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 June? 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 June 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:
Barbara Allan (aka Barbara & Max Allan Collins): Trash ‘n’ Treasures Mystery Series
Winnie Archer (aka Melissa Bourbon & Misa Ramirez): Bread Shop Mystery Series
Nancy Atherton: Aunt Dimity Mystery Series
Clara Benson: Angela Marchmont Mystery Series (first entry the Murder at Sissingham Hall)
Laura Bradford (aka Elizabeth Lynn Casey): Emergency Dessert Squad Mystery Series
Ali Brandon (aka Diane A.S. Stuckart): Black Cat Bookshop Mystery Series
Simon Brett: Mrs. Pargeter Mystery Series
Kathleen Bridge: Hamptons Home & Garden Mystery Series
Julia Buckley: Undercover Dish Mystery Series AND Writer’s Apprentice Mystery Series
Leslie Budewitz: Food Lovers’ Village Mystery Series
Lynn Cahoon: Tourist Trap Mystery Series
Kate Carlisle: Bibliophile Mystery Series
Bailey Cattrell (aka Bailey Cates & Cricket McRae): Enchanted Garden Mystery Series
Julia Chapman: Dales Detective Mystery Series (first entry Date with Death)
Laura Childs (aka Gerry Schmitt): Tea Shop Mystery Series
Kate Collins: Flower Shop Mystery Series
Marla Cooper: Destination Wedding Mystery Series
E. J. Copperman (aka Jeffrey Cohen): Mysterious Detective Mystery Series
Vicki Delany (aka Eva Gates): Year-Round Christmas Mystery Series
Hannah Dennison: Honeychurch Hall Mystery Series
Leighann Dobbs: Mooseamuck Island Cozy Mystery Series
Barbara Early (aka Beverly Allen): Vintage Toy Shop Mystery Series
Elizabeth Edmonson: A Very English Mystery Series (first entry A Man of Some Repute)
Alex Erickson: Bookstore Cafe Mystery Series (first entry Death by Coffee)
Vickie Fee: Liv and Di in Dixie Mystery Series
Dorothy Gilman: Mrs. Pollifax Series (not quite mysteries, but very Cozy in my mind)
Nathan Dylan Goodwin: Forensic Genealogist Mystery Series (first entry Hiding the Past)
Victoria Hamilton (aka Amanda Cooper & Donna Lea Simpson): Vintage Kitchen Mystery Series
Carolyn Hart: Death on Demand Mystery Series
Sadie Hartwell (aka Susannah Hardy): Tangled Web Mystery Series
Anne Hillerman: Joe Leaphorn & Jim Chee Mystery Series
Lee Hollis: Hailey Powell Food & Cocktail Mystery Series
Delia James: Witch’s Cat Mystery Series
Miranda James (aka Honor Hartman, Jimmie Ruth Evans, & Dean James): Cat in the Stacks Mystery Series
Laura Levine: Jaine Austen Mystery Series
Kylie Logan (aka Miranda Bliss & Casey Daniels): Ethnic Eats Mystery Series
Meg Macy (aka 1/2 of D.E. Ireland): Teddy Bear Mystery Series
Edith Maxwell (aka Maddie Day & Tace Baker): Quaker Midwife Mystery Series
G. A. McKevett: Savannah Reed Mystery Series
Jenn McKinlay (aka Josie Belle & Lucy Lawrence): Cupcake Bakery Mystery Series
Robin Paige (aka Susan Wittig Albert and husband Bill Albert): Victorian Mystery Series
Peggy O’Neal Peden: Nashville Mystery Series (first entry Your Killin’ Heart)
Louise Penny: Chief Inspector Gamache Mystery Series
Anne Perry: Charlotte & Thomas Pitt Mystery Series
Ann Purser: Lois Meade Mystery Series
Spencer Quinn (aka Peter Abrahams): Chet and Bernie Mystery Series
Jordaina Sydney Robinson: Paranormal Ghost Cozy Mystery Series (first entry Beyond Dead)
Ann B. Ross: Miss Julia Mystery Series
Maggie Sefton: Knitting Mystery Series
Paige Shelton: Scottish Bookshop Mystery Series
Gayle Trent (aka Amanda Lee & Gayle Leeson): Daphne Martin Cake Mystery Series
[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.
Terry Maly says
I read Death of a Lobster Lover by Lee Hollis. I did like this book. It is different than the other Hayley Powell books. This book takes place in salmon cove on a girls’ weekend with Liddy and Mona. Her other books take place where Hayley lives and mentions her job and her children a lot– This book does not. In this book there are several stories about Hayley’s childhood. This helps me understand the character of Hayley better. There are two murders in this book. Liddy and Mona hook up with guys at Salmon cove but Hayley does not. So Hayley has plenty of time to investigate which also gets her in trouble. Part of the reason I like these books is that I live in Kansas and don’t have much access to seafood. I really enjoyed the clambake scenery and setting. In this story, the ending is very sad and shocking.
Rob Jarrad says
Hi all. Hope you are all having a great pre-holiday week. I have read the following this month but due to my dad’s poor health, not time for much more.
By Robin Paige (Bill and Susan Whittig Albert)
Death at Rottingdean, Death at Blenheim Palace, Death at Glamis Castle, Death at Whitechapel, Death at Hyde Park, Death at Gallows Green, and Death at Dartmoor. All great reading. I’ve read Death at Bishop’s Keep earlier this year so didn’t count it for this month. Death at Epsom’s Downs is excellent as well but again, read that eariler this year. I recommend them highly for Cozies set in a different time-both Victorian and Edwardian ers’s but still I think, considered cozies.
Patti Berg says
Oh boy! These sound SO good. I’ve added the first books in the series to my TBR list! Thanks, Rob, and sending warmest thoughts for your father’s health.
Rita McDonnell says
I am in the middle of the first book in Meg Macy’s new series Bearly Departed. Love it. It I keeping me guessing. Sasha Silverman is the sleuth and she is manager of her family’s teddy bear shop. They also manufacture the bears in a factory behind the store.
I also finished Kate Collins’s latest in her Flower shop series Yew with Caution (this had me on the edge of my seat with the story line), Miranda James’s No Cats Allowed and finally found the 10th (I think) book in Maggie Sefton’s Knitting Mystery Fleece Navidad (don’t know why I had trouble finding this one. Now I am totally up to date on this series)
Luisa says
I’m currently reading Bill Bryson’s “Notes from a Small Island.” It’s not a cozy and definitely not a mystery but it makes one feel cozy when reading about life in England. If you’ve ever traveled or lived in the UK you’ll be able to relate to some of Bryson’s experiences.
KG says
I enjoyed One Fete in the Grave by Vickie Fee. This is the third book in the Liv and Di in Dixie Mystery Series. I appreciate the humor and the setting, but I also really like the friendship between Liv and Di. I just wish Liv’s husband would fix that upstairs bathroom!
Joppy says
I’ve just finished reading the first of a new series (2017) to be set in the Yorkshire Dales. The blurb reads “a charming new series for fans of Alexander McCall Smith and Midsomer Murders”. Titled “Date With Death”, by Julia Chapman, it revolves round one Samson O’Brien, who left the village some years ago under a cloud, joined the police and has been doing something undercover. Suspended for some, as yet undisclosed, behaviour he has returned to his home village to find his father has sold their home to a developer, his best friend killed while abroad in the army, and most of the villagers against him. Setting up the Dales Detective Agency his first case is to investigate an apparent suicide. Other recent deaths become connected and so it goes on. I can see that his past will come back in future books, and the developer has some nasty plan in the offing. I shall look forward to the other books to come.
Trice says
I didn’t have these books on my radar until you posted. I am reading the first one now and I’m hooked! Very enjoyable. The only downside, not all of the books in the series are available in ebook format!
Thanks for the suggestion.
MJ says
June Recommendations – 2017
Dying on the Vine – Marla Cooper
Some may think a series with a wedding planner as the protagonist is ‘fluff’, but NOT SO with this series! I think the stories have complexity and depth. Kelsey McKenna is the strong, smart, and appealing protagonist. This story introduces several other varied and interesting characters, thus offering plenty of suspect possibilities.
Another wedding planner is murdered. Kelsey is asked to take over the plans for a wedding she was planning. It’s a compelling mystery with a well-paced plot. The Napa Valley setting also adds to its charm.
The author injects humor/wittiness into the story, making it a pleasant read. I really don’t think you can go wrong if you add this book to your “TBR” pile!!
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Kneaded to Death – Winnie Archer
This is the first of a new series written by this author under this pseudonym. I really liked this book. It totally held my interest throughout the story. It is a poignant story as Ivy Culpepper has returned to her California hometown after her mother’s tragic death.
She is a photographer but enjoys taking baking lessons at a local bakery. She has befriended the bakery’s proprietor and another older lady. Both are very interesting characters and play a prominent role in the story. A fellow baker was poisoned and found dead near the bakery. This story winds around and has several twists. There are so many dots to connect and Ivy does this passionately. She is an intelligent and thoughtful character………….one we can all enjoy.
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Death in Dark Blue — Julia Buckley
I enjoyed this second story in the series as much as I enjoyed the first one. I think it’s a fairly creative premise. Lena London is working as an apprentice to a famous author (Camilla Graham). The setting is in an Indiana small community. Parts of this story are a continuance of the previous book.
Sam (investment banker) is Lena’s love interest, living in a nearby home. In the first book, she helped clear his name in the death of his ex-wife. In actuality his wife disappeared and this story focuses on that. A friend of his wife is found murdered in Sam’s backyard.
This is a fast paced book with strong characters, especially Lena and Camilla. Lena is a zealous protagonist always pursuing any and every possible lead. The murderer is a surprise, not a well-liked person but not on anyone’s radar as a possibility. This author has written an intriguing and complex story, with some international aspects.
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Yarned and Dangerous — Sadie Hartwell
This is another new series. Josie Blair is a fashion designer in NYC. She leaves her job to help her curmudgeon great uncle convalesce with a broken leg from a car accident. His wife, Cora, died in this accident and was a proprietor of a yarn shop in Dorset Falls, a very small, rundown community in Connecticut. Josie attended high school in this community. Ironically most authors set their stories in a beautiful touristy type setting, using a lot of adjectives to describe the scenery. But not here. This is a dreary town with boarded up store fronts.
Josie plans on staying two weeks to help out. She is tasked with clearing out the knit shop. However she finds a body in the storeroom. I find it quite refreshing that in no way, shape, or form is Josie considered the murderer. Hartwell deviated from the norm of a first cozy in a series. Kudos to her.
I enjoyed following these characters throughout the story. The mystery has some complexity to it, but you get an ‘inkling’ of the culprit, so it’s not a complete surprise. The story moves along very quickly. The next book won’t be released until August. I will be looking forward to it.
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Bearly Departed – Meg Macy
This is the first book in a new series. Sasha and Maddie Silverman are sisters who operate their parent’s bear store and factory set in a small town near Ann Arbor, Michigan. Their sales manager is trying to take over the plant and send the manufacturing operations to China. Obviously there is a lot of objection.
With this controversy, it’s easy to figure out who gets murdered…………the sales manager. Since the sisters spent the evening together, they aren’t considered suspects. The author departed from the normal cozy script by not using the rule of ‘protagonists are mains suspect in first book of a new series’! YAY! (Although she does follow the ‘script’ with the ex……………he was found in bed with another woman, so divorce ensued.)
Thus, Sasha moved back to Michigan (from Florida).
Even though it’s easy to figure out the culprit, this book is a fun read. The mystery isn’t straight forward…….. involving some turns including drug selling/using.
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Nightshade for Warning – Bailey Cattrell
Since it’s summer I enjoy a lighter ‘read’ and this fills the bill. Actually I spurned two other books in series I read as too intense, even boring. In fact I tried twice with one of them and could only get to page 20 before I said ‘enough’.
I guess the adjective I’d use for this book is ‘delightful’, even with a bit of ‘woo-woo’. Ellie is the protagonist and creates scents. It’s similar to this author’s (Cricket McRae) soap making series. It certainly moves along quickly with a variety of appealing (yet somewhat diverse) characters.
A well-known journalist arranges an interview with Ellie for a magazine article. However he is poisoned before this interview takes place. The girlfriend of Ellie’s brother is considered a suspect by a police detective who doesn’t like Ellie.
The story is easy to follow, with an interesting revelation. But the culprit won’t be any on reader’s radar screen. Again, it’s an enjoyable read, especially since it’s summer!
Margaret StashEmpress says
I missed the boat again last month on the monthly recommendation post, so here’s my books from the last two months. Alas I used to read more than this combined total in a single month. I blame Kindle Fire & its games…
Simon Brett — Mrs. Pargeter’s Public Relations (Mrs. Pargeter series)
This is one of my favorite series (ok, I have lots of favorites, but really LOL) — and its been soooooo long waiting for a new title in this series — so glad to see it back! The ever so proper Mrs. Pargeter, widow of universally beloved gentlemanly crime boss Mr. Pargeter — who very emphatically knows NOTHING of her late husband’s business dealings — and is extremely frosty towards anyone who might mention anything… remotely dishonest… now discovers that her late husband had a sister… that she knew nothing about… and the fun begins….
Lynn Cahoon– Dressed to Kill, Killer Run & Murder on Wheels (Tourist Trap Series) — next 3 in series. Combination coffee shop/bookshop owner sleuth, boyfriend is police chief, she keeps finding bodies and solving murders. Formulaic, but well written with engaging characters.
Anne Perry — Murder on the Serpentine (Thomas & Charlotte Pitt series) — Always happy to get a new title in this much loved historical mystery series. Special Branch head Thomas Pitt is called in to (discreetly) solve murder of friend of the Queen, who was actually doing discreet inquiries for Her Majesty at the time of his seemingly “accidental” death.
Barbara Allan — Antiques Frame (Trash ‘n Treasures series) — OK — this series is just fun. Wild & wacky fun. Brandy Borne & her kooky mom Vivian are at it again. Rival murdered with Brandy squarely in the frame — but of course we (and they) know she didn’t do it. So they’re off on the path of solving another murder… and chaos ensues…
Ann B. Ross — Miss Julia Inherits a Mess and Miss Julia Weathers the Storm (Miss Julia series) Two most recent title in this favorite series. I love Miss Julia — woman of a certain age, raised to comply & be the typical gracious southern lady – but after being cowed by an overbearing husband for over 40 years, she shows a surprising spine of steel in her later years. In these two most recent title Miss Julia is faced with settling the estate of an acquaintance despite some severe inconvenience & the fact that there’s apparently nowhere near enough money in the estate to cover all the bequests followed by a trip to the beach for the summer — complete with treasure hunters and hurricane.
Paige Shelton — Of Books and Bagpipes (Scottish Bookshop series) While I’ve been most vocal on not being a fan of all the “new” series popping up like… well like popcorn… because most of them are just pale imitations of other series that have done well, every now & then comes a new series with a different and/or cool premise. This is one such. I loved the first title in this series (The Cracked Spine) and the second book in the series continues to capture my fancy. Based in a bookshop in Scotland named, appropriately, The Cracked Spine, the series is full of wonderful secrets & hidden things… doled out to the reader bit by tantalizing bit… looking forward to the next!
Laura Childs — Pekoe Most Poison (Tea Shop Series) I’ve loved this series since the very beginning, though I have to agree with a lot of long time readers that the last few titles seem to have been penned by a different hand. Perhaps with all the series she’s got going on the author has a “helper”? Hope she gets back to her “old voice” soon! Though I did enjoy this book enough to recommend it anyway.
Hannah Dennison — Murderous Mayhem at Honeychurch Hall (Honeychurch Hall series) — OK WAY TOO MUCH FUN FOR ONE SERIES LOL! Just love this series — love everything about it — think Downton Abbey brought into the modern day — with added comic relief in the form of sleuth Kat Stanford’s mother Iris (aka secretly romance novelist Krystalle Storm).
G. A. McKevett — Every Body on Deck (Savannah Reid series) Another favorite series, goes straight to the top of my TBR pile as soon as a new release comes along. This time the Midnight Magnolia Agency, complete with Granny Reid is off on an Alaskan cruise — and everything goes wrong…
Edith Maxwell — Called to Justice (Quaker Midwife series) So this is second in another new series. As mentioned, though not a fan of all the new series, this one was different enough in premise to catch my attention. Sleuth is Rose Carroll, a Quaker and a midwife in 19th century New England. Very well written, engaging well rounded characters & gripping plot lines.
Carolyn Hart — Walking on My Grave (Death on Demand series) So glad she decided to continue this series! (The previous title had been supposed to be the last, but the fans were quite outspoken!) Annie and Max (and of course her MIL Laurel & friends) have to find out who is trying to kill friend & heiress Ves Roundree before the killer succeeds.
Kate Carlisle — Once Upon A Spine (Bibliophile series) Latest in this old favorite series. Love that Brooklyn & Derek’s parents finally come face to face — with surprising results! Mystery surrounding possible takeover of charming local shops by big developer coupled with appearance (and possible disappearance!) of extremely rare and valuable copy (possibly copies) of Alice In Wonderland.
E. J. Copperman — Edited Out (Mysterious Detective series) Another new series with WAY DIFFERENT premise. Mystery writer confronted by the sleuth she created… but he’s alive & kicking & she has to help him find out the truth of his past… or go crazy… or both….!
Nancy Atherton — Aunt Dimity and the Widow’s Curse (Aunt Dimity series) Best for last! MOST MOST MOST favorite “feel good” cozy series! Newest title! JUST READ IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 🙂
Bek says
I am having more fun with “A Witch’s Cat Mystery” series by Delia James. It combines cats, paranormal and a LOT of fun. Ms. James had me at, “Did I say normal had left the building? At this point, I couldn’t find normal with a flashlight and a GPS.” And within 3 or 4 pages, followed that gem up with, “Pride rebelled. Common sense would have rebelled, but common sense was whimpering under the bed somewhere and refused to come out.” LOL…this may have something to do with the fact that those two quotes describe SO much of my life to a “T”!
Allyson says
I’ve been following this blog for a while. This month I did a little bit of reading, but I am a bookwor. I am reading “A Novel Way to Die” from Ali Brandon.
I came across it in a thrift store and thought I’d give it a try. I looked at the list in the book and it’s the second book in the “Black Cat Bookshop” series. I love cats, and I have read all of the Cat Who… books several times in the past. Now I’ve met other cats:
Joe Grey
Isabella and Rupert from Cats and Curios
Mrs. Murphy
Diesel from Cat in the Stacks
A ex – friend of mine told me about Joe Grey and Mrs. Murphy since he reads them. I love cats, and thought this series I found looked promising, and I’m planning to check out other cat mysteries out there. I also enjoy private eye mysteries as well. I like this story because I get to meet new cats and characters. The series I just mentioned above all remind of the Cat Who… since they all sound the same a little.
rgjedi01 says
I love the Cat in the Stacks books. Whenever a new one comes out, I can’t put it down until I finish it. I haven’t heard of some you mentioned, so I will have to look them up. Since you like cats, here’s some others I simply love.
Cats in Trouble by Leann Sweeney
Magical Cats by Sofie Kelly
Whiskey Tango & Foxtrot by Dixie Lyle
Second Chance Cat by Sophie Ryan
I would recommend all of those to anyone who likes cozies with cats in them. It would also help if you like to read anything paranormal. I know some people don’t.
One other series I like is the Haunted Guest House Series by EJ Copperman. It doesn’t have cats. But I just wanted to throw it out there for anyone else. I bought the first book because I thought it had a great title and I was hooked on the series after I finished it.
Betty L. says
I have enjoyed reading the first three books of Alex Erickson’s Bookstore Café Mystery series. The fifth one is due out in September. They are very much cozy mysteries. Is there a reason they are not listed on your Cozy Mystery site?
Danna - cozy mystery list says
It’s on the very very long list of authors I do intend to eventually add.
Janice says
I found a new book at the library that I enjoyed a lot – Your Killin Heart by Peggy O’Neal Peden. The main character, Campbell Hale, owns a travel agency in Nashville and gets involved in the investigation into the murder of the widow of a country music star. I am not a fan of country music but I loved this book and the insider look into the music scene of Nashville. Campbell makes some dumb choices in pursuing the killer but overall, this is a good debut novel with an interesting cast of characters.
Leave it to Cleaver by Victoria Hamilton was a welcome return to this series after it was dropped by the publisher. It was only offered on Kindle when I got it and seems to be self-published. The mystery centers on the discovery of the bodies of two teenagers who were thought to have run away decades ago. The rest of the story centers on a major change in the life of the main character. I hope that there will be more books in this series.
I also have to agree with Margaret in recommending Murderous Mayhem at Honeychurch Hall by Hannah Dennison, Once Upon a Spine by Kate Carlisle, and Aunt Dimity and the Widow’s Curse by Nancy Atherton.
Janice says
I want to add one more recommendation to my list for this month – French Fried, the second book in Kylie Logan’s Ethnic Eats series. I just finished it late last night and wanted to get it in for this month. Laurel, who spent her childhood in foster care, has come to Hubbard Ohio to help the sister of her last foster mother in running her restaurant. Having never had a real home, it is hard for Laurel to accept the closeness of the people in this small town and she is looking for a way to leave. She begins investigating the death of a farmer who provided vegetables and herbs to the restaurant -a French woman who was very active in the peace movement of the 1960 -70’s. There is great character development in this series and I highly recommend it .
Pam says
I read somewhere that Walking on My Grave by Carolyn Hart is the last in the Death on Demand series
Kathy Dunsmoor says
Laura Levine – The Jaine Austin series, Laura Bradford – The Emergency Dessert Squad Mystery, Jenn McKinlay – A Cupcake Bakery Mystery. I like the humor that is injected into these stories.
TXRed says
Re: Dorothy Gilman’s Mrs. Polifax series: In April I developed an interest in Mrs. Pollifax based on a suggestion from Amazon after I bought a Kindle book – a posthumous Veronica Black Sister Joan Mystery, A Vow of Evil – that I might like Dorothy Gilman’s books. After trying Gilman’s Nun in the Closed (NOT a Polifax book and is a stand-alone light, humorous mystery about a small order of nuns who inherit a big, spooky old mansion, which I enjoyed), I then came to cozy-mystery.com to learn herein more about Pollifax mysteries. After reading samples from the first Mrs. Pollifax, The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax, I bought a complete set offered at a very low price on eBay. I’m now halfway through the third Pollifax and find the characters and situations in the book to be well crafted, witty, interesting, with moments of “cozy” descriptions of the places she is sent to as perhaps America’s oldest CIA spy and the people she meets. She frequently almost stumbles into situations, but she is clever, level-headed, bold, resourceful, likeable. Tending her prize-winning geraniums in her New Brunswick, NJ apartment, having tea with her neighbor, and visiting her adult children just don’t make her feel as “useful” as she would like to be in her golden years, hence at her doctor’s suggestion she did something she dreamed about in her youth: become a spy. Each book relates a different assignment she is given during the Cold War Era (books were written in the 60s through about the 80s). Way back in the early 70s several Mrs. Pollifax books appeared in the Reader’s Digest Condensed Books, which my mother subscribed to. But, alas, I didn’t even try to read a single one when I visited Mom; I had no idea how entertaining they would be. Try the first one; it got me hooked in April 2017.
Tullita says
Like Margaret, I read the Cracked Spine this month. I’m looking forward to the series.
I also decided to read the Agatha winners for first novel (thanks so much for providing that) I read Terror in Taffeta by Marla Cooper, great book, and have the other winners lined up. Also thrilled that Anne Hillerman is continuing the series started by her Dad. I love we are getting more of a woman’s perspective with Bernie being a lead. I read Song of the Lion and it did not disappoint. I could not put it down. Last but by no means least, Louise Penny Trick of the Light (still working slowly thought her books it’s hard not to marathon read, I want to always have one waiting for me)
Gerri Librarian says
I’ve been reading a lot of a new author named Clara Benson.
She has two series set in 1920s England – the Angela Marchmont series (a savvy, sophisticated, independent woman reminiscent of Mrs. Bradley) and the Freddy Pilkington-Soames series (a “bright young thing” journalist).
If you are a fan of classic British cozies by Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, etc. – or the Daisy Dalrymple series by Carola Dunn – you should check out Clara Benson.
The first book in the Angela Marchmont series is a classic, English country house murder mystery – The Murder at Sissingham Hall.
I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
Janet W. says
I’m loving the Ann Purser New Brooms mysteries. A British writer, Purser writes a series about Lois Meade who lives in a small village and owns the New Brooms Cleaning Service. Lois is a tenacious amateur detective with a loving husband and mother who think she enjoys snooping too much. The mysteries sometime involve her family but mostly we get to know her cleaners and a police detective who admires her. The stories always hold a surprise while you get to know the villagers.
sandir says
June was apparently my month for starting new series!
A Zen for Murder (Moosamuck #1) by Leighann Dobbs – I liked this one especially since the characters are retired.
The Big Chili (Undercover Dish #1) by Julia Buckley – The sleuth makes delicious casseroles that others in her town pass off as their own. Includes recipes.
Rest Ye Murdered Gentlemen (Year-Round Christmas #1) by Vicki Delany – Why can’t I live in a town where it is always Christmas ? 🙂
Better Homes and Corpses (Hamptons Home and Garden #1) by Kathleen Bridge – I loved getting a peek inside the gorgeous homes and amazing antiques stores.
Death of a Toy Soldier (Vintage Toyshop #1) by Barbara Early – My favorite book of the month.
Murder Takes the Cake (Daphne Martin Cake Decorating #1) by Gayle Trent – I once took a cake decorating class so I loved this theme.
Patricia says
I give this series five stars. British author Jordaina Sydney Robinson’s Bridget Sway paranormal cozy mystery series is a funny cozy mystery series set in the afterlife. “You thought living is hard…You should try being dead” is the advert blurb to describe the books. The novels are set in Scarborough England.
The three book series is Beyond Dead, Deader Still and A Little More Dead.The series reminded me of the TV series Dead Like Me.
Bridget Sway an event planner has the misfortune to get hit by a bus and die. She doesn’t believe she is dead. The first few weeks Bridget is in the afterlife she still firmly believes she is alive and has trouble following the rules. The newly dead must live in a group home, they can’t date, they have to work and don’t get paid and if they don’t follow the rules there will be serious repercussions. Her first day on her job she finds a dead ghost in her locker. Who knew you could die twice? She bonds with Sabrina during a group adjustment meeting.
marilyn says
This month I read something different. MARY POPPINS 80th anniversary collection by P. L. Travers. It is 4 books in one. If you liked the movie you will love the stories in this book.
Rita I says
I just finished Treble At The Jam Fest ( A food lovers village ), by Leslie Buddewitz. I have read all of her books in this series as well as her Spice shop Mysteries. They are all delish! Keep you involved until the end. I love the comedy with the mystery. and a little romance doesn’t hurt! Be sure to read these wonderful books! Can’t wait for the next one! Rita I
Sharon S says
After loving book #1, Dog On It, I read book #2 in Spencer Quinn’s Chet and Bernie series, Thereby Hangs a Tail. For me to continue reading a series, I have to really love it. lol!
Deirdre B says
I love ‘The Forensic Genealogist’ series by Nathan Dylan Goodwin. The first book is Hiding the Past and as in all the books it travels between the past and the present until the mystery is revealed. the main character also has a mystery in his past which is gradually unravelled through the books which is why they need to be read in order. Set in the south of England.
Another author I have enjoyed is Elizabeth Edmondson, ‘A Man of Some Repute’ is the first in her series of A very English mystery and I am awaiting the release of the third book in the series soon. She has also written stand alone books which I have enjoyed.
Sonya says
I started reading Better Homes and Corpse but FYI it does have swearing in it. Didn’t grab my attention right away and with the swearing I guess I won’t continue the series.