The Cozy Mystery List Blog

Cozy Mystery (and Other Favorite) Books, Movies, and TV

Cozy Mysteries Recommendations – August 2013

Today is the first day of school for our school district. Unbelievable! It is just so hard to believe that fall will officially begin in less than a month (September 22). I am getting a little antsy to put my fall theme knick-knacks out on my desk so that I know it will officially be the time of year when the leaves are supposed to be turning different hues of golds and coppers. Good grief, living here in San Antonio I really miss my seasons!

Getting back to the purpose of this entry: It is time to post our August 2013 Cozy Mysteries Recommendations. I am going to begin with my current book’s author, Margaret Grace. (I’m reading her Halloween mystery, Monster in Miniature. I just could not wait until next month!)

Margaret Grace (aka Camille Minichino & Ada Madison) writes the Miniature Mystery Series.  I started reading Grace’s books after I finished reading Minichino’s Periodic Table Mystery Series. (I should probably explain that her “real name” is Camille Minichino.)

I find Grace (I’ll refer to her as Grace, since it is “her” series I am currently reading) to be a no-nonsense author. By this I mean that she doesn’t dilly-dally with stupid sleuths doing stupid things in stupid plots. Hmmm, I guess that doesn’t explain it either. I mean that her sleuths are very smart women. These women are not shrinking violets in any manner. They are strong women, with definite purposes in life.

Grace has the ability to write the way I think. That probably doesn’t make a lot of sense, but what I mean is both the plot and the dialog in her books ring true. (For those of you who don’t like swearing, you’ll be glad to know that Grace doesn’t have to rely on it to get her point across.)

I am also going to include two other authors who I wrote an entry about very recently: Hazel Holt and Spencer Quinn. (This link will take you to my entry which explains why I enjoy them.)

Please tell us about the one Cozy Mystery (or possibly more than one) that you read during August. These should be books that you think the rest of us simply have got to know about. Please include why you enjoyed each book so that we can read your reason and then determine if it sounds like a good book for us to try reading.

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

[Also, 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 August 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:

Donna Andrews: Meg Langslow Mystery Series

Connie Archer: Soup Lover’s Mystery Series

C.A. Belmond: Penny Nichols Mystery Series 

Annette Blair: Vintage Magic Mystery Series

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

Rhys Bowen: Royal Spyness Mystery Series

Susan Boyer: Lowcountry Bombshell (reportedly not a Cozy)

Elizabeth Lynn Casey (aka Laura Bradford): Southern Sewing Circle Mystery Series

Peg Cochran (aka Meg London): Gourmet De-Lite Mystery Series

Kate Collins: Flower Shop Mystery Series

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

Shelley Costa: Miracolo Mystery Series

Ellen Crosby: Multiple Exposure (Sophie Medina Mystery Series)

Diane Mott Davidson: Goldy Bear Mystery Series

Julianna Deering: Rules of Murder (Drew Farthering Mystery Series)

Gale Deitch: A Fine Fix (Trudie Fine Mystery Series)

Ilsa Evans: Nefarious Doings (Nell Forrest Mystery Series)

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

Earlene Fowler: Ruby McGavin Series (reportedly not a mystery)

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

Kerry Greenwood: Phryne Fisher Mystery Series

Elly Griffiths: Ruth Galloway Mystery Series (The Crossing Places – book 1 & Dying Fall – book #5 )

Rosemary Harris: Dirty Business Mystery Series

Hazel Holt: Mrs. Malory Mystery Series

Jerusha Jones: Imogene Museum Mysteries (Rock Bottom – book #1)

Amanda Lee (aka Gayle Trent): Embroidery Mystery Series 

Sherry Lewis(aka Jacklyn Brady): Fred Vickery Mystery Series

Lisa Lutz: Izzy Spellman Mystery Series

Karen MacInerney: Gray Whale Inn Mystery Series

Charlotte MacLeod (aka Alisa Craig): Peter Shandy Mystery Series

Susan Elia MacNeal: Maggie Hope Mystery Series

Molly MacRae: Haunted Yarn Shop Mystery Series

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

Judy Nickles: The Bogus Biker (Penelope Pembroke Mysteries Series)

Gigi Pandian: Artifact (Jaya Jones Treasure Hunt Mystery Series)

Spencer Quinn (aka Peter Abrahams): Chet and Bernie Mystery Series

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

Maggie Sefton: Molly Malone Mystery Series

Shirley Tallman: Death on Telegraph Hill (Sarah Woolson Mystery Series)

Gayle Trent (aka Amanda Lee): Daphne Martin Cake Mystery Series

Victoria Thompson: Gaslight Mystery Series

Patricia Wentworth: Miss Silver Mystery Series

Lauren Willig: Pink Carnation Mystery Series

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

Comments

  1. I’d like to recommend Nefarious Doings by Ilsa Evans, I really enjoyed it. It is funny, engaging and offers some good plot twists. Best of all it is a cosy set in Australia by an Australian author, and available worldwide in eformat. The second book in the series is being published next month.

  2. Cloche and Dagger — Jenn McKinlay

    I started the third book in a series of an author I usually enjoy reading, only to find by page12 the premise was frankly stupid. So I put it down and picked up Jenn McKinlay’s first book in a new series (Hat Shop Mystery), ‘Cloche and Dagger’.

    Wow! What a difference! This story doesn’t insult the intelligence of the reader. The quick/snappy dialogue (sometimes sparring) is quite humorous/enjoyable. Surprisingly (because McKinlay, et al, sets all her other series in the US), it takes place in London. It starts out with the cousin (part owner of a hat shop) missing. Then a prominent English person is murdered.

    I’ve liked McKinlay’s other series, and find this one equals or, even surpasses, them in quality. She creates amusing and interesting characters with an exciting interaction between the main character and a male friend from her childhood. The story is well paced and moves so fast, it is difficult to put down. This highly entertaining mystery appears to be a winner! The first chapter of the second book, ‘The Mad Hatter’, is in the back of this book. It doesn’t give a release date, but I definitely will be reading it. I hope it’s equally as good as this first book.

    ——————————————————————

    Seed No Evil – Kate Collins

    This is a story about a dog. Yes, there is a murder and Abby (main character, flower shop owner) and fiancé Marco (detective, bar owner) work together to solve it. BUT make no bones about it (no pun intended) this is a story about a dog! It is slow to start out and laden down with a lot of verbiage, but the book evolves into an endearing story, with possible tears at the end! This isn’t one of the better mysteries in this series, but it certainly is one of the best stories of the series.

    ————————————————————-

    You Can Cannoli Die Once – Shelley Costa

    This is a delightful, quirky cozy. A grandmother owns a restaurant (set in Pennsylvania) and her granddaughter, a former Broadway dancer is the chef. There’s a lot of love, laughter, and a huge dose of conflict between these two characters. Grandma’s boyfriend is found dead in the restaurant kitchen. Of course, police believe grandma is the culprit. Granddaughter to the rescue as she solves the crime! Costa introduces numerous unique, eccentric characters (sometimes difficult to keep straight), which have much potential for further development in future stories. This is a well paced book – the first in a new series for this author. It does keep the reader guessing until the surprise ending. It’s a fun read.

    —————————————————-

    Poisoned Politics – Maggie Sefton

    This is a very unusual, captivating story about Washington politics. I really wouldn’t classify it as a ‘cozy’. There is international intrigue, so one isn’t sure of the source of the criminal behavior. I’ll admit to being really flummoxed! However, it is a page turner with some fascinating characters. The main character (Molly Malone – a widow of a congressman), has moved back to DC from Colorado. She’s an accountant for an independent senator from Colorado. Yes, she also drinks a lot of coffee — but that is where ALL similarities to the knitting series end! (Those that read the knitting series will ‘get’ this comment about these three parallels – CO, accountant, coffee.) However, this series is a huge departure from Sefton’s other series. It’s FAR MORE ‘edgy’.

    I find it baffling that there is no ‘finality’, even though the author says ‘The End’ on the last page. Well….. let me clarify that. As in the first book in this series, there are two assassinations. The reader knows who commits these murders because the criminals’ story is intertwined with the main story. Even though on the final page of the last chapter it says ‘The End’, it isn’t the typical ‘cozy’ ending we all expect. I really think this is a continuing series (like a drama TV show). By the way this isn’t a ‘spoiler’ – it is what it is. There are also other interconnected stories, one with a romance.

    The first book (Deadly Politics) should be read before the second book. Sefton doesn’t detail some of the characters’ background in the second book. Like a TV drama series, the author/writer most likely expects the reader to start reading the series at the beginning.

    I wouldn’t suggest starting this book at night like I did. I couldn’t stop reading it……..and then it was 1:00am, 2:00am, etc. I finally forced myself to put it down, but it disrupted my sleep since I kept thinking about it. Because the writing and the story is so gripping with interesting insight into DC politics, I highly recommend it. But I would like to know other readers’ opinions of this series.

    • The book Mad Batter will be out on June 2014. Thanks for this review it was very helpful

      • Lee Ann, aren’t MJ’s reviews great? I can always get a feel of whether or not I will like the book.

    • I read Deadly Politics by Maggie Sefton. It was a good book, however, I was bothered by the “cliffhanger” ending. I decided that I would try the second book, but I am not sure now that I know that there is not finality in the ending. I just like my books wrapped up in the end!

      • Teressa, I was thinking that if the author is trying to ‘serialize’ this story, then perhaps she should write a book a month, so we can follow the ‘mystery/murder’ story line in a timely manner (like a tv series – which is usually weekly!).

        Of course, that’s unrealistic, so perhaps the only way to read this series is to wait five years (or ten) and then get the five/ten books to read in a much quicker time frame. I do want to emphasize (to other readers of this blog), in this series she does write a creative story with interesting and intelligent characters.

  3. I read several books this month. My first and favorite is Jenn McKinlay’s Cloche and Dagger. This is the first in a new series for her about cousins who co-own a hat shop in London. I won’ t go into too much detail as a poster above has described it. This book is so good! I cannot wait until the second one is out. If you like good dialogue, a good story, this one is for you.

    I also read Remants of Murder by Elizabeth Lynn Casey. Another good story of about the gals in the Sewing Circle. Tori is getting closer to her marriage. The interaction between her and sisters Margaret Louise and Leona is quite good. This one kept me guessing right till the end!

    Heirs and Graces by Rhys Bowen. I am only half way through this one, but I like it a lot.

    So many good books out there and just not enough time. Happy reading all!

  4. I just finished The Spellman Files Document #1 by Lisa Lutz. It is about a family of private detectives living and working in San Francisco. It made me laugh out loud (similar to Stephanie Plum Series). I will be adding this author to my list of favorite authors.

    On my Kindle, I have started The Bogus Biker (Penelope Pembroke Cozy Mysteries) by Judy Nickles, a retired teacher.

  5. I started Jimmie Ruth Evans’ Trailer Park Mysteries ‘Flamingo Fatale’ and am hooked. My twin sister had read the series and suggested it. Will naturally get the remaining ones in the series. And being here in Houston autumn is never really autumn – just some cooler summer days (in the low 90’s) and then Thanksgiving & Christmas!

    • Petie, I have to “play tricks” on myself so that I know it’s autumn. I know I’m jumping the gun, but I just got out my autumnal wax scent so that they will be ready to melt once the weather is a little cooler, and less “melty” around here.

  6. i watched the series “miss fisher’s mysteries” on pbs and liked them so i bought the books. they are by KERRY GREENWOOD. they are set in the 1920’s she wrote 20 books in the series. i bought 5 so far. i also bought “THAT OLD FLAME OF MINE” by j. j. cook about a lady fire chief. she meets the ghost of the old fire chief. i can’t wait for the next book. very good book

  7. I read The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths — it’s not cozy, it’s more British procedural. The main sleuth is an archaeologist. Fun read and I recommend it. I plan to review it on the blog soon! I just haven’t quite gotten around to it!

    • I just read “A Dying Fall,” the latest in Griffiths series and really enjoyed it. I like the way the characters keep developing, and the comic relief offered by Cathbad the druid. The series keeps getting better.

  8. My daughter and I highly recommend anything Janet Evononvich writes and also the series and current book, Savannah Breeze, from Mary Kay Andrews; next order for us will be Gone With the Win by Mary Daheim now OUT! We love her bed and breakfast series and highly praise them for any who enjoy a good cozy mystery.
    Good luck and good reading to all of us,
    Jackie Griffey

  9. I’ve read many books this month including the new Elizabeth Lynn Casey “Remnants of Murder” and Amanda Lee “Cross Stitch Before Dying” both of which I enjoyed. The Amanda Lee book featured the heroine’s mother in a more prominent role and she is an engaging character. I also started to read the C.A. Belmond books after she was added to the cozy list. I can highly recommend these books to anyone who enjoys romantic stories with no bloodshed. They remind me a bit of Nancy Atherton’s books in that they don’t involve murder but are more about discovery – of valuable objects or people’s secrets. I’ve read two of the Belmond books and am looking forward to reading the remaining two.

  10. I read quite a few books in August but most were just OK.
    These are the ones that I would recommend.
    A Fine Fix – Gale Deitch – This is a new series and was very good. Trudie Fine owns a catering business and a dead body shows up in the pool at one of her catering events. She must solve the mystery as her business partner is arrested for the murder. Great start and look forward to more.
    Killer Sweet Tooth – Gayle Trent – This was very enjoyable. The characters make this a fun read. It is a culinary cozy mystery with Elvis impersonators and thiefs.
    Brush With Death – Karen MacInerney – The Gray Whale Inn Series. I love this series and wish she would write more often. This book involves the death of her nieces mentor. Along with helping to solve the mystery Natalie has her future mother in law visiting.

  11. I’m reading The Catherine Wheel by the classic cozy author Patricia Wentworth. The book features Wentworth’s Miss Marple-like detective Miss Silver, who consults with and works undercover for Chief Detective Inspector Lamb of Scotland Yard, on various crimes. Wentworth died in the late 1960’s and her stories do not contain graphic violence or sexual situations. As a senior citizen, I enjoy her work very much as it takes me back to a time when life was simpler and people were less complicated, as a rule.

  12. I did a lot of reading this month. Here are a few that I really enjoyed:
    *Artifact by Gigi Pandian–This is the first book in the Jaya Jones Treasure Hunt Mysteries. After receiving a jewel-encrusted artifact in the mail from a recently deceased boyfriend, Jaya, a historian and professor, sets out to find the secrets of a lost Indian treasure. This is a well-written, enjoyable mystery with an engaging protagonist. I’m looking forward to the second book in this series.
    *Multiple Exposure by Ellen Crosby–The protagonist, Sophie Medina, is a photojournalist. Her husband (a CIA operative) is kidnapped and presumed dead. With both the bad guys and the “good” guys looking for her husband, Sophie knows she has to find out what happened to him. There’s just one problem: She doesn’t know who to trust. This fast-paced thriller kept me interested from start to finish. I didn’t want to put it down. (FYI: Ms. Crosby is the author of the Wine Country Mysteries, too.)
    *I found a new-to-me cozy author this month. Her name is Jerusha Jones. She writes the Imogene Museum Mysteries. There are four books in this series so far; there is a fifth in the works. The protagonist is the curator for the museum. The stories take place near the Columbia River Gorge (Washington)–her descriptions of the area make me want to visit. The mysteries are interesting, but it’s the characters that drew me in.
    *Lowcountry Bombshell by Susan Boyer–I wouldn’t call this a cozy, but it isn’t too graphic. The story held my attention, the characters are engaging, and the setting is beautiful (island off the coast of NC)–and there is a very appealing ghost. This is the second book in the series.

  13. When browsing thru comments earlier, I recognized the name C.A. Belmond and knew I had read the earlier ones. I’ve just picked up A Rather Remarkable Homecoming and am enjoying it. Recently finished A Spoonful of Murder by Connie Archer and Death Down Home by Eve K. Sandstrom and will recommend both of them. I’ve read Patricia Wentworth(from the earliest Miss Silver on) this year, although not this month. When anyone asks me for a book to read, I mention the Aunt Dimity series and I need to remember to tell them to pick up the books by Louise Penny.

  14. I’m reading “His Majesty’s Hope” by Susan Elia MacNeil. It is set during WWII in England and Germany, about Maggie Hope, who is the first female spy to be sent into Nazi Germany. It started out kind of slow (maybe I shouldn’t have read James Patterson before it!) but now that Maggie is in Germany, it’s picking up. If you don’t care for graphic descriptions of how handicapped and mentally ill children and adult were treated by the Nazis, then don’t read this, as it is very descriptive.
    Also read “Pushing Up Daisies” by Rosemary Harris and I loved it! Can’t wait to get my hands on the next book!

    • I just read the first Maggie Hope book, Mr. Churchill’s Secretary, and loved it. So I’m glad to hear there’s another one.

  15. I really enjoy reading the synopsis my fellow cozy readers write about the books they read for the month. Unfortunately I’m not a writer; but I am a reader. Therefore, here is my list.

    I wanted to get caught up with the Diane Mott Davidson series before her new book came out.
    1. Chopping Spree
    2. Double Shot
    3. Dark Tort
    4. Sweet Revenge
    5. Fatally Flaky
    6. Crunch Time
    Success.
    Also I just finished reading Melissa Bourbon’s Custom-Fit Crime.

  16. I’ve been enjoying the Victoria Thompson “Gasllight Mysteries” – charming characters, good plot, absence of vulgar language – in other words, great!

  17. My favorite book from this month was not a mystery, it was the latest in the Pink Carnation series by Lauren Willig, The Passion of the Purple Plumeria. I love this series. The stories are romantic adventures about aristocratic spies set in Regency England with a framing device about the Harvard student who is researching the aristocratic spies. We met Miss Gwen in earlier books as the chaperone for the Pink Carnation, but in this story we get her viewpoint – and her romance!

    Completely different was the latest Spellman Files book by Lisa Lutz, The Last Word. These are humorous books, primarily about Izzy Spellman, who works in the family private investigator business. I also read the ebook of Izzy Spellman’s Rules of Etiquette. These books are laugh out loud funny.

    I also read Earlene Fowler’s The Road to Cardinal Valley, a sequel to The Saddlemaker’s Wife. This is also not a mystery, but it is a charming book about people I really came to care about.

    I also read Death on Telegraph Hill, the latest Sarah Woolson book by Shirley Tallman. Sarah Woolson is an attorney in Victorian San Francisco. In the latest book, she deals with the shooting of her brother, meets Oscar Wilde, and takes a case for the local SPCA to prevent the building of a bullring in San Francisco.

  18. I only read 3 books.

    1. Peg Cochran’s Allergic to Death, A 1st in the series and already have the second one to read. It is a great series. A gourmet cook who cooks good diet food for people to lose weight.

    2. Annette Blair’s Cloaked in Malice. 5th in Vintage Magic series. Maddie can see the past by touching vintage clothing. I love this series and 6th one in my to read pile.

    3. Molly MacRae’s Dyeing Wishes. 2nd in the Haunted Yarn Shop series. I was reading it last month when we went to doctor but I didn’t put in the bag and now I’m reading it. It is a great series. Kath inherits her grandmother’s yarn shop where lives with a ghost only Kath can see.

    I have gone back to 3rd week of school. My reading will be increasing due to the fact that dad is having surgery this month.
    Please be thinking of us at this time.

    • Ginger, I always enjoy seeing what books you have read. I’ll say a special prayer for your dad, you, family and the doctors doing the surgery.

      • Thanks PamB. I usually read more a month but this summer I have been working on a building that we got to store stuff and books will be going on shelves in it. They will be where I can get to them and not in rubbermaid containers in the shed. Doing the inventory is a great task as I have who knows how many books. I let my to read pile pile up for fall. Hoping to hear about the surgery next week.

  19. As of right now on the list, I read 22 of the authors recommended. There are 36 authors listed.

  20. I just finished reading The Hen of the Baskervilles by Donna Andrews. It’s part of a series with characters I enjoy meeting over and over again. Meg Lanslow, a blacksmith married to a professor, is a take-charge, problem-solving type of person, which is how she finds herself in the middle of so many mysteries. The stories are not entirely believable, meant to amuse and entertain, and they do. If you like Charlotte MacLeod, you will enjoy these books too.

  21. Cozy mysteries read in August:
    Mrs. Malory and the Festival Murder – Hazel Holt. This was my first Mrs. Malory book I’ve read and enjoyed it but did find the ending somewhat confusing. I kept reading the last few pages to make sure I fully understood the why behind the murders committed.

    No Place for Death – Sherry Lewis. The 3rd book in the Fred Vickery series. Fred is 73 and is determined to investigate when his late wife’s niece is accused of murder. He has to sneak around as his daughter and doctor think getting involved is not good for his health. I am enjoying the Fred Vickery series and am spacing out the last 3 books so I can enjoy Fred longer.

    Something the Cat Dragged in – Charlotte Macleod. Peter Shandy works to save the college’s reputation and discover who would want to kill a quiet and harmless old man. A very enjoyable read.

    Dog On It – Spencer Quinn – Although not a cozy but is a very entertaining and cleverly written mystery book. I have started the 2nd book in the series.

  22. I just finished Rules of Murder by Julianna Deering a new mystery at our library. It is supposed to be the first of a series. If you like the Golden Age of British mysteries you will enjoy, especially fans of Christie, Sayers and Marsh. It takes place about 1932 with the hero Drew Farthering (hope I got spelling correct). He is “epitome of stylish 1930’s English gentleman”. A murder occurs at his home at a house party of a Lecher and worst! He arrives home unexpected with his side kick Nick Dennison, son of the butler and finds his mother Constance having a large house party and giving his bedroom to a man he knows to be a lecher. He ends up being murdered and Drew & Madeline Parker, American niece of his stepfather who just arrived with 2 friends who dropped in at the beginning of their European trip find the body in the greenhouse. The three decide to investigate although the police are against it. Then they start to break most of the Commandments as written by Fr. Ronald Knox for mystery authors! about 1930. If you are into Golden age English mysteries you have probably heard of them. I found this book had a bit complicated plot but would read a sequel.

MENU