Well, last month I tried running this type of post for the “current” month rather than a month early and asked people what their opinion was regarding when they wanted to see it. The results were close, but slightly veered toward seeing it a month in advance, so that’s what I’ll be doing going forward. After this post, we’ll still be a month “behind” at this point by that method, so we’ll be having another of these “upcoming new series and holiday Cozies” in the next few days for April’s releases.

That said, this is March’s releases!

Essie Lang will be releasing Trouble on the Books, the first in her new Castle Bookshop Mystery Series. Shelby Cox is returning to her hometown of Alexandria Bay in upstate New York to take her aunt’s bookstore’s second location on a nearby island, but as the town is preparing for tourist season, her own preparations will be cut short by the death of a local volunteer coordinator. Essie Lang might be a new name, but you may recognize her other pen names, Linda Wiken (under which she writes the Dinner Club Mystery Series) and Erika Chase (under which she writes the Ashton Corners Book Club Mystery Series).

Karen MacInerney will be putting out the fifth book in her Dewberry Farm Mystery Series, Dyeing Season, an Easter-themed Cozy. Lucy Resnick has a lot to prepare for this spring season, and a tornado swinging by her property doesn’t help things… nor does discovering the body of a neighbor’s home health aide when she’s about her property trying to round up her scattered livestock. And that won’t be the only body found this Easter season… Karen MacInerney writes multiple other series, including the Gray Whale Inn Mystery Series, the Margie Peterson Mystery Series, and the Beading Mystery Series.

For more upcoming Cozy Mystery Series, check out the New Cozy Mystery Book Series page on the site. For more Easter-themed Cozy Mysteries, check out the Easter Mystery Book List page on the site.

I’m doing this slightly differently this month. In the past, I’ve presented both upcoming new series and upcoming holiday releases a month ahead of time, but I skipped this post last month so I could try presenting them a bit closer to. So I’d like to hear from you if you prefer it this way, where the books I’m talking about are just about to come out, or coming out in a month or so?

Anyway… February will have two new Cozy Mystery Series, as well as one new holiday-themed Cozy Mystery!

First up, Margaret Dumas will be releasing Murder at the Palace, the first in her new Movie Palace Mystery Series. This paranormal themed series will introduce Nora Paige, a lover of classic films who leaves Hollywood for San Francisco after breaking up with her husband. There, at the historic Palace movie theater, she meets up with an eccentric group of film buffs, including the 1930s ghost of an usherette… and the body of a much more recently murdered stranger! Margaret Dumas hasn’t written much in quite a while, but she is also the author of the short Charley & Jack Fairfax Mystery Series, a wealthy husband and wife sleuthing team in San Francisco.

Next up is Victoria Hamilton‘s newest series, which will be beginning with The Gentlewoman’s Guide to Murder. This historical series set in the English Regency era (1811-1820) will star spinster Emmeline St. Germaine, who has only just rescued a scullery maid from assault by Sir Henry Claybourne before learning of the knight’s untimely death. Considering that she had recently threatened him, she knows she’ll need to determine who truly killed him, if only to ensure her own safety from accusation. Victoria Hamilton also writes the Vintage Kitchen Mystery Series, the Merry Muffin Mystery Series, the Teapot Collector Mystery Series (under the name Amanda Cooper), and the Lady Anne Addison Mystery Series (under the name Donna Lea Simpson).

Finally, Amanda Flower will be releasing Criminally Cocoa, an Easter-themed novella in the Amish Candy Shop Mystery Series. Charlotte Weaver is visiting New York, and her cousin Bailey King, both for Easter and the premier of Bailey’s first cable TV show, Bailey’s Amish Sweets. But a number of odd occurrences start happening on set, apparent coincidences that seem intended to ruin Bailey’s premier. With Bailey preoccupied by the TV production, it will be up to Charlotte to determine if this is just sloppiness… or intentional sabotage! Amanda Flower also writes the Magic Garden Mystery Series, the Living History Museum Mystery Series, the Magical Bookshop Mystery Series, the Appleseed Creek Mystery Series, the India Hayes Mystery Series, and (as Isabella Alan) the Amish Quilt Shop Mystery Series.

For more upcoming Cozy Mystery Series, check out the New Cozy Mystery Book Series page on the site. For more Easter-themed Cozy Mysteries, check out the Easter Mystery Book List page on the site.

PS: I probably won’t respond to each specific opinion of whether people prefer books discussed a month ahead of time or in the month of release, unless there’s more to respond to than a simple “I like it this way”.

For the beginning of the new year, we can look forward to two new Cozy Mystery Series by established authors, one of which is a Holiday-themed Cozy Mystery entry!

First, Christina Freeburn will be releasing Not a Creature Was Stirring, the first in her new Merry & Bright Handcrafted Mystery Series. Now that her children are all grown, Merry Winters has decided to enjoy her passions of Christmas, crafting, and her family by going on the road in an RV to a Christmas vendor event, but she’s surprised to find her ex-husband aboard the RV already – and even more surprised to find him dead. Now she’ll need to find the real killer to make sure that she can enjoy the holidays decked out in red and green instead of prison-issue orange! Freeburn also writes the Faith Hunter Scrap This Mystery Series, starring a former US army JAG specialist now running a scrapbooking store.

The other new series will be Diane Kelly‘s Dead as a Door Knocker, the first in the House-Flipper Mystery Series. Whitney Whitaker is a house flipper working on a fixer-upper with a problem she hasn’t seen before – a dead body in the flower bed! Suffice to say, that sort of thing doesn’t help property values, so finishing this job will unexpectedly require the clearing up the death. Diane Kelly also writes the Tara Holloway Mystery Series, starring an IRS criminal investigations agent, and the Paw Enforcement Mystery Series, starring a police officer and her K-9 partner.

For more upcoming Cozy Mystery Series, check out the New Cozy Mystery Book Series page on the site. For more Christmas-themed Cozy Mysteries, check out the Christmas Mystery Book List page on the site.