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Do You Think You Recognize Any of These Cozy Mysteries?

I’m hoping that some of you can help identify these authors/books/series that other Cozy Mystery readers are looking for.

wldmstnglvr:
photographer

… In the not too distant past (within the past year I believe) I read a cozy that featured a woman photographer, her Australian Shepherd, her boyfriend and his Labrador. They both did obedience and agility, including cat agility with her cat. The story also was about illegal exotic bird smuggling.

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Roslyn:
Island

… Someone at a banquet recommended a mystery series about a lawyer who lives on Catalina Island, single father.

She couldn’t remember the author. I’ve been searching and can’t find it. If you know it, I’d love the author’s name.

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Melvin R:
cottage

… I am looking for a book that I read several years ago. I am not sure of the author or title, but I do know it was a British cozy. It was written by a woman author and was set in a small English village. The sleuth is the wife of a vicar and they have just moved into their house. There is a cottage by the name of Fox Glove Cottage in it and the murder was done with an overdose of digitalis. The suspect is an herbalist, I think she was, there was a group of hippies and fur protesters and a gay guy. I think it took place around Easter. Other than that I can’t tell you much about the book. … I know it is not one of the M.C. Beaton books.

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Shirley:
goat

… I am looking for a book and cannot remember the Author or Title. … It was about a woman that had a goat farm and some of her friends dropped by and they noticed the goats surrounding something by a tree in the pasture. As it turned out it was the bodies of a man and woman who had either been murdered or suicide.

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Jimmy:
waitress

… Does anyone remember the series about a girl who was a waitress, had a best friend who was hippie-like, and who was trying not to fall in love with a man who was almost a gangster-type and who had a gambling establishment. She had a little apartment with shabby furniture that he started trying to replace. He had bodyguards, one of whom cooked. Obviously, I remember about everything but the author’s name and the characters’ names and the titles.

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Suz-Anne:
Turret

… It involved a man who was a writer and lived in a Victorian (I think), in a seaside village in California, with cats. The house had a turret? at the top where the cat(s) came and went freely. I am going crazy….it’s not my typical read, (although I’ve read all the Cat Who), but I would really love to read these.

Suz-Anne, this sounds like it might be The Cat Who Went Up the Creek by Lilian Jackson Braun, except for your California village.

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If you think you know who these Cozy Mystery readers are looking for, would you please post a comment? Thank you!

Comments

  1. For Shirley, you may be looking for the Trish McWhinney series by Barbara Comfort. As her mysteries are set in Vermont. Her niece Sophie has a goat farm. Anne Fay

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  2. The first query from wldmstnglvr sounds like The Money Bird (An Animals in Focus Mystery #2). The author is Sheila Webster Boneham. Hope that helps!

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    • I had answered that when this was posted before. I read the book and it was sheep not goats. I looked it up on my booksfree account to get the title and author. Great mystery and I have wanted to investigate to see what others were in the series. That opening was just brilliant!

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      • Ceelee Sunshine, I cannot believe I have posted Shirley’s question before >>> yet it does sound familiar. I should have done a search for “sheep” instead of goat! After I read your comment, I went through my “BLOG” entry ideas and tried to cross off those I have used. I keep a copy on my desktop as well as a paper copy, which could be how I messed up.

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  5. Wdmstinglover — I think I read an earlier mystery in the same series where an incident took place at a dog show. There were some land developers involved too, and a weird-vibing sulky teenaged boy. I think there was a wealthy elderly woman who loved her dogs v much.

    I got it from the library which means it’s in hardback or a Trade Paperback edition. Try the smaller presses like Severn House or Poisoned Pen or Trade Paperback publishers.

    I’m sorry I can’t remember the name of the author or the mystery, but maybe this will spark a memory.

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  6. Shirley-Everything matches your description-a man and a woman under a tree, friends seeing animals around the bodies except this book had sheep instead of goats liked you described. It is Dyeing Wishes by Molly MacRae. So if it could be sheep instead of goats this book would fit.

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  7. Jimmy: The description of the books that you are looking for sound like the Cooking Up Murder series by Miranda Bliss or…it kind of reminded me of the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich.

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  8. For Shirley and Anne, this one also reminds me of Molly MacRae’s Haunted Yarn Shop mysteries. Seems like I’m remembering one in which the group visits a local farm and ends up finding a body in the field?? I’m thinking the title is Dyeing Wishes? Hope this helps!

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    • Lisa, thank you! What great memories you all have! I don’t know how you all can remember the titles of the individual books >>> I’d have to go through and look at the synopsis of each book to be able to put a plot with a title…

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  9. For Melvin R; The book sounds like it might be from Caroline Graham’s Inspector Barnaby series but for the life of me I can’t remember the title. Hope this helps.

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    • Suzsnne, hopefully someone else will know which title. I have the same thing going >>> I can sort of remember the plots (and I say sort of rather loosely!) but there’s not much hope getting me to name which book the plots belong to…

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  10. For Jimmy
    This sounds like the Rose Strickland mystery series by Terri L. Austin.
    Diners,Dives and Dead Ends is the first book. If it isn’t the one you’re looking for, I highly recommend it anyway. It’s one of my favorites!

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  15. Shirley: I think the book you want sounds like one from Molly MacRae’s Haunted Yarn Shop series, “Dyeing Wishes,” except in this book it was sheep who were involved.

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  17. For Roslyn, the authority tink you are looking for is Steve Martini and the character is attorney Paul Mandrini. His latest book is The Enemy Inside. It is about the 20th in the series.

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  19. SUZ-ANN. ARE YOU REFERING TO THE JOEL GREY CAT SERIES, WHERE THE CAT’S CAN ACTUALLY TALK TO THEIR HUMANS AND I THINK THE AUTHOR IS CAROLE NELSON DOUGLAS

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  20. For Melvin R. I haven’t read this but Author Marilyn Leach writes a series set in England about a sleuthing vicars wife and this one is set around Easter. It’s called ‘Up From the Grave ( A Berdie Elliott Lenten Mystery) Maybe worth a try? Let us know when you find it would like to read it too.

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  21. wldmstnglvr – I’m not sure about the exact story line about illegal bird smuggling, but the book is probably by Sheila Webster Boneham. She has a series called An Animals in Focus Mystery. I think there are four books so far.

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  22. Melvin R. – Try Mrs. Malory and Death By Water (Mrs. Malory Mysteries #13) by Hazel Holt?

    Suz-Anne – Sounds a little like the Conan Flagg series by M. K. Wren.

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  23. For Roslyn:

    This doesn’t really fit your criteria of single father who is a lawyer, but
    I know of 2 books (not series) set on Catalina Island. They are mysteries, but not cozy.

    One, A Darkness More Than Night by Michael Connelly featuring Harry Bosch.

    The other is called The Island by Davis MacDonald. The protagonist is
    nicknamed the Judge and is in his fifties.

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  24. For Melvin,
    I believe you are describing Emilie Richards series “Ministry is Murder”
    Titles are: Blessed is the Busybody, Let There be Suspects, Beware False Profits, A Lie for a Lie and A Truth for a Truth.

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  25. First of all, thank you, ALL, for your answers.

    Being rather compulsive about lists, I absolutely “had to” go through your comments, and sort of summarize them for the Cozy Mystery readers who were looking for your answers.

    wldmstnglvr:
    Sheila Webster Boneham: The Money Bird (2nd in her Animals in Focus mysteries)

    Melvin R:
    G.M. Malliet: Max Tudor series (Pagan Spring, book #3)
    Emilie Richards: Ministry is Murder series
    Hazel Holt: Mrs. Malory and Death by Water (Mrs. Malory series)
    Marilyn Leach: Berdie Elliott Lenten series (Up from the Grave)
    Kate Charles: Evil Angels Among Them (Book of Psalms series)
    Caroline Graham: Inspector Barnaby series

    Roslyn:
    Steve Martini: Paul Mandrini series
    Michael Connelly: Harry Bosch series (A Darkness More than Night)
    Davis MacDonald: The Island

    Shirley:
    Molly MacRae: Dyeing Wishes (sheep instead of goats)
    B. Comfort: Tish McWhinny series
    Molly MacRae: Last Wool and Testament

    Jimmy:
    Terri L. Austin: Rose Strickland series
    Miranda Bliss: Cooking Up Murder (Cooking Class series)

    Suz-Anne:
    Shirley Rousseau Murphy: Joe Grey series
    M.K. Wren: Conan Flagg series

    Reply

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