It’s been a few months, so I’m trying to keep more on top of reader questions than I have been. There are still quite a few outstanding questions, though.
From R…
I’m looking for a fiction or mystery book where an older married couple are on a trip(might be a food tour). But they’re in Europe somewhere & I THINK someone gets sick. Every chapter or two though is a different narrator(ie. her POV and then his POV).
I believe that the woman’s name is Caroline/Carolyn but I can’t remember her husband’s name.
It’s been awhile since I’ve read it & I’d like to try and find it again.
Thanks
EDIT: Julie, Susan, and Suzy have posted in that this sounds like the Culinary Food Writer Mystery Series by author Nancy Fairbanks. R confirmed that this is the mystery they were thinking of.
From Gayle….
I’m looking for a series I lost track off….woman has a law firm, married to a man who maybe works for a government agency, they have a plane, and she gets involved in solving crimes. The series has been around for a while.
EDIT: Terry and Marja suggested that this could be the Sharon McCone Mystery Series by Marcia Muller.
From Judithe…
I am trying to find a mystery series about a woman lawyer who comes to work with her father. Not the Sujata Massey series. American or maybe British?
EDIT: Annie and Marja both suggest this could be the Barbara Holloway Mystery Series by Kate Wilhelm.
From Joan…
Hi, I “lost” an author, as in I cannot remember her name or titles of her books. The main character arrives in a small seaside village in England(?) having left her former life behind. She decides to open a shop. She meets a local woman who befriends her and a cheese farmer/producer with whom she thinks she could have a relationship. There are murders and mysteries to be solved. Help?
EDIT: Laura suggested that this might be the Scarlet Cove Seaside Systery Series, written by Agatha Frost and Evelyn Amber.
From Tom…
At least 20 years ago a woman -AUTHOR – who lived in Mequon wrote a fictional murder mystery based in Milwaukee’s Washington Heights neighborhood and Washington Park. Young school aged girls were involved in story and I believe solved mystery.
Can anyone help with authors name or title, please?
EDIT: Sharon suggested this might be Whistling in the Dark by Lesley Kagan.
From Lex…
Hi, I have been looking all over and can’t remember a series I have read. The main character is a female detective (maybe a PI) who lives in Cambridge MA on or around Brattle Street in a carriage house.
EDIT: Ellen suggested that this might be the Carlotta Carlyle Mystery Series by Linda Barnes. Marcia thinks it could be the Museum Mystery Series by Sheila Connolly. Ginger thinks it might be the Dog Lover’s Mystery Series by Susan Conant. Marja thinks this could be the Sunny Randall Mystery Series by Robert B. Parker. Lex eventually figured it out – it was Patricia Cornwell‘s Kay Scarpetta Mystery Series.
From Bobbie…
I am looking for a series that takes place in Florida with a young man that is a half brother or illegitimate son of a wealthy boat owner or maker. He has a friend or grandfather that he associates with. It’s a mystery series. I think his name was Chase or Chance. It is not the Saving Chase series.
EDIT: And a late question from Marja…
Now I know this isn’t a Cozy per se, but I have read 2 or 3 books about a Baltimore [possibly Atlanta] female police officer who makes detective at the end of the first book. Because she patrolled a poorer quarter of town, she has connections with many of the people there. She lives out of town in a small country house with a big yard for her two Border Collies [and for awhile they even had some sheep to herd] and has a boyfriend who is a fairly senior detective. Her father, also a cop, committed suicide in this house, in the office, and she has made that space into a judo [?] training room for herself and [I think she has a student or two, or a teacher]? The author’s first name is something like Mary Jo … I’d love to read another but I can’t remember a title of the books or the author’s name! Boy is that frustrating bc as you can see I remember a lot of other stuff from books! ;^D
EDIT: Tad thinks this might be the Detective Sarah Alt Mystery Series by Trudy Nan Boyce. Marja confirmed that this is what she was looking for!
Thank you in advance to anyone who answers! As I get possible answers, I’ll post them with the question…
Julie Felix says
I believe the first question is Nancy Fairbanks series featuring Carolyn Blue.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Julie, that does look like it fits a lot of the clues provided – thanks, I’ve put it up as a possibility!
Teri Schaub says
Posted “from R” Book sounds like something I would like to read. If you find title and author, please email it to me. Thanks
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Teri, several readers have suggested that it might be the Culinary Food Writer Mystery Series by Nancy Fairbanks.
Teri Schaub says
Thank you for the the author’s name, Nancy Fairbanks. I will try her books.
Ellen Spirytus says
The female Boston PI could be Carlotta Carlyle series by Linda Barnes
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Ellen, it looks like this is a decent possibility. I’ve posted it as a potential answer.
Susan Siefers says
Would the series about the traveling couple be the Carolyn Blue culinary mysteries by Nancy Fairbanks?
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Susan, that does fit a lot of the clues – thanks, I’ve put it up as a possibility.
Laura B says
For from Joan, I believe the series she is looking for is by Agatha Frost. The first book is Dead In The Water. The protagonist is a retired police detective.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Laura, that’s a decent possibility… aside from the cheese making romantic lead, this sounds like a lot of Cozies these days so it’s harder to say for sure. I’ve put it up as a possibility.
Terry A. Adams says
For Gayle: Sounds like Marcia Mueller’s Sharon McCone series. It has indeed been around for a while, but I think the most recent book in the series is “The Breakers” from 2018.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Terry, it does seem like a possibility. I’ve posted it as a possible suggestion.
Marcia Glatzer says
To Lex, Is the series the Sheila Connolly Museum Mystery series?
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Marcia, hmm, that’s a possibility, though I don’t remember the sleuth there being an actual detective or PI. Still, it’s common enough that those asking questions are off on a detail or two, so I’ve put it up as a potential answer.
Ginger (Bronx) says
Sheila Connolly’s Museum Mystery series takes place in Philadelphia, and the lead character (Nell Pratt) lives in the suburbs and commutes to work by train or car.
To me the Boston/Cambridge reference sounds more like Susan Conant and her Dog Lovers series, lead character Holly Winter. I read many of those years ago and remember the series as not overwhelmingly dog focused. That is, the storylines I remember often started with a dog-related thing — like being at a dog show — then swiftly moved away to the plot lines and the rest of Holly’s life.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Ginger, that also seems like a possibility. It’s hard to say for sure which one it might be from the provided clues.
Suzy Huyler says
From R. Nancy Fairbanks Mozzarella Most Murderous. Character is Carolyn Blue
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Suzy, that does look like a strong possibility – I’ve posted it as such.
Sharon says
I’m wondering if the answer to Tom’s question (Milwaukee-based mystery solved by school-aged girls) is Whistling in the Dark by Lesley Kagen (http://lesleykagen.com/whistling1.php)
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Sharon, I don’t know if that’s an old enough book for Tom’s comment (I’m finding 2007 as the publication date, less than 20 years ago), but it’s a possibility that he’s off on the date so I’ve put it up as a possibility.
SusanB says
If you haven’t already done so, if you have questions like these, please call your local librarian. They are trained to find books with clues like these. They also have some sources that they layman doesn’t. Please don’t be embarrassed if you have very few clues: I guarantee, librarians love questions like this.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
SusanB, that’s a good tip! Though I don’t mind getting the questions – it makes for an interesting post!
SusanB says
To add to my comment: I also think Cozy Readers is a great site and is very helpful! I love how the knowledge is shared. But for absolute stumps, call your librarian.
kathy says
Sharon McCone most definitely does not own a law firm and her husband does not work for the government. They both are licensed pilots however.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Kathy, there are often minor mistakes in details provided for these sort of questions, as they’re often about books that the person asking only “sort of” remembers. I’d rather put up as many potential answers as possible in the hopes that one of them is correct and hopefully the question answerer might be able to indicate which one is correct.
Nancy says
In the early Sharon McCone books, she was the investigator for a law firm.
Annie says
For Judithe,
Could the father daughter series be Barbara Holloway series by Kate Wilhelm? I think they take place in Oregon.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Annie, that does seem to fill the suggested points. I’ll put it up as a potential answer.
Marja says
Hi, Judithe, You may possibly be thinking of Kate Wilhelm’s wonderful series which starts with “Death Qualified.” Barbara Holloway’s dad [I always think of actor John Mahoney when I picture him] exclaims, “Christ on a mountain!” when he’s taken aback by something. The setting is Eugene, OR. The series is wonderful and characters are deeply drawn, so if anyone is looking for a series that started around the late 90s, I highly recommend it.
Lex, Is it possibly the Sunny Randall series by Robert B Parker? I don’t quite remember her living situation other than, she lived alone with a bull terrier and her ex-husband had been in the Mob. These are set in Boston. I think 4 – 5 books, before Parker passed away.
Or, yes! the Linda Barnes Carlotta Carlyle series is a good possibility too. Carlotta lives with a female punk renter; she has a sometime boyfriend who is “connected;” she inherited her house from her grandmother, and has a parrot called Red Emma.
Gayle, if you have got to the “couple owns a plane” you’re about halfway through the Sharon McCone series. Sharon started work as a PI working with All Souls Legal Services, and went on to found her own PI firm. Her husband Hy was working for the shady corporate espionage private company called RKI International. It’s great watching their businesses and ethics changing for the better over time and Sharon has some interesting and wonderful relatives here and there, including a computer whiz kid nephew and a great friendship with his mom, who’s divorced from Sharon’s country singer brother.
Now I know this isn’t a Cozy per se, but I have read 2 or 3 books about a Baltimore [possibly Atlanta] female police officer who makes detective at the end of the first book. Because she patrolled a poorer quarter of town, she has connections with many of the people there. She lives out of town in a small country house with a big yard for her two Border Collies [and for awhile they even had some sheep to herd] and has a boyfriend who is a fairly senior detective. Her father, also a cop, committed suicide in this house, in the office, and she has made that space into a judo [?] training room for herself and [I think she has a student or two, or a teacher]? The author’s first name is something like Mary Jo … I’d love to read another but I can’t remember a title of the books or the author’s name! Boy is that frustrating bc as you can see I remember a lot of other stuff from books! ;^D
Marja says
And I forgot to say, Carlotta Carlyle drives a cab to make a living. She also volunteers for Big Sisters and plays team volleyball. Alas, the last book was several years ago.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Marja, thanks for the suggestions… I’ve put up the suggestions, and also added your question to the list.
Tad says
The series is set in Atlanta and the author is Trudy Nan Boyce, a retired Atlanta police officer.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Tad, that seems like a possibility. I’ve posted it as a possible solution.
Marja says
***Thank you, thank you*** Tad and Danna, for this wonderful resource! I have been trying to remember her name for a year!
Happy Reading!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Marja, you’re welcome! And thanks to Tad as well for answerring your question.
Sylvie says
You all are ROCK STARS!!!! thank you for all the great information..keep it up ladies: )