A Cozy Mystery site reader asked that I do a post that featured mystery books with the “double” theme: Actor/Dancer. I divided the theme, and here is the part that features mystery books with a Dancers theme. I have only listed the authors who can be found on the Cozy Mystery site…
Ella Barrick (aka Laura DiSilverio & Lila Dare): Ballroom Dance Mystery Series
Susan Bernhardt: Irina Curtius Mystery Series
Carole Berry: Bonnie Indermil Mystery Series
Kaitlyn Dunnett (aka Kathy Lynn Emerson): Liss MacCrimmon Mystery Series
Shelley Freydont: Lindy Haggerty Mystery Series
Victoria Gilbert: Blue Ridge Library Mystery Series (a dancer and choreographer is a main character, but not the sleuth)
Mary McHugh: Happy Hoofers Mystery Series
Annette Meyers: Smith & Wetzon Mystery Series
Natalie M. Roberts: Jenny T. Partridge Dance Mystery Series
Here are two mystery books that are dance-themed:
Linda Fairstein: Death Dance (The rest of the Alexandra Cooper Mystery Series is not dance-related.)
Anne George: Murder on a Girls’ Night Out (The rest of the Southern Sisters Mystery Series is not dance-related.)
Leslie Meiers: Tippy Toe Murder (The rest of the Lucy Stone Mystery Series is not dance-related.)
Please feel free to comment if you see an author from the Cozy Mystery Site who belongs on this list, or if you have any corrections.
♦To access more Cozy Mysteries by Theme click on this link.♦
Stephanie says
Now, I haven’t read this one and it’s not a cozy (but it is on your list as “not a cozy”)… And, it’s not a whole series about dancers.
BUT, there’s a dance-themed book by Linda Fairstein called “Death Dance,” I think. Something about a murdered ballerina…
Also, this may be too tenuous a connection to dance, but the first book in Anne George’s Southern Sisters series (Murder on a Girls’ Night Out) centers around one of the two sisters buying a country western bar, mainly because she’s fond of country dancing there. That’s one I have read, and it’s cozy and fun.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Thank you, Stephanie, I will add them to the page and annotate that not the complete series is Dance-related, just those books.
Gia says
Annette Meyers ‘Smith and Wetzon’ mysteries include a lot of Broadway and musical theater references (Meyers worked with Hal Prince), and one of the women is former dancer often doing dance workouts.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Thanks, Gia! I’ll go add the Smith & Wetzon (Annette Meyers) series to the Mystery Book Dancer Theme page…
Stacie says
I would add Leslie Meier’s “Tippy Toe Murder” to the books that are dance themed. Also looking forward to the new series coming out in September, Quickstep to Murder: A Ballroom Dance Mystery by Ella Barrick.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Thank you, Stacie, I’ll go add Leslie Meier’s Tippy KToe Murder to the mystery book dancer theme.
Susan says
Looking for a mystery about a former dance instructor who is dumped by her husband, an older Russian man who is on a “Dancing with the Stars” kind of show. The woman has to go live with her father in a Seniors community. This just came out and I cannot remember the title of the book. Please help!
Judith says
Ella Barrick’s Ballroom Dance Mystery series features a competitive ballroom dancer/dance instructor.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Thank you, Judith, for reminding me about Ella Barrick. I try to get the authors posted on their corresponding pages as soon as I set up their pages on the site, but several have slipped through…
Cyndi says
Hi! I am the co-author of a new series that is a dance theme, specifically square dancing: the first in the series is Right and Left Grand, and the second is Load the Boat by Rosalee Richland (pen name). Darla King is a square dance caller and square dancing serves as the setting/theme for the series. Is there a way to get them added to the list here?
Thanks!
Victoria Gilbert says
My Blue Ridge Library Mystery series features a dancer/choreographer as one of the main characters (and a love interest). I talk about his choreography and dancing in all the books in the series. (He’s also a dance instructor at a university).
Susan Bernhardt says
In A Manhattan Murder Mystery (An Irina Curtius Mystery) Irina is a retired ballet dancer who teach young children in her ballet studio. Written by Susan Bernhardt.