So, is it spring yet? I’m looking out my window watching what looks like parent birds teaching their fledglings how to fly from one side of our yard to the other (we planted Red Tip bushes all along the periphery of our yard twenty years ago) and I’m also watching one of our more persistent squirrels chewing some of our oak tree’s buds. If those aren’t signs of springtime in Texas, I don’t know what is!

Down here in San Antonio we still can’t decide whether it’s winter or spring. Yesterday morning I took my walk in 60º weather, a few hours later is was 74º,  and they are predicting that tomorrow our high will be 50º! Good grief! It’s that time of year that pretty much dictates the necessity of checking the daily forecast in order to decide whether to wear a long sleeve shirt or not. (I know I sound totally spoiled by our beautiful weather, but there’s a price we have to pay for this mild winter/spring confusion. Remind me to talk about the weather during our summer and early fall/late spring!)

Back to Cozy Mystery books, which is what I actually was going to write about…

It’s that time of month when I ask you all to tell us about a Cozy Mystery book/author who you read during this month (February 2014) who you thought the rest of us absolutely, positively NEED to know about. Your recommendations should be Cozy Mystery books (that you read this month) that are, in your opinion, really, really, good reads. (Of course, if you were lucky enough to read several really good mystery books, then by all means, tell us about those books, also.) Please tell us why you are recommending the book(s). Your reasons for liking the book(s) are what get the rest of us enthused about reading it/them.

I’m going to start off by mentioning Conrad Allen. I was so excited about his Murder on the Lusitania that I couldn’t wait until now to tell you about it. So, rather that tell you all the very same things that I wrote about on February 9, I’m going to refer you to my entry: What I’m Reading Now >>> Conrad Allen is a New-to-Me Author Who I Just Added to My “Favorite Authors” List

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

[If you click on the author’s name (blue) link, it will take you to their page on the Cozy Mystery site. Their page has all of the author’s books listed chronologically.]

What Cozy Mystery book (or author) have you read during February 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:

Conrad Allen (aka Edward Marston & Keith Miles): Dillman Mystery Series

Jeffrey Archer: Clifton Chronicles Mystery Series (not Cozy)

Lucy Arlington (aka Jennifer Stanley & Sylvia May): Novel Idea Mystery Series

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

Cindy Blackburn: Cue Ball Mystery Series (book #1 Playing with Poison)

Rhys Bowen: Royal Spyness Mystery Series

Alan Bradley: Flavia de Luce Mystery Series

Duffy Brown: Consignment Shop Mystery Series

Leslie Budewitz: Food Lovers’ Village Mystery Series

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

Kate Collins: Flower Shop Mystery Series

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

Krista Davis: Paws and Claws Mystery Series

Jana DeLeon: Miss Fortune Mystery Series

Janet Evanovich: Stephanie Plum Mystery Series

Monica Ferris: Needlecraft Mystery Series

Christy Fifield (aka Christy Evans): Haunted Souvenir Shop Mystery Series

Joanna Fluke: Hannah Swensen Cookie Jar Mystery Series

Sally Goldenbaum: Seaside Knitters Mystery Series

John Grisham: Jake Brigance Mystery Series (not Cozy)

Carolyn Haines: Sarah Booth Delaney Mystery Series

Veronica Heley: Ellie Quick Mystery Series

Anna Lee Huber: Lady Darby Mystery Series (book #1 The Anatomist’s Wife)

Julie Hyzy: White House Chef Mystery Series

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

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

Gypsy Rose Lee: The G-String Murders (Craig Rice, ghostwriter)

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

Meg London (aka Peg Cochran): Sweet Nothings Vintage Lingerie Mystery Series

Nancy J. Parra (aka Nancy Coco): Baker’s Treat Mystery Series

Mark Schweizer: Liturgical Mystery Series

Ian Rankin: Inspector Rebus Mystery Series (not Cozy)

Sheri Cobb South: In Milady’s Chamber

Arthur Upfield: The Bachelors of Broken Hill

Roy Vickers: The Department of Dead Ends

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

I am sorry, but I absolutely cannot believe that the first month in 2014 is coming to a close! It seems like it was just yesterday that we were all getting ready for Halloween yet, looking at my calendar, I can see that January is almost over.

So, being the end of January, it is the perfect time for me to ask you ALL if there is a Cozy Mystery book (or two, three, or even four!) that you read this past month, which you think the rest of us have absolutely, without a question, got to know about.  Also, would you tell us why you enjoyed that particular Cozy Mystery? (The reasons you like the book are what make the rest of us interested in your Cozy Mystery book recommendations.)

I am going to start with a Cozy Mystery book which I read this past month that made me add yet another author to my favorite authors list. The book I am talking about is by Mary V. Welk. I had been toying with the idea of reading her series for a while, but the thing that held me back was the fact that her last mystery was published in 2004. When I “try” authors, I prefer it if they are currently writing mysteries. (With all of the author cuts the publishers seemed to make a few years back, it has made me hesitant to start with an author I know is no longer writing. I prefer getting to know characters that have the possibility of continuing.)

When I saw that Mary V. Welk was again publishing her Rhodes to Murder Mystery Series (Criminal Mischief was published in October 2013) I decided to finally “try” her. Boy am I glad I did! (And boy, am I glad she’s publishing more Cozy Mysteries!) I usually don’t read Christmas theme mysteries after Christmas, but I decided that I would make this exception, since I had been wanting to read Welk’s books for a while.

I read Welk’s A Merry Little Murder (aka A Deadly Little Christmas), the first mystery in the Rhodes to Murder series. This series features Caroline Rhodes, a nurse who has relocated to a small Illinois college town so that she can be close to her son and daughter in law. Caroline has recently lost her husband, and is trying to start her life without him. It hasn’t been an easy road for her. Caroline befriends Professor Carl Atwater (or more accurately, he befriends her) and together they try to solve the mystery of a rather dangerous Christmas tree.

I enjoyed the setting of Welk’s A Merry Little Murder. The little college town is very Cozy, and of course, being Illinois at Christmas time, it was cold and snowy… exactly what I enjoy reading during our 70º winter days. Also, I liked Caroline. She is a flawed woman, but smart. She is a very believable “person”, a fleshed-out character for me. She is someone I could envision knowing and liking. Her relationships with both her son and daughter in law seem real to me. And the fact that she can have a male side-kick who is not a love interest nor a policeman/detective is an added bonus for me!

When I finished the mystery I felt like I was leaving Caroline and wanted to know what she would do next. She was that “real” to me.

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

[If you click on the author’s name (blue) link, it will take you to their page on the Cozy Mystery site. Their page has all of the author’s books listed chronologically.]

What Cozy Mystery book (or author) have you read during January 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 Jary Jane Maffini & Victoria Maffini): Book Collector’s Mystery Series

Robin Allen: Poppy Markham: Culinary Cop Mystery Series

Donna Andrews: Meg Langslow Mystery Series

Emily Brightwell: Mrs. Jeffries Mystery Series

Anne Canadeo: Black Sheep Knitting Mystery Series

Laurie Cass: Bookmobile Cat Mystery Series

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

Joelle Charbonneau: Rebecca Robbins Mystery Series

Laura Childs: Tea Shop Mystery Series

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

Hy Conrad: Mr. Monk Mystery Series

Jana DeLeon: Miss Fortune Mystery Series

Elizabeth J. Duncan: Penny Brannigan Mystery Series

Jerrilyn Farmer: Madeline Bean Mystery Series

Barbara Graham: Quilted Mystery Series

Virginia Hamilton: Vintage Kitchen Mystery Series

Betty Hectman: Crochet Mystery Series

Joan Hess: Claire Malloy Mystery Series

Ellen Elizabeth Hunter: Magnolia Mystery Series

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

Carol Ann Martin: Weaving Mystery Series

Maggie Sefton: Molly Malone Mystery Series

Deborah Sharp: Mace Bauer Mystery Series

Livia J. Washburn: Fresh-Baked Mystery Series

Mary V. Welk: Rhodes to Murder Mystery Series

Christine Wenger: Do or Diner

Jacqueline Winspear: Maisie Dobbs Mystery Series

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

As it will soon be 2014, I want to hurry up and get your recommendations for the month of December 2013. I don’t know if any of you remember, but last year was the first year that we made a Favorite Cozy Mystery Books list for that particular year. I will be asking for those books pretty soon, but for now, let’s focus on just the month of December 2013.

Which Cozy Mystery books did you read this past month that you think the rest of us really should know about? They don’t have to be Christmas mysteries, although I know some of you were limiting your reading to those in particular. (Maybe I think that because I limited myself to Christmas Cozy Mysteries…)

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

[If you click on the author’s name (blue) link, it will take you to their page on the Cozy Mystery site. Their page has all of the author’s books listed chronologically.]

What Cozy Mystery book (or author) have you read during December 2013, and why did you enjoy it (or him/her)?

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

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

Victoria Abbott (Mary Jane Maffini & Victoria Maffini): Book Collector’s Mystery Series

Susan Wittig Albert: Darling Dahlias Mystery Series

Donna Andrews: Meg Langslow Mystery Series

Charlotte Armstrong: Chocolate Cobweb

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

C.C. Benison: Father Christmas Mystery Series

Heather Blake (aka Heather Webber): Magic Potion Mystery Series

Rhys Bowen: Molly Murphy Mystery Series

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

Jill Churchill: Grace and Favor Mystery Series

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

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

Lesley Cookman: Libby Sarjeant Mystery Series

Cleo Coyle (aka Alice Kimberly): Coffee House Mystery Series

Mary Daheim: Hillside Manor Bed & Breakfast Mystery Series

Krista Davis: Paws and Claws Mystery Series

Carola Dunn: Daisy Dalrymple Mystery Series

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

Joanne Fluke: Hannah Swensen Cookie Jar Mystery Series

Dorothy Gilman: Mrs. Pollifax Mystery Series

Sue Grafton: Kinsey Millhone Mystery Series

Kerry Greenwood: Phryne Fisher Mystery Series

Philip Gulley: Home to Harmony (cozy, but not a mystery)

Victoria Hamilton: Vintage Kitchen Mystery Series

Carolyn Hart: Death on Demand Mystery Series

Libby Fischer Hellman: An Eye for Murder 

Georgette Heyer: Superintendent Hannasyde Mystery Series

Diane Kelly: Tara Holloway Death and Taxes Mystery Series

Laura Levine: Jaine Austen Mystery Series

Kylie Logan (aka Miranda Bliss & Casey Daniels): Button Box Mystery Series

Sheila Lowe: Forensic Handwriting Mystery Series

Nancy Martin: Blackbird Sisters Mystery Series

Leslie Meier: Leslie Stone Mystery Series

Carol Miller: Murder and Moonshine

Meg Muldoon: Murder in Christmas River, Mayhem in Christmas River, & Madness in Christmas River

Gail Oust: Piper Prescott Mystery Series

Katherine Hall Page: Faith Fairchild Mystery Series

Sara Rosett: Ellie Avery Msytery Series

Mark Schweizer: Liturgical Mystery Series

Paige Shelton: Farmers’ Market Mystery Series

Elaine Viets: Dead-End Job Mystery Series

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