It’s the end of April already! Where has the time gone. It seems like just yesterday we were celebrating Easter, and we’re already looking at Memorial Day being right around the corner!

I’m going to try to keep this super short, so we can get right to our April 2015 Cozy Mystery book recommendations. If you read a Cozy Mystery this month that you think far exceeded your expectations, would you please tell the rest of us about it. We’d not only like to see which Cozy you think was the best you read this month, but also why you think it was better than all the rest of the Cozies you read during April.

Also, if you tell us about several great Cozies you read this month (and why you liked them so much) please put the one that you think was the absolute best of the best at the top of your list.

Please do not tell us about the Cozy/Cozies you read that you did not like.

What really good Cozy Mystery book did you read during April 2015 that you know the rest of us would enjoy reading, and why did you enjoy it?

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

Sparkle Abbey: Pampered Pets Mystery Series

Susan Wittig Albert: China Bayles Mystery Series

Simon Brett: Fethering Mystery Series

Simon Brett: Melita Pargeter Mystery Series

Duffy Brown: Consignment Shop Mystery Series

Christina A. Burke & Elizabeth Ashby: Danger Cove Renovation Mystery Series (The Secret of the Painted Lady, book #1)

Jessie Crockett: Sugar Grove Mystery Series

Kathi Daley: Zoe Donovan Mystery Series

Jana DeLeon: Miss Fortune Mystery Series

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

Claire Donally: Sunny & Shadow Mystery Series

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

Joan Hess: Claire Malloy Mystery Series

Edward D. Hoch: The Sherlock Holmes Stories of Edward D. Hoch (short stories)

Alan Hunter: Inspector George Gently Mystery Series (Gently Does It is book #1)

D.E. Ireland: Eliza Doolittle & Henry Higgins Mystery Series

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

Diane Kelly: Tara Holloway Mystery Series

Leigh Perry (aka Toni L.P. Kelner): Family Skeleton Mystery Series

Josi S. Kilpack: Culinary Mystery Series

Joyce and Jim Lavene (aka J.J. Cook & Ellie Grant): Taxi for the Dead Mystery Series

Anna Loan-Wilsey: Hattie Davish Mystery Series

Kylie Logan (aka Miranda Bliss & Casey Daniels): Chili Cook-off Mystery Series

Anne Perry: Charlotte & Thomas Pitt Mystery Series

Barbara Ross: Maine Clambake Mystery Series

Mark Reutlinger: Mrs. Kaplan and the Matzoh Ball of Death

M.L. Rowland: Search and Rescue Mystery Series (Zero-Degree Murder is book #1)

Jane Sevier: Psychic Socialite Mystery Series (Fortune’s Fool, book #1)

Liz Trenow: The Forgotten Seamstress (possibly not a mystery)

Ashley Weaver: Murder at the Brightwell

[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.]

Since everyone is writing why they like the particular Cozy they’re recommending, I encourage you to read the comments below.

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

P.S. I try to respond to all of the comments on the Cozy Mystery blog, however I don’t usually respond to the comments on these monthly recommendation entries.

Spring is here! This means the weather is improving drastically, so much so that a lot of us will spend more time outside enjoying the spring-like weather, thus (possibly) reducing our Cozy Mystery reading time. If the gorgeous weather truly does cut down on our reading time, then it stands to reason that we will want to be even more selective when choosing which Cozies we read!

It’s at this time that I ask you to please tell us about a particularly good Cozy Mystery you read in March 2015. Also, please tell us why you think this Cozy Mystery book stands out amongst all the other good Cozies you read during March. If you tell us about more than one really stand-out-above-the-rest Cozy, please put the one you enjoyed the very most at the top of your list, or at least let us know which one is your very most favorite.

I’m going to start by recommending Rita Lakin‘s Gladdy Gold Mystery Series. This is one of my favorite Cozy Mystery series, and because I know it has a limited amount of books (7 total), I know that if I rush through them, it will be a case of And Then There Were None! So I take very long breaks between the books.

Rita Lakin has a background in television, both as a producer, creator, and writer. I’m glad she decided to write these Cozies!  Her humorous series focuses on Gladdy Gold, who along with her sister and friends at a Florida retirement community, solves crimes. Gladdy is such a good sleuth that she starts her own private detective agency. Gladdy doesn’t do her sleuthing alone, the other ladies all play important roles in the solving of crimes. The relationships of the women play a big part in why I enjoy the series so much. Rita Lakin has also been able to fill the retirement community with secondary characters who co-mingle with the ladies and the crimes. (Hope that makes sense!) All of the characters are believable to me. I can only hope to be as spry as some of them when I hit the retirement community age!

Rita Lakin’s writing is crisp and easy to read. The sleuths are all smart, although a lot of that is because Gladdy keeps an eye on things, and pretty much directs all of their efforts. On the whole, the other ladies don’t seem to mind Gladdy taking over all of the time, and actually seem to depend on Gladdy to be the voice of reason.

Please do not tell us about the Cozy/Cozies you read that you did not like.

What really good Cozy Mystery book did you read during March 2015 that you know the rest of us would enjoy reading, 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 (aka Mary Jane Maffini & Victoria Maffini): Book Collectors Mystery Series

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

Ella Barrick (aka Laura DiSilverio & Lila Dare): Ballroom Dance Mystery Series

Rhys Bowen: Molly Murphy Mystery Series

Eric Brown: Murder at the Chase

Leslie Budewitz: Seattle Spice Shop Mystery Series

Kate Carlisle: Fixer-Upper Mystery Series

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

Erika Chase: Ashton Corners Mystery Series

John Clement: Dixie Hemingway Mystery Series

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

MaryJo Dawson: The Strange Situation at Emlee

Jo Dereske: Miss Zukas Mystery Series

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

Joanne Fluke: Hannah Swensen Mystery Series

Parnell Hall: Puzzle Lady Mystery Series

Miranda James (aka Honor Hartman, Jimmie Ruth Evans, & Dean James): Southern Ladies Mystery Series

Laurie R. King: Mary Russell Mystery Series

Laurie R. King & Leslie S. Klinger, Editors: In the Company of Sherlock Holmes (Anthology)

Rita Lakin: Gladdy Gold Mystery Series

Colette London: Criminal Confections (Chocolate Whisperer Mystery Series, book #1)

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

Margaret Maron: Deborah Knott Mystery Series

Catriona McPherson: Dandy Gilver Mystery Series

Camille Minichino (aka Margaret Grace & Ada Madison): Periodic Table Mystery Series

Mary Grace Murphy: Noshes Up North Mystery Series

Diana Orgain: Love or Money Mystery Series

Cate Price: Deadly Notions Mystery Series

Denise Swanson:  Devereaux’s Dime Store Mystery Series

Elaine Viets: Mystery Shopper 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.]

Since everyone is writing why they like the particular Cozy they’re recommending, I encourage you to read the comments below.

♦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.

Do you have a favorite Valentine’s Day book you read every February? Well February is almost over, so I’d like to ask you all if you read an extremely good Cozy Mystery this month, would you pleased tell the rest of us about it? (Obviously, if you read two, three, or more extremely good Cozy Mysteries, we’d love to hear about them, too!) Please tell us why this particular Cozy (or these particular Cozies) are better than the rest of the Cozies you read during February.

Please do not tell us about the Cozy/Cozies you read that you did not like.

What really good Cozy Mystery book(s) did you read during February 2015 that you know the rest of us would enjoy reading, and why did you enjoy it (them)?

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

Tessa Arlen: Death of a Dishonorable Gentleman

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

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

Kate Carlisle: Fixer-Upper Mystery Series

Amanda Carmack: Elizabethan Mystery Series (book #1 Murder at Hatfield House)

Maia Chance: Fairy Tale Fatal Mystery Series (book #1 Snow White Red-Handed)

Kate Collins: Flower Shop Mystery Series

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

Hy Conrad: Amy’s Travel Mystery Series

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

Cleo Coyle (aka Alice Kimberly): Coffeehouse Mystery Series

Monica Ferris: Needlecraft Mystery Series

Eva Gates: Lighthouse Library Mystery Series (book #1 By Book or By Crook)

Mary Ellen Hughes: Pickled and Preserved Mystery Series

Christine Husom: Snow Globe Shop Mystery Series

J.A. Jance: Ali Reynolds Mystery Series

Laurie R. King & Leslie S. Klinger: In the Company of Sherlock Holmes (anthology)

Mary Lou Kirwin: Librarian Mystery Series

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

Colette London: Chocolate Whisperer Mystery Series (book #1 Criminal Confections)

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

Catriona McPherson: Dandy Gilver Mystery Series

Leslie Meier: Lucy Stone Mystery Series

Cate Price: Deadly Notions Mystery Series

Loretta Ross: Auction Block Mystery Series (book #1  Death and the Redheaded Woman)

James Runcie: Grantchester Mystery Mystery Series (book #1 Sydney Chambers and the Shadow of Death)

Dell Shannon (aka Leslie Egan, Elizabeth Linington, & Anne Blaisdell): Luis Mendoza Mystery Series

Karen Rose Smith: Caprice De Luca

Lea Wait: Mainely Needlepoint Mystery Series

Heather Webber (aka Heather Blake): Lucy Valentine Mystery Series

Christine Wenger: Comfort Food 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.

It is difficult for me to believe that we have already gone through the first month in 2015! School is back in session, winter is still upon us, and it’s a great time of the year to get a lot of Cozy Mystery reading done.

I hope you all have spent some time this month reading terrific Cozy Mysteries. I have! I discovered a new-to-me author who I have added to my list of Favorite Authors, and I have spent time with already-known-to-me favorite authors who have continued to keep my Cozy Mystery reading a favorite past time.

I am currently reading From the Charred Remains by Susanna Calkins. This is the second in her Lucy Campion Mystery Series. Lucy has gone from being a chamber maid to becoming an apprentice with a printmaker. I am enjoying this historical Cozy Mystery a lot! Rather than repeat everything I have written about before, I am going to refer you to my previous entry recommending Susanna Calkins’ Lucy Campion series: Susanna Calkins, Author of A Murder at Rosamund’s Gate : My Newest Favorite Author

It is at this time that I will ask you all to tell us about an extremely good Cozy Mystery you have read this January, and please tell us why you think this Cozy Mystery is better than the other Cozies you read this month. (If you read more than one terrific Cozy Mystery during January, please tell us about the other two, three, or even more that you consider to be better than the rest.)

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

What terrific Cozy Mystery book(s) did you read during January 2015 that you think the rest of us would definitely enjoy reading, and why did you enjoy it (them)?

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

Kathy Aarons: Chocolate Covered Mystery Series

Tasha Alexander: Lady Emily Mystery Series

Ella Barrick (aka Laura DiSilverio & Lila Dare): Ballroom Dance Mystery Series

Lorraine Bartlett (aka Lorna Barrett & L.L. Resnick): Victoria Square Mystery Series

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

Susanna Calkins: Lucy Campion Mystery Series

Kate Carlisle: Fixer-Upper Mystery Series

Maia Chance: Snow White Red-Handed (book #1 in Fairy Tale Fatal Mystery Series)

Edie Claire: Leigh Koslow “Never” Mystery Series

Jane K. Cleland: Josie Prescott Antiques Mystery Series

J.J. Cook (aka Joyce and Jim Lavene & Ellie Grant): Sweet Pepper Fire Brigade Mystery Series

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

Cleo Coyle (aka Alice Kimberly): Coffeehouse Mystery Series

Krista Davis: Paws and Claws Mystery Series

Ilsa Evans: Nell Forrest Mystery Series (Forbidden Fruit is book #1)

Susan Hoskinson Frommer: Joan Spencer Mystery Series

Kerry Greenwood: Corinna Chapman Mystery Series

Janice Hamrick: Jocelyn Shore Mystery Series

Susannah Hardy: Greek to Me Mystery Series (Feta Attraction is book #1)

Charlaine Harris: Aurora Teagarden Mystery Series

Betty Hechtman: Crochet Mystery Series

Lynne Hinton: Sister Eve, Private Eye (book #1 in Divine Private Detective Agency Mystery Series

Christine Husom: Snow Way Out (book #1 in Snow Globe Shop Mystery Series)

Julie Hyzy: White House Chef Mystery Series

Victoria Laurie: Ghost Hunter Mystery Series

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

Elizabeth Lee (aka Elizabeth KAne Buzzelli): Nut House Mystery Series

Catherine Lloyd: Death Comes to the Village (book #1 in Kurland St. Mary Mystery Series)

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

Karen MacInerney: Gray Whale Inn Mystery Series

Margaret Maron: Sigrid Harald Mystery Series

Laura Morrigan: Call of the Wilde Mystery Series

Anne Perry: Charlotte & Thomas Pitt Mystery Series

Ann Purser: Lois Meade Mystery Series

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

Barbara Ross: Maine Clambake Mystery Series

Dell Shannon (aka Leslie Egan, Elizabeth Linington, & Anne Blaisdell): Luis Mendoza Mystery Series

Charles Todd: Ian Rutledge Mystery Series

Elaine Viets: Dead-End Job Mystery Series

Lea Wait: Mainely Needlepoint Mystery Series

Jacqueline Winspear: Maisie Dobbs 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.