The following Mystery Books will be released in December 2011:
Ellery Adams (aka Jennifer Stanley, J. B. Stanley, 1/2 of Lucy Arlington): The Last Word (This will be the 3rd in the Books by the Bay Mystery Series…)
Sandra Balzo: Triple Shot (This will be the 7th in the Maggy Thorsen Mystery Series…)
Juliet Blackwell (aka Hailey Lind): Dead Bolt (This will be the 2nd in the Haunted Home Renovation Mystery Series…)
Barbara Bretton: Spells & Stitches (This will be the in the 4th in the Chloe Hobbs’ Paranormal Mystery Series…)
Stephen J. Cannell: Vigilante (This will be the 11th in the Shane Scully Mystery Series…)
Patricia Cornwell: Red Mist (This will be the 19th in the Kay Scarpetta Mystery Series…)
Monica Ferris: Threadbare (This will be the 15th in the Needlecraft Mystery Series…)
Christopher Fowler: Hell Train (This will be a Stand Alone…)
Gar Anthony Haywood: Assume Nothing (This will be a Stand Alone…)
Tami Hoag: Down the Darkest Road (This will be the 3rd in the Oak Knoll Mystery Series…)
Deryn Lake: Death at the Wedding Feast (This will be the 14th in the John Rawlings, Apothecary Mystery Series…)
Victoria Laurie: Ghoul Interrupted (This will be the 6th in the Ghost Hunter Mystery Series…)
Joyce & Jim Lavene: A Spirited Gift (This will be the 3rd in the Missing Pieces Mystery Series…)
Virginia Lowell: A Cookie Before Dying (This will be the 2nd in the Cookie Cutter Shop Mystery Series…)
Edward Marston (aka Keith Miles & Conrad Allen): A Bespoke Murder (This will be the 1st in the NEW Home Front Detective Mystery Series…)
Ralph McInerny (aka Monica Quill): The Compassion of Father Dowling (This will be a collection of Father Dowling short stories…)
Leslie Meier: Chocolate Covered Murder (This will be the 18th in the Lucy Stone Mystery Series…) (This is a Valentine theme mystery…)
J. J. Murphy: You Might As Well Die (This will be the 2nd in the Algonquin Round Table Mystery Series…)
Amy Myers: Murder in Abbot’s Folly (This will be the 8th in the Marsh and Daughter Mystery Series…)
Ann Purser: Foul Play at Four (This will be the 11th in the Lois Meade Mystery Series…)
Al Roker & Dick Lochte: The Talk Show Murders (This will be the 3rd in the Billy Blessing Mystery Series…)
Mark Schweizer: The Christmas Cantata (This will be the 10th in the Liturgical Mystery Series…) (This will be a Christmas theme mystery…)
Paige Shelton: Crops and Robbers (This will be the 3rd in the Farmers’ Market Mystery Series…)
Alexander McCall Smith: The Forgotten Affairs of Youth (This will be the 8th in the Isabel Dalhousie Sunday Philosophy Club Series…)
Ann Summerville: The Berton Hotel (This will be a Stand Alone…)
♦To go back to the Cozy Mystery New Book Release page, click here.♦
Larraine says
Thanks as always. However, apparently You Might As Well Die is the third in the series, not the second.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Larraine, I saw that Hair of the Dog was published before J. J. Murphy’s You Might As Well Die. I wasn’t sure, though, whether to add it to the list – since it is just a short story.
Your comment changed my mind, so I just added it to Murphy’s page (as the second in the series), annotating that it is a short story. Thanks!
Sharon says
I have enjoyed a series by Edward Marston aka Conrad Allen so immediately went to check out the new book listed. Um… doesn’t sound too “cozy” based on the summary of a brutal attack, the father dead and the daughter raped and traumatized. Just thought it might be worth passing this on.
Love the site and the blogs. Thanks so much for all of the work you do.
Sharon
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Sharon, I am so glad you brought this to my attention. I have just gone on the three pages (Edward Marston, Conrad Allen, and Keith Miles) and annotated “(Reportedly not cozy)” at the top.
When I first started the site several years ago, I was able to vouch for all of the authors, since I had read all of them. Since then I have gotten sooooo many recommendations from Cozy Mystery site readers who tell me the authors belong on the site.
Thanks, again!
Cindy says
Hi Danna,
I’ve read your note to Sharon about Edward Marston. I noticed Patricia Cornwell is on the list. She is absolutely NOT Cozy. There are lots of gruesome deaths, adultery-by the main character no less, and in one of her most recent books there was a scene between her and Marino that would fit with Silhouette MM’s. I spoke with a lot of her fans and they all told me of this scene and did not like it.
Sorry, I was wondering how it is on the list. She’s great but NOT Cozy.
Cindy
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Thank you, Cindy, for your comment about Patricia Cornwell.On the alphabetical “C” page, the first thing I say in Patricia Cornwell’s little blip/description is “Not cozy, by any means.” On her actual page, the first thing I say is “(Not Cozy, by any means!)”
Cornwell is one of the “Not cozy, by any means.” authors who I read during the 1990s. I loved her work! Eventually, however, I found some of the details she described a little too much for me. However, I still think that she is a wonderful author, but “Not cozy, by any means.”
Cindy says
Thanks Danna,
I did not see her in the list, only on this blog. Good to know! I love her books just not the one in question.
Hope you and all your site fans have a Fantastic Holiday season(s)!! :> I know we all deserve to be able to put our feet up with our favorite beverage/snack and a great book!! I used to work in a book store, got tired of waiting for my favorite authors, got the idea of reading the first of each of the new cozy mystery series that came out. For the past 5 years or so I’ve now got TOOO MANYYY authors to enjoy. Bad Idea ;>
Cindy
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Cindy, I stopped reading Patricia Cornwell years ago. The deciding point was when Scarpetta used a large soup pot to do something I simply thought was gratuitous information, with the particular description going into such detail that I just closed the book and never went back.
Obviously, as someone who prefers Cozy Mysteries, that was absolutely too much for me.
I hope you have a wonderful holiday season, also!
Angela says
Danna,
I think you do a wonderful job marking the “non-Cozy” authors from the Cozy ones. Obviously you can’t have read all the authors on the site and so you must rely on your followers to help you sort them all out.
Thanks for the new release list as always. There are a few I am really looking forward to on this month as usual!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Angela, I have gotten lots of letters asking why I have non-Cozy Mystery authors on the Cozy Mystery site, so I can certainly understand people’s frustration. When I know for sure about an authors “non-cozyness”, I try to remember to put that on either their individual page, or their alphabetical page. Reginald Hill is an author who I enjoy a lot… but, he writes a police procedural, and he is not Cozy. The same goes for Colin Dexter… another author who I enjoy a lot… ditto on the police procedural and the not Cozy.
There are a few books that I am looking forward to this month, also… as well as one (in particular) that has reminded me that I haven’t read any of Ralph McInerny‘s Father Dowling mysteries. I am definitely going to try that series in the very near future….
Jerry says
I just finished Zero Day by David Baldacci and Kill Alex Cross by James Patterson. Could not put either book down. Also just finished Maid of Murder by Amanda Flower. Very good book. JMW
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Jerry, thanks for letting us know about your enjoyment of Amanda Flower’s Maid of Murder!
Shirley says
Hello Danna 11/12/11
I want to say how much I love reading your Cozy Blogs….
Thank You…..
I want to tell you that Ann Purser has written a new series
about a cantankerous spinster who lives in a quaint village of Barrington and with a few other older friends solves mystery or murders. THEY are a delight. The first came out I think sometime in 2010. Title: “THE HANGMAN”S ROW ENQUIRY”
and now a new one, her second “THE MEASBY ENQUIRY”…..you might already have her on your list….but!
Smile.
Second Author is AMY PATRICIA MEADE…..
She wrote her 1st series which I really enjoy and I think she did three in that series, and now in Dec/11 she has come
out with a new series & the first book in the series is called “WELL-OFFED in VERMONT”
She is a delight cozy mystery writer….
Also through ALIRI Used Bookstore online I found a delightful
English series and the author’s name is Veronica Heley….
and all the characters come together in this novel…..I think she writes two series but the one I am reading now is “MURDER IN HOUSE” and have enjoyed quite a few of her English Mysteries. smile.
I do enjoy your Blog as I get to read about so much instead of hearing as I am deaf.
You and your writers on the blog are wonderful. Never Stop, Please.
Have a nice Thanksgiving and God Bless you.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Hi Shriley,
I hope you have a delightful Thanksgiving, also.
Yes, I do have both Amy Patricia Meade and Ann Purser on the site, but it never hurts for Cozy Mystery site readers to tell us how much they enjoy an author, or two!
Jerry says
If you’re looking for some really good authors
William G Tapply. Passed away a couple of years ago but has a ton of books. Cannot put them down once you have picked them up. Some other suggestions are Bill Crider, Dorothy Howell, Rhonda Pollero, Vicki Doudera just to name a few. Great cozy books
JMW
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Thank you, Jerry, for your recommended authors. Bill Crider, Dorothy Howell, Rhonda Pollero, and Vicki Doudera are all on the Cozy Mystery site.
regina s. says
hi! i just wanted to say that i have read all of jessica beck books in less than two months. i am waiting her new one with great anticipation! I am probably going to switch to a Erica Spindler’s “Blood Vines” before I read Jenn McKinlay’s “Death by the Dozen”. or vice versa! who knows. too many books! is there a bookaholics meeting place anywhere? lol 🙂
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Regina S, I wish I could be that organized! I usually have a mystery book on my night table just in case I finish my current read and need a new book in the middle of the night. However, my night table mystery book selection has a habit of changing on me… as my mood usually changes. Sometimes I feel like I “have to have” one of my classic Cozy Mystery authors, and sometimes I’m in the mood for a more contemporary mystery.
(I know what you’re saying about a bookaholic support group!)
linda says
Regina, Not much to do this morning. I have books to read but just haven’t gotten into them yet. So I found your response and I thought I would comment. When I first started reading the series type books, I would try to pick up all the books in that series. I have 3 rather close public libraries that I visit so most generally I can get all the books in any particular series. But my bad habit doing this is that I am so anxious to read the entire series that I find myself rushing through the books to get to the next one. In doing this I miss a lot of the book. I forget or I just don’t pick up on certain parts of the story, then when a later book comes out some of the storyline is a “mystery” to me. Now I have been trying to slow down a little so that I can really enjoy each book. Sure does make reading later books in each series a whole lot more interesting!
Now that I am retired I can thankfully slow down and smell the roses alittle bit.
I love the “Harry Potter” books but as each one came out I was so anxious to find what happened that I would miss out so much. Then things would happen in the movies or in later books that I couldn’t remember or I just didn’t pick up on.
Believe it or not I have read each one of these books time and time again. Each time I reread these books I pick up on something different.
I love these books. I love this series. That author had an amazing imagination. The only other books that I have read over and over are “Gone With the Wind” and “The Thorn Birds.” Both of these are among my very favorites.
Cindy says
Hi fellow Cozy-Mystery site lovers!:>
I have been thinking of an old series that I once started around 1980’s or 90’s. Anyways, the main (female) character was friends with two equally good guys. They were introduced almost page 1. One’s name was Mike I believe. As the book went on they were both really good men and she was finding it hard to decide.
I believe after a few books in the series she was about to decide when I lost track of the series. She went around solving mysteries but she was not overly funny, etc. It was a cozy but not “whimsical”.
Sorry I can’t give more info. But if someone can remember from what little I do, that’d be great.
Thanks,
Cindy
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Cindy, I will add this to my list of Cozy Mystery site readers’ questions. Hopefully, when I post it as a separate entry, someone will recognize the author to whom you are referring.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Cindy, I think Faye has found the author you are looking for. You can find her post a few down from here…
Judith says
Another possibility is the Hannah Swenson series by Joanne Fluke – Hannah has two male friends, one of whom is Mike
Faye says
I thought of that Judith but the Hannah series started in 2000 and Cindy mentions that the series she’s looking for started around 1980s or 90s.
linda says
The heading for this forum is “Cozy Mystery and (other favorite books).” Maybe some people just don’t see the (and other favorite books)?
Val says
I have been following your website for quite some time and love all the recommendations you provide, such as new authors etc. Like one of your recent contributors, I could do with a ‘bookaholics support group, too. Keep up the good work!
regina s. says
I love this site! And Val we should think of starting a book support group. My best friend told me she just bought five books on Amazon then went to a book store and bought another book.
Between us we have maybe 100 or more. It’s crazy. Why aren’t other people inspired to read? Our vocabulary strengthens with each word. We become more knowledgeable about certain things. We increase our brain power. It’s amazing! I read Jessica Beck’s books in less than two months. I read all of Joanne Flukes books prior to the release of Cream Puff Murder in less than one year. I just need to read Devil’s Food Cake Murder.
Its amazing. Been reading since I was in diapers!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Regina S, I am always amazed at how many people show up for appointments and end up waiting without books to read! They just sit and look around the room, ETC.
regina s. says
truly, its a shame to see minds go to waste. love to read.
linda says
Regina, I think more people aren’t inspired to read more because with television we don’t have to use our imagination as much. I think in order to be a good reader a person has to have a very vivid imagination.
I love to read. I can’t think of anything else I would rather be doing. There is so much to learn. I do not have the money to do a lot of traveling but I can still learn about different people and places and how to make things just by my reading.
I was very good at trying to teach my kids and my gradkids that once they learned to read, whole new worlds would be opened to them. Now I am telling my greatgrandkids the same thing. Read! Above everything else – read!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Welcome to the site, Val! It’s great to hear from you!
Faye says
Hello Cindy
Are you thinking about the Midnight Louie series by Carole Nelson Douglas? That’s the only series that I can think of that started in 1990s and has two guys vying for the protagonist’s attention. One guy was named Matt, the other Max.
The series started in 1992 with Catnap and there’s around 23 books so far. It’s about Temple and her cat, Midnight Louie and they run around solving mysteries. Hope this is the author you’re looking for 🙂
Regards,
Faye
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Thank you so much, Faye. I just posted a comment to Cindy to take a look down here.
Thanks, again!
Faye says
Thanks Danna. I was wondering do you have a link that has all of the 2011 releases on the one page? I know you have separated them into month categories but it would easier for me to see which books I have already at a quick glance without going back and forth. Thanks!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Sorry, Faye, I don’t have a yearly list of monthly Mystery Book New Releases.
Jerry says
Thank you so much for your website. I have found so may new authors that I never would have found. Just read A Catered Thanksgiving by Isis Crawford. Very good
Thanks again
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Welcome to the site, Jerry! Thank you for telling us how much you enjoyed Isis Crawford’s A Catered Thanksgiving. It’s always nice to see what other people are reading… and enjoying!
Jerry says
Just finished Explosive Eighteen. Read it in 1 night. Way to go Janet Evanovich. Reading Killer Knots by Nancy J Cohen. So far very good
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Wow, Jerry! You must really enjoy Janet Evanovich >>> I haven’t read a mystery in just one night… for years.
Jerry says
When is your January list of books coming out ? Just finished Physical Education by Maggie Barbieri. Great Book
Danna - cozy mystery list says
I’m glad you asked, Jerry. I was taking my time doing it because I had to make two new authors’ pages for the site, but your question/comment got me moving!