May 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 Rita Mae Brown’s (and Sneaky Pie’s!) Mrs. Murphy 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 April? 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 May 2024 that you want the rest of us to know about, and why did you enjoy it?
Bailee Abbott (aka Kathryn Long): Paint by Murder Mystery Series (first entry A Brush with Murder)
Emily Brightwell: Mrs. Jeffries Mystery Series
Rita Mae Brown (and Sneaky Pie): Mrs. Murphy Mystery Series
Agatha Christie: Miss Marple Mystery Series AND Hercule Poirot Mystery Series
Ellen Crosby: Sophie Medina Mystery Series
Peggy Ehrhart: Knit & Nibble Mystery Series
Lauren Elliott: Beyond the Page Bookstore Mystery Series
Amanda Flower (aka Isabella Alan): Farm to Table Mystery Series
Martha Grimes: Richard Jury Mystery Series
Miranda James (aka Dean James, Jimmie Ruth Evans, & Honor Hartman): Cat in the Stacks Mystery Series
Andrea Penrose: Lady Arianna Regency Mystery Series
Frank Anthony Polito: Domestic Partens in Crime (first entry Renovated to Death)
Mindy Quigley: Deep Dish Mystery Series (first entry Six Feet Deep Dish)
Linda Reilly: Grilled Cheese Mystery Series
Ashley Weaver: Electra McDonnell Mystery Series
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.
Rob Jarrad says
Danna: Hope you and the family are well. I’ve read a few but am currently re-reading some old friends. Emily Brightwell apparently quit writing her Mrs. Jeffries series ending with Mrs. Jeffries Aims to Win.
Also reading more of the Peggy Ehrhart Knit and Nibble series and
revisiting Agatha Christie’s Hercule and Miss Marple books.
Planning a heavy reading schedule for next month.
Barb K. says
Just started binge reading Lauren Elliot’s series, Beyond the Page Bookstore. So far I have enjoyed them and look forward to more good reading.
Mary says
I’m reading the Martha Grimes Richard Jury series. I started with the 1981 ” The man with a Load of Mischief”. Wonderfully compelling mysteries. One of the most enjoyable parts of this series are the characters. Fun, witty, charming and intelligent.
I strongly recommend this author and series. Be prepared to continue the series.
MJ says
May Recommendations – 2024
Dodge and Burn — Ellen Crosby
This is a fantastic book in the Sophie Medina mystery series with numerous complexities. I love Crosby’s wine series, but find this series highly entertaining, too. There was an eight year gap between book two and book three. So, it isn’t easy to remember all the characters.
However, the widowed Sophie has moved to DC. Thus, there’s new characters which aren’t in the first two books. And there is very little carryover of characters from the first two books into the third and fourth book
I often enjoy cozy mysteries which are light, sprinkled with some humor. Ellen Crosby stories are far more intensive. She is an absolutely terrific author (amongst the best), with a past including ABC and Washington Post gigs. She does an extensive amount of research for this story, most likely relying on her journalistic skills. As in her first two books in this series, this one has an international flair.
Sophie is a well-known photojournalist. She’s been commissioned to take some photos for an extremely wealthy DC philanthropist. On her second visit she finds him dead in his home.
Soooooo many twists and turns to this story with a well written plot. The reader will stay glued to the pages. There are unresolved family issues – one relating to the main mystery. There is a betrayal of a friend. The main focus of the mystery is stolen art work.
A forewarning — Crosby created a bedroom scene in this story as she did in book three. I found it unwarranted to the story, but you can easily skip over it, just a I did. So, don’t let it deter you from reading this book.
Yes, you can read this book as a stand alone story.
I MUST emphasize that it’s important to read the ‘acknowledgments’. It’s three pages long, explaining her research with applications to current issues. VERY informative. Most likely you’ll say the same thing I did, “Who Knew?”
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A Brush with Murder — Bailee Abbott (Kathryn Long)
I wanted to mention this new series which I recently discovered. I’ve never heard of this author. I assume (but don’t know for sure), that perhaps I saw it recommended on this site.
I’ve read the first two books in the series – the second book is, “Kill them With Canvas”.
Artist (painter) Chloe Abbington returns to this upstate NY community from NYC to join her sister in a new business. They conduct painting/art classes. The camaraderie and wittiness of this sister partnership makes for quite an enjoyable read.
In this first book, a local columnist has been writing very negative stories of the various local businesses. She is found murdered. The sisters set out to help the local detective find the killer. Of course, there are conflicts!
Surprises abound in this story with an easy flow from beginning to end. I suggest you give it a try. I think you may like it as much as I did.
I won’t go into the ‘explanations’ of the second story. Suffice it to say, it’s equally as enjoyable as the first book.
Fortney, Sally says
I read two good food mysteries, Brie Careful What You Wish For and Public Anchovy #1 by Mindy Quigley. Also, Crime and Cherry Pits by Amanda Flower. I love food cozies with recipes.
A Swirl of Shadows by Andrea Penrose was a Regency mystery, and Locked in Pursuit by Ashley Weaver was a World War II mystery.
For a change of pace, Murder in the Air had many short stories was an aerial theme.
MJ says
You know, Sally, what they say about great minds……(he-he)
I give a ‘second’ to your recommendation ‘Brie Careful What You Wish For’ by Linda Reilly. It’s the fourth book in this Grilled Cheese series. I’ve enjoyed ALL the books in this series. I always look forward to the next one to be released. Ironically, I was also going to recommend it this month, but thought my posting was loooooong enough! 🙂
Also, I recommended ‘Crime and Cherry Pits’ a couple of months ago. So, again, I give your recommendation a well deserved ‘second’.
I, too, enjoy the Mindy Quigley Deep Dish series. The fourth book is due out in October.
In these authors’ series, I suggest starting with the first book because it’s easier to follow and understand the relationships.
AND, they’re ALL good reads! 🙂
Kelsie says
Domestic Partners in Crime Mysteries series by Frank Anthony Polito!! It’s my new favorite cozy mystery series, the first queer one I’ve read. It is set in Michigan and focuses on a married gay couple who hosts an HGTV renovation show and just *happens* to run into murders. It’s full of hot men, catty gays, adorable dogs, but also real conversations about hard topics. And beautiful, complicated, real love. Highly recommend.
MendoGirl says
For May I would like to recommend Twelve Angry Librarians by Miranda James. This is the 8th book in the Cat in the Stacks series. The first being Murder Past Due.
Charlie Harris is a librarian and the interim library director at Athena College in Athens, Mississippi. He is known for walking his rescued Maine Coon cat around town.
When th Southern Academic Libraries Association holds their annual meeting at Athens College, Charlie must give the welcome speech. As if that weren’t bad enough the keynote speaker is Gavin Fong, an insufferable man from Charlie’s past. When Gavin drops dead in front of everyone, Charlie rises to the top of the suspect list, and sets out to find the killer before he ends up in handcuffs.
I found this book at my local thrift shop and didn’t realize it was the 8th book in the series, but it was fine; I was able to figure out how all the characters related with each other.
It was a very good story with quite the surprise ending, I think I will have to go back to the beginning and read the series.
Terry G. says
I didn’t know about the cozy mystery genre until I saw this blog. I browsed through the lists and immediately searched for a series on audiobook from the library. Not too many but found Lauren Elliot’s “steeped in Secrets “. I can’t stop listening to it to and from work, on the treadmill, while cleaning. I mentioned this to a friend and she too got excited about this genre. Thank you 😊
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Terry, I’m glad to be able to help introduce you to a new pool of reading material!