tell us about the mystery books you read that you didn’t like.]

What Cozy Mystery book (or author) have you read during October 2014, and why did you enjoy it (or him/her)?

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

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

Ellery Adams (aka J.B. Stanley & Jennifer Stanley): Books by the Bay Mystery Series

Donna Andrews: Meg Langslow Mystery Series

Susan Wittig Albert: China Bayles Mystery Series

Lucy Arlington (aka Ellery Adams & Sylvia May): Novel Idea Mystery Series

Donald Bain & “Jessica Fletcher”: Murder, She Wrote Mystery Series

Donald Bain: Capital Crimes Mystery Series

Lorna Barrett (aka Lorraine Bartlett & L.L. Bartlett): Booktown Mystery Series

M. C. Beaton (aka Marion Chesney): Agatha Raisin Mystery Series

Rita Mae Brown: Mrs. Murphy Mystery Series

Lynn Cahoon: Tourist Trap Mystery Series

Laura Childs: Scrapbooking Mystery Series

Nancy Coco (aka Nancy J. Parra): Candy-Coated Mystery Series

Nancy J. Cohen: Bad Hair Day Mystery Series

Sheila Connolly (aka Sarah Atwell): Orchard Mystery Series

Elizabeth Craig (aka Riley Adams &Elizabeth Spann Craig): Southern Quilting Mystery Series

Bill Crider: Sally Good Mystery Series & Dan Rhodes Mystery Series

Jana DeLeon: Miss Fortune Mystery Series Gator Bait

Shelley Freydont: Celebration Bay Mystery Series

Barbara Graham: Quilted Mystery Series

Carolyn Haines: Sarah Booth Delaney Mystery Series

Julie Hyzy: White House Chef Mystery Series

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

Allison Kingsley (Kate Kingsbury & Rebecca Kent): Raven’s Nest Bookstore Mystery Series

Annie Knox (aka Wendy Lyn Watson): Pet Boutique Mystery Series

Victoria Laurie: Psychic Eye Mystery Series

Kylie Logan (aka Miranda Bliss & Casey Daniels): League of Literary Ladies Mystery Series

G.M. Malliet: Max Tudor Mystery Series

Carol Ann Martin: Weaving Mystery Series

Alyssa Maxwell: Gilded Newport Mystery Series

Edith Maxwell (aka Tace Baker): Local Foods Mystery Series

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

Julie Moffett: Lexi Carmichael Mystery Series

Terrie Farley Moran: Read ‘Em and Eat Mystery Series

Hannah Reed (aka Deb Baker): Scottish Highlands Mystery Series

Sara Rosett: Murder on Location Mystery Series

Annelise Ryan (aka Allyson K. Abbott): Mattie Winston Mystery Series

Maggie Sefton: Knitting Mystery Series

J.B. Stanley (aka Ellery Adams & Jennifer Stanley): Supper Club Mystery Series

Anne Marie Sutton: Newport Mystery Mystery Series

Denise Swanson: Scumble River Mystery Series

Livia J. Washburn: Literary Tour Mystery Series

Betty Webb: Lena Jones 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.]

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

P.S. While I try to respond to all of the comments that are made on the Cozy Mystery blog, I generally don’t respond to the comments on these monthly recommendation entries. I do, however, list the recommended books that come via the Cozy Mystery blog’s comments!

As it is the end of September, how about if we do our Mystery Book Recommendations list for this month?

If you read an extremely good Cozy Mystery during September, please tell us about it! The rest of us are always looking for another great Cozy Mystery read! Please only tell us about the ones that were above and beyond the others, and also, tell us why you consider this book (or these books!) to have been so good.

[As usual, I ask that you don’t tell us about the mystery books you read that you didn’t like.]

What Cozy Mystery book (or author) have you read during September 2014, and why did you enjoy it (or him/her)?

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

Kathy Aarons: A Chocolate Covered Mystery Series (Death Is Like a Box of Chocolates is book #1)

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

Ellery Adams (aka J.B. Stanley, Jennifer Stanley, & 1/2 of Lucy Arlington ): Book Retreat Mystery Series

Susan Wittig Albert (aka 1/2 of Robin Paige): Darling Dahlias Mystery Series

Tasha Alexander: Lady Emily Mystery Series

Eric Ambler: Journey of Fear (1940s thriller)

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

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

Simon Brett: Charles Paris Mystery Series

Janet Cantrell: Fat Cat Mystery Series (Fat Cat at Large is book #1)

Kate Carlisle: Bibliophile Mystery Series

Nancy Coco (aka Nancy J. Parra): Candy-Coated Mystery Series

Susan Rogers Cooper: Milt Kovak Mystery Series

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

Jessie Crockett: Sugar Grove Mystery Series

Waverly Curtis: Barking Detective Mystery Series

Mary Daheim: Hillside Manor Bed & Breakfast Mystery Series

Jeanne M. Dams: Dorothy Martin Mystery Series

Rosie Genova: Italian Kitchen Mystery Series

Daisy Goodwin: The Fortune Hunter (Not a Cozy nor a Mystery)

Jane Haddam: Gregor Demarkian Mystery Series

B.B. Haywood: Candy Holliday Mystery Series

Lee Hollis: Hayley Powell Food & Cocktail Mystery Series

Maria Hudgins: Dotsy Lamb Travel Mystery Series

Julie Hyzie: Manor House Mystery Series

D.E. Ireland: Eliza Doolittle & Henry Higgins Mystery Series (Wouldn’t It Be Deadly is book #1)

Miranda James (aka Honor Hartman, Jimmie Ruth Evans, & Dean James): Cat in the Stacks Mystery Series

Mary Kennedy: Dream Club Mystery Series

Victoria Laurie, Nancy Martin, Denise Swanson, & Elaine Viets: Drop Dead Blonde (4 novellas)

Marilyn Levinson: Murder a la Christie

G. M. Malliet: St. Just Mystery Series

Mary Marks: Martha Rose Quilting Mystery Series

Terrie Farley Moran: Read ‘Em & Eat Mystery Series

Sandra Nobel: Fat Women Mystery Series (Fat Woman Mystery is book #1)

Carol J. Perry: Witch City Mystery Series

Susan Santangelo: Baby Boomer Mystery Series

Denise Swanson: Scumble River Mystery Series

Victoria Thompson: Gaslight Mystery Series

Lea Wait: Shadows Antique Print Mystery Series

L.C. Tyler: Crooked Herring

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.]

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

P.S. While I try to respond to all of the comments that are made on the Cozy Mystery blog, I generally don’t respond to the comments on these monthly recommendation entries. I do, however, list the recommended books that come via the Cozy Mystery blog’s comments!

This past month I have sort of been off my Cozy Mystery reading pattern. I have read a few Cozy Mystery books, but I also have taken a little break from Cozies, and have filled my reading time with three non-mystery books. I am currently reading an Ann Rule true crime novel, which I am enjoying  a lot. I used to read her true crime novels quite frequently, but for some reason, I sort of forgot about them until this month. (I won’t be adding her to the Cozy Mystery recommendations, since she obviously isn’t a Cozy Mystery author.)

Another non Cozy Mystery book I have been reading this month is Katherine Hepburn’s Me. Being an old Hollywood movie fan, it’s been fun to hear about how things were back when they were making my favorite black and white movies. (I won’t be adding this book to the Cozy Mystery recommendations list, either!) I go back and forth between Ann Rule’s true crime and Hepburn’s autobiography, and let me tell you, they are truly different from each other!

Please tell us about a Cozy Mystery series (or a few!) that you read this past month and want the rest of us to know about, in case we don’t already. And, please tell us why. These should only be the Cozy Mysteries that you think stood out as being even better than the other Cozies you read during the month.

[As usual, I ask that you don’t tell us about the mystery books you read that you didn’t like.]

What Cozy Mystery book (or author) have you read during August 2014, and why did you enjoy it (or him/her)?

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

Avery Aames (aka Daryl Wood Gerber): Cheese Shop Mystery Series

Allyson K. Abbott (aka Annelise Ryan & Beth Amos): Mack’s Bar Mystery Series

Ellery Adams (aka J. B. Stanley, Jennifer Stanley, & 1/2 of Lucy Arlington): Book Retreat Mystery Series

Esri Allbritten: Tripping Magazine Mystery Series (Chihuahua of the Baskervilles book #1)

Connie Archer: Soup Lover’s Mystery Series

M.C. Beaton (aka Marion Chesney): Agatha Raisin Mystery Series

Jessica Beck (aka Elizabeth Bright, Casey Mayes, Melissa Glazer, Chris Cavender, Tim Myers, & D.B. Morgan): Donut Shop Mystery Series

Laurien Berenson: Melanie Travis Mystery Series

Rhys Bowen: Royal Spyness Mystery Series

Rhys Bowen: Molly Murphy Mystery Series

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

John Bude: The Cornish Coast Mystery

Lucy Burdette (aka Roberta Isleib): Key West Food Critic Mystery Series

Lynn Cahoon: Tourist Trap Mystery Series

Blaize Clement: Dixie Hemingway Mystery Series

V.C. Clinton-Baddeley: Only a Matter of Time

Nancy Coco (aka Nancy Parra): Candy-Coated Mystery Series

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

E.J. Copperman (aka Jeffrey Cohen): Haunted Guesthouse Mystery Series

Gina Cresse: Kate Cimaglia Mystery Series (Sinfandel is book #1)

Jessie Crockett: Sugar Grove Mystery Series

Mary Daheim: Hillside Manor Bed & Breakfast Mystery Series

Jeanne M. Dams: Dorothy Martin Mystery Series

Hannah Dennison: Honeychurch Hall Mystery Series

Anne George: Southern Sisters Mystery Series

Dorothy Gilman: Mrs. Pollifax Mystery Series

Elly Griffiths: Ruth Galloway Mystery Series (The Crossing Places is book #1)

Victoria Hamilton (aka Amanda Cooper & Donna Lea Simpson): Merry Muffin Mystery Series

Carolyn Hart: Death On Demand Mystery Series

Lee Hollis: Hailey Powell Food & Cocktail Mystery Series

J.A. Jance: Ali Reynolds Mystery Series

Annie Knox (Wendy Lynn Watson): Pet Boutique Mystery Series

Viginia Lowell: Cookie Cutter Shop Mystery Series

Charlotte MacLeod (aka Alisa Craig): Sarah Kelling & Max Bittersohn Mystery Series

Ada Madison (aka Margaret Grace & Camille Minichino): Sophie Knowles Mystery Series

Margaret Maron: Deborah Knott Mystery Series

Alyssa Maxwell: Gilded Newport Mystery Series

Jenn McKinlay (aka Josie Belle & Lucy Lawrence): Cupcake Bakery Mystery Series

Ruth Moose: Beth McKenzie Mystery Series (Doing it at the Dixie Dew is book #1)

Liz Mugavero: Pawsitively Organic Mystery Series

Katherine Hall Page: Faith Fairchild Mystery Series

Anne Perry: Thomas & Charlotte Pitt Mystery Series

Sara Rosett: Ellie Avery Mystery Series

Mark Schweizer: Liturgical Mystery Series

Heather Webber (aka Heather Blake): Lucy Valentine 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.]

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

P.S. While I try to respond to all of the comments that are made on the Cozy Mystery blog, I generally don’t respond to the comments on these monthly recommendation entries. I do, however, list the recommended books that come via the Cozy Mystery blog’s comments!

I just finished a mystery by one of my favorite Cozy Mystery authors: Hazel Holt. It is such a joy to read a book by an author who I love to read. I not only enjoy Hazel Holt’s writing style, but I also like that she writes her mysteries in a way that, if you didn’t know the publication dates, you might think they were written at the same time as Agatha Christie’s mysteries.

By this I do not mean that Mrs. Malory lives without the modern conveniences that we all take for granted. I mean that Hazel Holt’s mysteries are very much in line with the classic Cozy Mystery authors. Mrs. Malory is an amateur sleuth who lives in a quaint and Cozy village where everyone seems to know everyone else, the criminal action takes place “off stage”, there is no profanity/swearing, no gratuitous sex or violence, and strong character development. (I hope I didn’t skip any other characteristics!)

I know I have written about how much I enjoy the Mrs. Malory Mystery Series before, but I hope it’s been long enough so as not to seem too repetitive. I strongly recommend Hazel Holt‘s Mrs. Malory Mystery Series.

Please tell us about a Cozy Mystery series (or a few!) that you read this past month that you think the rest of us should try reading, if we don’t already. And, please tell us why. These should only be the Cozy Mysteries that you think stood out as being even better than the other Cozies you read during the month.

[As usual, I ask that you don’t tell us about the mystery books you read that you didn’t like.]

What Cozy Mystery book (or author) have you read during July 2014, and why did you enjoy it (or him/her)?

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

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

Susan Wittig Albert (aka Robin Paige): China Bayles Mystery Series

Margaret Addison: Rose Simpson Mystery Series (book #1 is Murder at Ashgrove House)

Tasha Alexander: Lady Emily Mystery Series

Barbara Allan: Trash ‘n’ Treasures Mystery Series

Beverly Allen (aka Barbara Early): Bridal Bouquet Shop Mystery Series

Donna Andrews: Meg Langslow Mystery Series

Nancy Atherton: Aunt Dimity Mystery Series

M.C. Beaton (aka Marion Chesney): Agatha Raisin Mystery Series

Heather Blake (aka Heather Webber): Wishcraft Mystery Series

Rhys Bowen: Molly Murphy Mystery Series

Rhys Bowen: Royal Highness Mystery Series

Simon Brett: Blotto and Twinks Mystery Series

Emily Brightwell: Mrs. Jeffries Mystery Series

Leslie Budewitz: Food Lovers’ Village Mystery Series

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

Kate Carlisle: Bibliophile Mystery Series

Alyse Carlson: Garden Society Mystery Series

Agatha Christie: Hercule Poirot Mystery Series

Agatha Christie: Superintendent Battle Mystery Series

Agatha Christie: Why Didn’t They Ask Evans (Stand Alone mystery)

V.C. Clinton Baddeley: Only a Matter of Time

Sheila Connolly (akaSarah Atwell): Orchard Mystery Series

Shelley Costa: Miracolo Mystery Series

Krista Davis: Domestic Diva Mystery Series

Dawn Eastman: Family Fortune Mystery Series

Kate Ellis: Wesley Peterson Mystery Series

Female Sleuths Megapack Lady Molly of Scotland Yard Loveday Brooke and Amelia Butterworth

Daryl Wood Gerber (aka Avery Aames): Cookbook Nook Mystery Series

Dorothy Gilman: Mrs. Pollifax Mystery Series

Sally Goldenbaum: Seaside Knitters Mystery Series

Celine Grace: Death at the Manor (book # 1 in the Asharton Manor Mystery Series – novella length)

Victoria Hamilton (aka Amanda Cooper & Donna Lea Simpson): Merry Muffin Mystery Series

David Handler: Berger & Mitry Mystery Series

Betty Hechtman:Yarn Retreat Mystery Series

Joan Hess (aka Joan Hadley): Claire Malloy Mystery Series

Lee Hollis: Hailey Powell Food & Cocktail Mystery Series

Hazel Holt: Mrs. Malory Mystery Series

Dorothy Howell: Haley Randolph Mystery Series

Julie Hyzy: White House Chef Mystery Series

Julie Hyzy: Manor of Murder Mystery Series

Sue Ann Jaffarian: Ghost of Granny Apples Mystery Series

Joyce & Jim Lavene (aka J.J. Cook & Ellie Grant): Renaissance  Faire Mystery Series

Donna Leon: Guido Brunetti Mystery Series

Kylie Logan (aka Miranda Bliss & Casey Daniels): League of Literary Ladies Mystery Series

Rhett MacPherson: Torie O’shea Mystery Series

Molly MacRae: Haunted Yarn Shop Mystery Series

Edith Maxwell (aka Tace Baker): Local Foods Mystery Series

Jennifer McAndrews: Ill-Gotten Panes (book # 1 in Stained Glass Mystery Series)

Sharyn McCrumb: Ballad Mystery Series

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

Karen Musser Nortman: Frannie Shoemaker Campground Mystery Series (book #1 is Bats and Bones)

Nancy J. Parra (aka Nancy Coco): Perfect Proposals Mystery Series

Ann Purser: Ivy Beasley Mystery Series

Heather Webber (aka Heather Blake): Lucy Valentine 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.]

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

P.S. While I try to respond to all of the comments that are made on the Cozy Mystery blog, I generally don’t respond to the comments on these monthly recommendation entries. I do, however, list the recommended books that come via the Cozy Mystery blog’s comments!