July 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 Ellen Byron’s Vintage Cookbook 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 July? 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 July 2024 that you want the rest of us to know about, and why did you enjoy it?
Susan Wittig Albert: China Bayles Mystery Series
Donna Andrews: Meg Langslow Mystery Series
Lorna Barrett (aka L. L. Bartlett & Lorraine Bartlett): Booktown Mystery Series
Juneau Black: Shady Hollow Mystery Series (first entry Shady Hollow)
Ellen Byron (aka Maria DiRico): Vintage Cookbook Mystery Series
Jana DeLeon: Miss Fortune Mystery Series
Amanda Flower (aka Isabella Alan): Farm to Table Mystery Series
Emily George: Cannabis Cafe Mystery Series (first entry A Half-Baked Murder)
Jennifer Hawkins: Chatty Corgi Mystery Series (first entry To Fetch a Felon)
J.C. Kenney: Elmo Simpson Mystery Series (first entry Panic in the Panhandle) (note – not out yet, recommendation is from an advance copy)
Lydia Lane: Beach Cocktail Cozy Mystery Series (first entry Mai Tais & Murder)
Alyssa Maxwell: Gilded Newport Mystery Series
Carol J. Perry: Haunted Haven Mystery Series
Ayla Rose: Hummingbird Hollow B&B Mystery Series (first entry Murder on Devil’s Pond)
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.
Okra says
Though not technically “cozy”…the Monster Hunter series by Annelise Ryan are wonderful reads…
Ellen Byron says
Thank you so much for listing my book – and series!
I just finished reading an advance copy of J.C. Kenney’s upcoming release, PANIC IN THE PANHANDLE, and I loved it. It’s a teensy bit edgier than the usual cozy but only by small degrees. It’s quirky and entertaining. If you enjoy Carl Haaisen’s work, you’ll enjoy this new series from J.C.
Regina Williams says
I highly recommend The Beach Cocktail Mystery series by Lydia Lane. There are three books in this fun series so far. This month I read book 2- Dying for Daiquiris and book 3 – Killer Colada
My favorite character is Sybil who is full of wit, wisdom and martinis
Fortney, Sally says
Let It Crow! Let It Crow! Let It Crow! by Donna Andrews was great in that Meg got to do more blacksmithing. Since I’m not a winter person, I would love to see Mother and Rose Noire managing a Flower Festival or something in warm weather.
Loved the Florida atmosphere of Haunting License by Carol J. Perry. Girls’ Night Out by J.A. Jance was an interesting short story.
A Controversial Cover by Lorna Barrett had a twist at the end. Her characters have certainly grown since the first books.
MJ says
I’m about 2/3rds the way through Controversial Cover. So pleased to hear there’s a twist at the end.
I think I must not have read the pervious book, because I didn’t know (or remember) about the ‘new’ boyfriend.
MJ says
I JUST finished reading the Controversial Cover.
Holy Buckets!! Sally, you didn’t mean the ‘killer’ was the twist at the end. You meant the last sentence was a shocker!!!!
Diana says
I love the Meg Langslow series. I’m listening to them on Audible, and I love the way the narrator does the different characters’ voices, particularly Mother. I’m on book 30 I think, so I’m slowly getting caught up. Glad to hear there’s more blacksmithing in the recent book. That’s what caught my eye with them originally.
Amber says
I loved the first four books of the Miss Fortune series! They were hilariously unbelievable, but written in a way that makes you forget that they are unbelievable.
I am also enjoying In Farm’s Way, the newest book by Amanda Flower.
Marie says
In July I read A Cold Nose for Murder by Jennifer Hawkins, the 3rd in the “Chatty Corgi Mystery” series. The “chatty corgi” Oliver can talk to his human and assists her in her amateur sleuthing by picking up scents at crime scenes or on suspects. Oliver is charming without being over the top, the author really handles a talking dog character well. The characters and setting are nicely done, and I appreciate that the romance subplot is cute and slow moving. The mystery kept me guessing, that was great too!
MendoGirl says
I read the second book in the Cannabis Cafe Mystery Series – A High Tide Murder, by Emily George.
Chloe Barnes has returned to her hometown of Azalea Bay, California after her dreams of becoming a Parisian pastry chef, and a wife went sideways.
But with the help of her grandmother Rose and her Aunt Dawn, Chloe has bounced back and opened a Cannabis Cafe – Baked by Chloe.
There’s a big surfing competition in Azalea Bay with surfers and surf fans from all over the world. When one of the surfers is found dead in his hotel room from an apparent overdose, the police think it’s suicide, but his best friend doesn’t agree, and Chloe thinks he may be right. But can Chloe prove it was murder before the competition ends?
There’s no shortage of suspects – an on again, off again girlfriend who thinks she was being cheated on, a promoter more interested in promoting himself, a professional mermaid who liked the deceased more than he liked her back, a competitor who doesn’t want his sister hanging around the deceased and a host of others who are just plain suspicious.
I really enjoy the writing, and the friendships throughout the story. The authors blurb says Emily’s favorite F words are: family, female friendships and furry friends. It shows!
I look forward to reading more about Chloe and her adventures in Azalea Bay!
LoriB says
Love the comments. This will help me to pick my next series of cozy mysteries. Thanks!
MJ says
July 2024 Recommendations
A Murder on Devil’s Pond- Ayla Rose
This is a new to me author and the first book in her series, “Humming Bird Hollow Mystery”. I assume Ayla Rose is a pseudonym. The copyright on the title page is to Wendy Tyson.
Hannah Solace returns to her hometown in Vermont to renovate and operate a B&B with her sister. She has befriended an older man who owns valuable property. Of course there are several people who want this property. Sadly he is found murdered. Hannah embarks on a campaign to discover his murderer.
The characters are intriguing and diverse. It’s paced well, keeping the reader turning the pages – not easy to put down!! Its complexity with its many twists and turns makes it an enjoyable read.
Since it’s a new author and a new series, I wanted to bring it to your attention because otherwise you may not have been aware of it. This book was just released on July 9th. I don’t see any date for a second book, but I hope I don’t have to wait too long! 🙂
I think you’ll also enjoy this gripping mystery.
MJ says
OH — I forgot to add this to my previous comments.
This is the first sentence in the online description of this book, “Murder on Devil’s Pond”):
“A quaint Vermont inn offers idyllic peace–until a body is found on the property–in this charming series debut, perfect for fans of Ellen Byron and Ellery Adams.” 🙂
Claudia says
I have read the first two books in the Gilded Newport Mystery series and really enjoyed them. The series follows a Vanderbilt cousin who solves mysteries that (so far) involve the Vanderbilts. I wasn’t sure I’d like a series set in such a long ago time, but I really did. Great writing and interesting to the end.
And I’m going to suggest a series that might not technically be a cozy, but it fills the bill for me – the Eleanor Roosevelt mystery series – yes THAT Eleanor Roosevelt, where the plucky First Lady solves murders occurring in the White House. Written by her son Elliott, they really present an insiders view of Eleanor and FDR and even some famous real people who make appearances in the stories. There are 20 books in the series and so far (I’ve read 4 and am on 5 right now) they have been an excellent read. World events happening at the time of the Roosevelt’s occupation of the White House are swirling in the background. If you like to read about the 1930s and 40s, I think you would love this series. They definitely don’t need to be read in order.
Hanna says
I enjoyed Susan Wittig Albert’s Thyme of Death. As with many recent books, it is written in first person. a young woman, China Bayles, leaving a big city and a big job – legal office – to move to a small town in Texas to start a new business, growing and selling herbs and spices. We are introduced to many characters, young and old and when a dear friend is found to have committed suicide, it is hard to accept. Soon China and her friends are finding clues and when two more characters are murdered, the chase is on. Nice descriptions of the area.
EvilMummy says
I have been binging the China Bales series by Susan Wittig Albert.
There is a thread of supernatural in the series, but that is not what draws me to it. I love the characters and while things are a little less cozy than the traditional, the writing more than makes up for it.
I also read Summers End by Juneau Black. I want to thank a previous month’s commentor on the Cozy Recommendations for this. Yes, no humans, just an animal inhabited parallel world set in a more pastoral age, and the main character, a newspaper reporter Vera Vixen, a quick thinking fox. It is a gentle read, and I love the characterizations.
Side note, as I’m a voracious reader, most of my books are via the Toronto library on Libby, and I do need to say that when a blog is written about an author or a recommendation, I see the library hold system sees a distinct uptick on the interest in that author.
Dorothy Kathleen Deviny says
I’m also catching up on this series and finding that it isn’t a problem reading them out of order. I appreciate her intelligent comments on “Life”.
Kathie Deviny
The Grace Church Mysteries