If you’re interested in reading why I’m recommending these series, you can go to the Most Popular & Recommended Cozy Mystery Series page on my Cozy-Mystery site for my full write-ups on each of these great Cozy series.
So, what have you been reading that you can recommend in August? Please be sure to tell us why you liked these Cozies so much. I know we’re all always on the lookout for more particularly good Cozy Mystery authors! (If you have a lot of Cozies you think are great, please post the ones you like the most at the top of the list.)
As always, please do not tell us about the Cozy Mysteries you did not like.
What really good Cozy Mystery did you read during August 2017 that you want the rest of us to know about, and why did you enjoy it?
Here are the current recommended authors who some of you have read and recommended this past month:
Kelley Armstrong: Kasey Duncan Mystery Series (begins with City of the Lost)
Nancy Atherton: Aunt Dimity Mystery Series
Patti Benning: Pappa Pacelli Pizzaria Mystery Series (begins with Pall Bearers and Peppers)
Rhys Bowen: Royal Spyness Mystery Series
Jacklyn Brady (aka Sherry Lewis & Sammi Carter): Piece of Cake Mystery Series
Kathleen Bridge: Hamptons Home & Garden Mystery Series
Laurie Cass (aka Laura Alden): Bookmobile Cat Mystery Series
Kerry J Charles: Dulcie Chambers Museum Mystery Series
Cate Conte (aka Liz Mugavero): Cat Cafe Mystery Series
Hannah Dennison: Honeychurch Hall Mystery Series
Elizabeth J. Duncan: Penny Brannigan Mystery Series
Wendy Sand Eckel: Rosalie Hart Mystery Series
Jean Flowers (aka Camille Minichino, Margaret Grace, & Ada Madison): Postmistress Mystery Series
Lily Harper Hart: Rowan Gray Mystery Series (begins with Welcoming Seas)
Laura Levine: Jaine Austen Mystery Series
Kylie Logan (aka Miranda Bliss & Casey Daniels): League of Literary Ladies Mystery Series
Susan Elia MacNeal: Maggie Hope Mystery Series
Elizabeth Peters (aka Barbara Michaels & Barbara Mertz): Amelia Peabody Mystery Series (specifically The Painted Queen, finished by Joan Hess)
Diane Vallere: Costume Shop Mystery Series
Darcie Wilde: Rosalind Thorne Mystery Series (begins with A Useful Woman)
[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.]
I will list the authors and series that have been recommended, but I urge you to read the comments below so you can see the reasons other Cozy Mystery readers thought these were their best reads of the month.
♦To access more Cozy Mystery Books Recommendations, click on this link♦
P.S. I usually don’t comment on your recommendations since they speak for themselves.
Betsy says
This month I am making my way through the Honeychurch Hall mysteries by Hannah Dennison. Madcap fun, lots of different storylines to keep track of, and an engaging MC, Kat (along with her mother, Iris). Throughly enjoyable!
Margaret StashEmpress says
I absolutely ADORE this series!!! A modern day Downton Abbey with loads of humor — love it so much!!!!
Christy says
Just wondering if you could tell me if the Honeychurch Hall Mysteries are clean. Is there profanity or sex in the series? Thank you for your help.
Paula Catherine says
Thanks to a recommendation from another reader I discovered
Elizabeth J. Duncan and the Penny Brannigan Mystery series.
I love the series and the various characters and they are characters!
Ms. Duncan writes in such a way I feel I am right there with her.
Penny is funny, very observant and is a thoughtful friend and neighbor.
Margaret StashEmpress says
This is a series I really enjoy. The characters are written so empathetically that you feel as if they’re old friends you just can’t wait to catch up with. And I love that there’s the crossover with Dorothy Martin and her husband from Jeanne M. Dams’ series. I love that the two couples are friends & visit back & forth on vacations.
MJ says
August Recommendations – 2017
This month I started to read the ‘next’ book in a few series I’ve always enjoyed. But for some odd reason I rejected one after another after 20 pages, or so. Maybe I’ll come back to them, maybe I won’t. It was just strange that I didn’t like so many. BUT here are several I did enjoy!
Cat About Town – Cate Conte (Liz Mugavero)
What a GREAT start to a new series. Frankly, I didn’t want the book to end. Maddie James comes home to Daybreak Island (near MA) because her grandmother is dying. She lives in San Francisco where she owns a juice bar.
Maddie is staying with her grandfather. After the funeral she finds out that a prominent businessman wants to purchase the family’s ancestral home to put a business on the site. That businessman (Frank) is found murdered at a community event. Grandfather Leo is considered a strong suspect.
I can’t say enough about this lead character. She is endearing and smart, developed with complexity. Other characters, especially her sometimes cranky grandfather (former police chief), are engaging.
Taking center stage is a cat who Maddie found at her grandmother’s gravesite. Of course, there are animals involved if it’s a Mugavero book!
——————————————————————
Hearse and Gardens – Kathleen Bridge
Recently I recommended the first book in this series and now I’ll recommend the second one. The story is set in the Hamptons area of Long Island. Many historical details, along with tidbits of the rich and famous are given throughout the book, making it quite interesting.
Meg, an interior designer, and her friend Elle find a skeleton in a secret room of a bungalow they’ve been hired to inventory. It is the son of a wealthy 90+ yr. old (Elle’s great uncle) who owns the estate. It’s discovered that he was murdered some 20 years ago. Everyone assumed he ran off with his lover and took with him an Andy Warhol painting.
This story involves many characters. So much so that it is difficult to keep them all straight. It is a well written and well plotted story. I really enjoy all the main characters, thus eagerly awaiting the next book. I doubt that the ‘culprit’ is on anyone’s radar until it is revealed, thus providing a surprise ending.
—————————————
Wrong Side of the Paw – Laurie Cass
This is the 6th book in this series…………..all have been enjoyable. It’s set in NW Michigan. Minnie is the Assistant Director of the local library. She set up a bookmobile that travels throughout the county. Eddie is a bookmobile mascot and Minnie’s cat. There’s a LOT of interaction between Minnie and her cat.
Eddie finds a man’s body in the back of a pickup on one of the bookmobile’s stops. The man’s daughter is considered a strong suspect in her father’s murder. Minnie sets out to prove her innocence.
I think my description sounds boring, but I’d like to emphasize that Cass always writes a good, fast paced mystery with intriguing/introspective characters. She writes with humor and witticism, which I find delightful. This series is often recommended by others on this blog.
In this story the romance angle got a little strange and bit over the top. It would have been better if Cass took more time to develop this aspect of the story.
————————————
Addressed to Kill – Jean Flowers (Camille Minichino)
Cassie Miller is the postmistress in in the Berkshires of MA. It is set around Valentine’s Day. A musician in a local band is murdered. It’s a mystery with intricate twists. As normal for this author she develops multifaceted characters.
I’m not going to expound on this book, except to say that ALL the books by this author and her various pseudonyms are very good! She writes with an intellect and complexity that grabs the reader from the beginning. You can’t go wrong reading any and all of her books. Her books, too, are often recommended on this site.
——————————————————–
Dressed to Confess – Diane Vallere
This series centers around a costume shop in a small Nevada community. At first I thought it was weird, but now find it adds a whimsical aspect to the story. Margo moved back to Prosper City after spending several years as a magician’s ass’t. in Las Vegas. She manages the family owned costume shop
A ‘diva’ performing group reunites after a 50 year lapse to headline an event in this town. Before the performance one of the divas is murdered. Since her father’s friend (and fellow conspiracy theorist) is the main suspect, Margo wants to find the real culprit.
Margo is a smart, complicated, and introspective character. The diversity and depth of the other characters provides several interesting side stories. It’s a well written and well plotted story, all done with some ‘whimsy’.
Betsy says
Thanks for these reviews MJ! Cat around Town arrived while I was on vacation (and visiting multiple used book stores) so it managed to get buried in my TBR pile. I’ve now moved it up to the top!
I also found the new romance in Wrong Side of the Paw a little off putting and maybe not so believable. Not quite sure how it will all play out.
Margaret StashEmpress says
I love reading your reviews every month, we frequently have the same books on our lists! This time though, I haven’t read any of the series you’ve mentioned — my TBR list just grew that much longer!
Marianne says
I discovered Kelley Armstrong’s series starting with “City of the Lost” this month. Armstrong is known for her fantasies, and this mystery is perhaps a little outside the “cozy” genre even though it takes place in a contained community. It’s based on an unusual premise – what if there were a place people could go to if they wanted to escape being killed? Casey Duncan, a detective, and a friend escape to a town far off the beaten path in the Yukon, a self=sustaining community made up of other escapees. They soon learn that some of these people are criminals, running away from retribution. Casey finds she was actually recruited to help the sheriff solve a mystery. A tense plot kept me turning the pages and immediately looking for the second book.
Margaret StashEmpress says
I haven’t read much, but the good news is that the few I’ve got to read were some really GREAT books.
The bad news is that my local public library just revamped their website — don’t you just hate when something’s working wonderfully & they have to go & “fix” it? For example — trying to see what books I just gave back last week — well several thousand books say “added 5 days ago” — because that’s when the site went live… so.. there goes that… and nothing is where it was anymore & the features I liked most are gone now.. sigh… why do they have to mess up things like that? Last year they did it to their e-book site & I still haven’t recovered! Now the regular site is a mess as well! And I really rely on the website to find & reserve books — face it — if I had to only check out what’s on the shelves when I go in — it wouldn’t be a pretty sight! Nothing but anime/manga, bodice rippers, & foreign language… sigh……
OK — so the great books this month:
Elizabeth J Duncan — Murder Is for Keeps (Penny Brannigan series) The latest in this beloved series. I love the characters & in this one Penny manages to solve a couple of old mysteries together with a fresh new murder as a local castle is being restored.
Elizabeth Peters/Joan Hess — The Painted Queen (Amelia Peabody series) As we all know by now, this is the end of the series, began by the deceased Elizabeth Peters & this remaining last story completed by her friend, author Joan Hess. I have to say I liked it, though it did leave me with any number of questions. But then the entire series tended to be written out of chronological order, so things that I’m still scratching my head about (didn’t they already…?) might very well have been a result of what I read in books published previously, which possibly take place at a later time in the chronology. (Did that make any sense? Is the Department of Temporal Investigations gonna come after me?) I’ll just have to begin the series at the beginning & reread the entire series…. I know the book received some poor reviews on Amazon, but I think those were from reviewers who didn’t take into account that this was indeed a case of a series finished off lovingly by a friend of the original author at the request of the family — rather than an author farming out an individual manuscript to a ghostwriter because they’re too busy with other projects to do it themselves. All in all I liked it & am grateful to Joan Hess for taking on the job.
Rhys Bowen — On Her Majesty’s Frightfully Secret Service (Royal Spyness series) — This is just totally one of my most favorite series! Love historical mysteries, love royalty, totally adore Lady Georgie, 23rd (or some such) in line to the throne, poor relation, cousin to the King & sent on spying missions by her cousin, the Queen.
Darcie Wilde — A Purely Private Matter (Rosalind Thorne series) Second in a newish series, as mentioned I love historical mysteries, particularly when set among the upper class (they dress better LOL). Rosalind is an impoverished aristocrat who has to make her way by being a “useful woman” — usually hired by other society women to accomplish things such as successfully arranging social events so that the “right” people will be there and so on, but also very helpful when murders occur…
Susan Ella MacNeal — The Paris Spy (Maggie Hope series) Another delicious historical series set in WW2 Europe, Maggie is the American born spy sent into Paris to find out if their network has been compromised — and also to find her missing German half sister.
Kylie Logan — Gone With The Twins (League of Literary Ladies series) This series is fun. Every time the book club reads a book, they end up involved with a murder that is somehow tied into the book they are reading — this one involves a newly renovated rival B & B named Tara & a civil war themed celebration.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Margaret, it seems to be working for me – I just tried a test post and got the “confirm subscribe” message. Have you checked your spam filter?
sandir says
I really liked A Sheetcake Named Desire (Piece of Cake #1) by Jacklyn Brady and am currently reading the second one in the series. I also read Death of a Bachelorette (Jaine Austen #15) by Laura Levine. This series was my very first cozy series and they still crack me up.
Margaret StashEmpress says
Those were both great books. The Jaine Austen series is my favorite “laugh out loud” cozy series!
Susy says
I did not get any of the posts from August 28 until today, the 5th. Don’t know what happened, but I am glad it seems to be working again.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Susy, aah, it’s possible that one of my son’s attempts to fix the original problem caused something to go wrong for you, but it sounds like the problem is fixed now? Please let me know if you have problems getting email confirmations going forward!
Sharon S says
Susy, now that you mention it, I didn’t either. But I thought maybe Danna was extra busy or travelling.
Danna, earlier today I posted a comment here about the books I read last month, and when I hit submit it sort of disappeared. So maybe it didn’t go through?
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Sharon S, Sorry — I just checked the “spam” comment box, and a couple of your comments got in there for some reason. I am posting them now and will be on the lookout to see if this happens again.
Susy says
I read all of the books in Julie Hyzy’s Manor House series. Loved them all. The latest one makes me think the author is either in negotiations with the publisher or is considering ending the series. A couple of story lines got wrapped up, though not everything, so I hope she was just adjusting the focus a little and we will see plenty more of this series.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Susy, I certainly hope that isn’t the case – though with a name like “Grace to the Finish” I suppose it wouldn’t be surprising if it is the finale. That would certainly be a disappointment.
Sharon S says
In August, I read two Anne Perry’s, The Face of a Stranger (William Monk #1) and The Cater Street Hangman (Charlotte & Thomas Pitt #1). I thoroughly enjoyed both of them, and I look forward to reading more in these series. In fact, I’ve just started reading Dangerous Mourning (William Monk #2). This is my first time reading Anne Perry and reading books set during the Victorian era. Wasn’t sure how I was going to like that, but Perry’s writing makes you feel you are right there in every scene…walking at night through all of the fog on the streets of London.
Diane Dahl says
Danna, I just went to check out your book suggestion of Kerry J. Charles, “An Exhibit of Madness”, at Amazon and found the kindle version to be free. Diane D.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Diane, that’s an excellent point. I think it is always free, but when in doubt just pick it up, right?
Kate says
I read the Aunt Dimity series in August, thanks to discussions here. I LOVED them!