August is almost over, so it’s time to discuss our favorite Cozies that we read this month!
If you read a Cozy mystery this month and want to recommend it to the rest of us, be sure to post it here! For this month, I read the first entry of Veronica Bond’s Dinner and a Murder Mystery Series. For the reasons I want to recommend it, be sure to check out the blog entry!
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 August 2024 that you want the rest of us to know about, and why did you enjoy it?
Laurien Berenson: Melanie Travis Mystery Series AND Senior Sleuths Mystery Series
Veronica Bond (aka Julia Buckley): Dinner and a Murder Mystery Series
Verity Bright: Lady Eleanor Swift Mystery Series (first entry A Very English Murder)
Lucy Burdette (aka Roberta Isleib): Key West Food Critic Mystery Series
Valerie Burns: Baker Street Mystery Series (first entry Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder)
Lynn Cahoon: Survivors’ Book Club Mystery Series
Vicki Delany (aka Eva Gates): Tea by the Sea Mystery Series AND Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mystery Series
Peggy Ehrhart: Knit & Nibble Mystery Series
Ian and Will Furguson: Miranda Abbott Mystery (first entry I Only Read Murder)
Victoria Gilbert: Book Lover’s B&B Mystery Series
Martha Grimes: Emma Graham Mystery Series
Jenn McKinlay (aka Josie Belle & Lucy Lawrence): Library Lover’s Mystery Series
Ian Moore: Follet Valley Mystery Series (first entry Death and Croissants)
Patricia Raybon: Annalee Spain Mystery Series (first entry All That Is Secret)
Samara Yew: California Bookshop Mystery Series (first entry Murder by the Seashore)
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.
Sue says
I enjoyed reading some of Laurien Berenson’s Melanie Travis books. They’re a fun read, teaching you about poodles and dog shows along with solving murders.
Zhahn (Jeanne) says
Love the cozies by Patricia Raybon–black female young detective in 1923-24 Denver. Handsome young pastor Jack Blake. She is Annalee Spain–was professor at a Chicago Bible college. Exciting plots, wonderful characters including 11-year old white Eddie. Marvelous landladies.
Gretchen says
I also enjoy this series! Looking forward to reading the latest release.
Fortney, Sally says
I read Pumpkin Spice Puppy by Laurien Berenson, A Poisonous Palate by Lucy Burdette, Reading Between the Lies by Lynn Cahoon, and A Dark and Stormy Knit by Peggy Ehrhart. All are great cozies with food and animals in the stories.
Oh, two more Trouble is Brewing by Vicki Delany and A Cup of Flour, a Pinch of Death by Valerie Burns.
sue s says
Murder by Invitation. A Lady Eleanor Swift book #15 by Verity Bright. I enjoy each one of these books. Eleanor has inherited her wealth in a small village in England (early 1900’s) and has a very intelligent and competent butler to help her solve cases. The back stories of these two are very different from the usual cozy, and help to explain their range of talents.This book has the town preparing for the King’s Birthday Celebration. Of course, then there’s a murder (or 2) that keeps them busy, with scattered appearances by the Detective Inspector, Eleanor’s fiance. The engagement part of this book series is a little annoying; we are in book 15 and they are only now finally engaged. But otherwise I like them, and always learn something new about the world.
Roz says
I adore the Lady Swift series! Verity Bright is such a witty writer and brings the characters to life in a real, amusing, and relatable way. The butler (we should all have a Clifford!) is just as central as Lady Swift and adds so much to the series. I am on Book 8 and haven’t been bored once. If you are an audio book person, Karen Cass brings another element to Bright’s characters that greatly enhances the enjoyment of this series. I love that Bright seems to understand that for audio books in particular, the narrator becomes the unseen character in a cast and the consistency of having Cass narrate each book thus far in the series brings a level of entertainment not otherwise achieved. I often find myself laughing out loud or responding to the dialogue. This is one of my most favorite cozy mystery series by far!
Gretchen says
In August I read:
Due or Die by Jenn McKinlay. This is the second book in the Library Lover’s series. The characters are great. This one takes place in winter and was filled with lots of cozy scenes of Lindsey and her friends waiting out a snow storm.
A Fatal Booking by Victoria Gilbert. This is the third in the Booklover’s B&B series. MC Charlotte works well with the police and doesn’t take unnecessary risks. A complex mystery, interesting plot and great cast of characters made this a great read.
Murder By The Seashore by Samara Yew. This is the first in a new series and it was excellent. MC Scarlett owns a bookshop in California. The author gives great descriptions of the beach that make you feel like you are there. The pacing was great, the characters interesting and the mystery was intriguing.
JEM says
Martha Grimes – Hotel Paradise
MendoGirl says
I read Ian Moore’s Death and Papa Noel. I’ve said before and l’ll say it again – I love this writer, I love visiting the Follet Valley and I love reading about the adventures of Moore’s lively cast of characters. It’s actually a short story (only 84 pages).
It’s Christmas time in the Follet Valley, and Richard is pleased to spend Christmas just how he wants – no guests at the B&B he owns, and a list of his favorite Christmas movies to watch on TV. And then Valerie d’Orcay shows up with an invitation to a Christmas themed murder mystery. Well, what could possibly go wrong?
I also read I Only Read Murder by Ian and Will Ferguson.
Miranda Abbott, best known as the crime-solving pastor – Pastor Fran – has fallen on hard times when she receives a mysterious post card summoning her to Happy Rock, a small town in the Pacific Northwest.
With nothing better to do and some unfinished business to take care of, Miranda signs up for an amateur production at the Happy Rock Little Theatre. On opening night one of the actors is murdered in front of a live audience. But no one actually saw what happened. With the entire cast and crew under suspicion, Miranda must use her Pastor Fran skills to find the killer.
Fabulous read, well written characters and very funny. One drawback, murder doesn’t take place until chapter 18;but, the read is well worth it.
Finally, thank you to everyone who recommends the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mystery series. I Finally got my hands on Elementary, She Read. Loved it! Will definitely be reading more!
Ginger D. Martin says
I just finished the third of the “Senior Sleuths” mysteries by Laurien Berenson. The Peg and Rose series. Pretty good stories. If you love Standard Poodles, you like this series.
ShellieJ says
I’m currently reading Book 10 of the Verity Bright books The French For Murder. This is one of the best cozy series. I do not care for books set in the present so I always gravitate to the historical cozies. I also read Book Three of the Jane Wunderley cozies by Erica Ruth Neubauer but didn’t like it as much as I’d hoped. Love your blog! Can’t wait to explore more on it.
Joppy says
I’ve come across a series new to me, and enjoyed them so much I binge read them all so far. A total of eight books with more to come. By Yvonne Vincent they are based on the small Scottish island of Vik, and the first book “The Losers Club” sets the scene and introduces the characters. Wendy, divorced with two teenage children and a dog, return to her home island where she sets up a weight watchers club, that of the title. They become involved in investigating a murder, assisted (?) by a foul mouthed, anti-social police sergeant who detests authority and anyone else, who wears her stab vest at all times and has a personal collection of tasers; the local vet who finds vulgar double-entendre in anything anyone says, and a hippy type couple who run a local small holding using very strange methods. the books are extremely funny and we find out more about the various personnel as we go through them. I like the way the author drops little easter eggs about her previous titles into the plot.