The Cozy Mystery List Blog

Cozy Mystery (and Other Favorite) Books, Movies, and TV

November 2012 Mystery Book New Releases

The following Mystery Books will be released in November 2012:

Ellery Adams (aka Jennifer Stanley, J. B. Stanley, & ½ of Lucy Arlington): Written in Stone (This will be the 4th in the Books by the Bay Mystery Series.)

Donald Bain: Margaret Truman’s Experiment in Murder (This will be the 17th in the Capital Crimes Mystery Series.)

David Baldacci: The Forgotten (This will be the 2nd in the John Puller Series.)

Jessica Beck: A Deadly Beef (This will be the 2nd in the Classic Diner Mystery Series.)

Rhys Bowen: The Twelve Clues of Christmas (This will be the 6th in the Royal Spyness Mystery Series.) (This is a Christmas theme mystery.)

Rhys Bowen: Masked Ball at Broxley Manor (This is a Royal Spyness prequel novella. It was actually released on Oct. 2.)

Jacklyn Brady (aka Sherry Lewis): Arsenic and Old Cake (This will be the 3rd in the Piece of Cake Mystery Series.)

Ali Brandon (aka Diane A.S. Stuckart): A Novel Way to Die (This will be the 2nd in the Black Cat Bookshop Mystery Series.)

Rita Mae Brown: Fox Tracks (This will be the 8th in the Sister Jane Arnold Mystery Series.)

Elizabeth Lynn Casey (aka Laura Bradford): Let It Sew (This will be the 7th in the Southern Sewing Circle Mystery Series) (This is a Christmas theme mystery.)

Laura Childs: Stake & Eggs (This will be the 4th in the Cackleberry Club Mystery Series.)

Alys Clare: The Song of the Nightingale (This will be the 14th in the Hawkenlye Mystery Series.)

Kate Collins: Nightshade on Elm Street (This will be the 13th in the Flower Shop Mystery Series.)

Michael Connelly: The Black Box (This will be the 17th in the Harry Bosch Mystery Series.)

Susan Rogers Cooper: Dead Weight (This will be the 10th in the E. J. Pugh Mystery Series.)

Cleo Coyle (aka Alice Kimberly): Holiday Buzz (This will be the 12th in the Coffee House Mystery Series.) (This is a Christmas theme mystery.) (Actually, December 4)

Laura DiSilverio (aka Lila Dare & Ella Barrick): Swift Run (This will be the 3rd in the Charlie Swift Mystery Series.)

Janet Evanovich: Notorious Nineteen (This will be the 19th in the Stephanie Plum Mystery Series.)

Charles Finch: A Death in the Small Hours (This will be the 6th in the Charles Lenox Mystery Series.)

Betty Hechtman: If Hooks Could Kill (This will be the 7th in the Crochet Mystery Series.)

Lee Hollis: Death of a Country Fried Redneck (This will be the 2nd in the Hailey Powell Food & Cocktail Mystery Series.)

Kay Hooper: The First Prophet (This will be the 1st in the NEW Bishop Files Series.)

Kate Kingsbury (aka Rebecca Kent & Allison Kingsley): The Clue Is In the Pudding (This will be the 8th in the Special Pennyfoot Hotel Mystery Series.) (This is a Christmas theme mystery.)

Margaret Maron: The Buzzard Table (This will be the 19th in the Deborah Knott Mystery Series.)

Cricket McRae (aka Bailey Cates): Deadly Row to Hoe (This will be the 6th in the Home Crafting Mystery Series.)

Marcia Muller: Looking for Yesterday (This will be the 31st in the Sharon McCone Mystery Serie.)

Katy Munger (aka Gallagher Gray & Chaz McGee): Angel Among Us (This will be the 4th in the Dead Detective Mystery Series.)

Shirley Rousseau Murphy: Cats Bearing Gifts (This will be the 18th in the Joe Grey Cat Mystery Series.)

James Patterson: Merry Christmas, Alex Cross (This will be the 19th in the Alex Cross Mystery Series.) (This is a Christmas theme mystery.)

Deanna Raybourn: Silent Night: A Lady Julia Christmas Novella (This will be a Christmas theme novella, after the 5th in the Lady Julia Mystery Series.)

Elaine Viets: Murder is a Piece of Cake (This will be the 8th in the Josie Marcus, Mystery Shopper Mystery Series.)

Penny Warner: The Haunted Lighthouse (This will be the 2nd in the children’s Code Buster Club Mystery Series.)

Livia J. Washburn: Wedding Cake Killer (This will be the 7th in the Fresh-Baked Mystery Series.) (This is a Christmas theme mystery.)

To go back to the Cozy Mystery New Book Release page, click here.

Comments

  1. I was thrilled to see a new Deanna Raybourn listed, until I saw the dreaded word “novella”.

    According to your link the printed length of this novella is 58 pages and the Lady Julia mysteries are usually 400 pages or more. So, unless it is going to be sold at an eighth of the price of her other books then it can’t be considered any where near value for money. (Usually novellas are priced at approximately two thirds of the cost of a full novel by the same author.)

    I buy a lot of books and, for some books, am prepared to pay over the odds. Such as obtaining the missing volume in a favorite author’s series. However, I do object to feeling as though I’ve been “ripped off” by the author or publisher and novellas do tend to make me feel that way.

    Either write a full length novel or include the novella in a book of short stories, but to expect people to pay over the odds for what is after all a short story just doesn’t seem right.

    Am I the only one who feels like this?

    Reply

  2. I’m with you on the price of novellas…and my dashed expectations when I realize my anticipated novel is about 300 pages shorter than I was expecting. It appears this novella is actually fairly reasonably priced (1.99), but the catch is that it seems to be only available in e-book format (definitely Kindle; I am not sure about Nook).

    Reply

  3. I just finished Joelle Charbonneau’s Skating on the edge. Really good cozy

    JMW

    Danna Thank you for the November suggestions

    Reply

  4. What’s with the Cleo Coyle books? The next Haunted Bookshop book was supposed to be out last Jan and then last June and now…no release date. The next Coffeeshop book has been moved from Nov to Dec. Losing faith in future books!

    Reply

    • Anita, this brings to mind the tortoise and the hare: I’d rather wait a little longer and get a good mystery book than a mystery book that the author and his/her editors spent only a month writing and working on.

      Reply

  5. Me too on the novellas, especially $2.99 for the Rhys Bowen which is 43 pages on my NOOK! However, I had to have it….
    Can’t wait for some of these to be available – my library has about half of the ones I want on order, will probably catch up with the rest later. Goody goody!

    Reply

  6. As for me, well, whenever one of my favorite authors writes a mystery, I’m a happy person. Unfortunately, since that doesn’t happen very often (and actually never with some of the authors I follow, since they no longer write their series) I think I’d be pretty happy to get a shorter version of a novel… if priced reasonably.

    Keep ’em coming, even if they’re shorter, and keep them reasonably priced.

    Reply

  7. wow i just bought september books and a few october books. now the november books list is out. during the thanksgiving break i will catch up on my reading

    Reply

    • Ginger, I hope you get a lot of reading done during the break. My daughter has two days off for Thanksgiving, so I am already looking forward to her visit.

      I’m trying to talk the family into the idea of going to a restaurant for the big turkey meal. It’s difficult for me to sell the idea though, since the left-over turkey hash is a favorite meal of all of us. (Including me!)

      Reply

  8. Danna,

    I think there are two more releases in November that aren’t on the list. Not sure, though, so it probably needs checking.

    Cricket McRae’s a new book, “Deadly Row to Hoe” supposedly will be released on November 8th. It is part of her home crafting series.

    Also Ali Brandon’s 2nd book in the Black Cat Bookshop Mystery series, “Novel Way to Die” supposedly will be released on Nov. 6th

    Reply

    • Thank you, MJ, you were totally right: I just added Cricket McRae’s Deadly Row to Hoe to both the list and her individual page.

      I have Ali Brandon’s Novel Way to Die on the list, but don’t have her page highlighted. I decided to go ahead and add her mystery to the list since she is in the next “batch” of new-to-the-site authors I’m working on right now.

      Thanks, again!

      Reply

  9. Novellas seem to be popular these days. I agree though, they should be part of a book of short stories if they are that short. Otherwise they are expensive.
    Ann

    Reply

    • Ann, I hate to admit that I never buy books of short stories, unless they are holiday anthologies which include some of my favorite authors. I much prefer being able to pick up a fairly-priced novella by a favorite author than have to buy a whole book of stories by authors I would never spend my time reading. Sounds like I am in the minority here!

      Reply

      • I have frequently read short story collections that I get from the library when one of the series that I follow has a story in that book. In reading the other short stories in the book, I have found other authors I enjoy reading. I have also found other authors that I will not read, which is particularly helpful when those same authors come up as recommendations as I have only invested the time to read a short story and not an entire book.

        Reply

        • Judith, I find that I actually do read anthologies during the Christmas season. (That’s pretty much the only time I read them.) I have actually found authors I don’t want to read through those holiday themed mystery books.

          Reply

  10. I too also find novellas disappointing. i want the complete book or nothing at all. I researched the availability of Susan Rogers Cooper new book and found that she had written a book about marriage that I had missed. Lots of reading on my cruise except I brought my Nook charger without the plug that allows you to use a wall socket, but the Guest Relation Desk charged it on their computers for free every day when it needed it. Two lessons learned always be certain that your equipment is complete and bring some paperbacks for emergencies.

    Reply

    • Welcome back, Regina! My husband has one of those wall plugs for our Kindles. He’s been really good about making sure I have had it for all of my post-Kindle visits to Colorado Springs. How nice that the Guest Relation Desk was able to accommodate you. It sounds like you got a lot of reading done if you had to recharge it every day…

      Reply

  11. I have to chime in re: the short stories and novellas. I’m an avid reader of both, and I love the format. As I’ve mentioned before, I like to read shorts during my commute if I’m in between books, or don’t want to commit to a new book. So, as a kindle owner, I really like the small, self-contained format and the ease of not carrying an anthology if I’m not in the mood. Like a bit of candy when you’re not in the mood for a meal.

    And it kind of really bugs me when people complain about the cost. I admit $2.99 can be a bit steep but when I love someone I do indulge. But the 99 cent and 1.99 buys seem like great bargains. Eventually some of the stories may be collected, but, even if not, if we looked for mystery shorts in the past it was usually in a magazine or publication (like Ellery Queen) if not featured in a book. And anthologies of shorts can take a lot time to come together. So I’d rather pay 99 cents for a story by an author I love than 5 to 10 bucks for a whole magazine when I only want one story.

    Past all of that, it bugs me because my feeling is writers need/have to be paid to write, otherwise a lot of them cannot continue to do it. So when I see, for example, Rhys Bowen put out a FREE Molly Murphy short in the past and people complain about its length – even though it was FREE (or others only a buck), I am baffled. Do we expect writers to give away their work? And if we truly appreciate their writing, and good quality books, then we have to support them so they can continue sharing them with us. Publishing these days is a shark eat shark world. Sometimes authors are asked – or pushed – by their publishers to come up with small things to meet the competitiveness of the market. But in the end, typically, between booksellers and publishers, authors get the smallest slice of the pie.

    I have also noticed that the e-shorts are sometimes later included as bonus material in books. [An example, a MC Beaton short I bought for 99c appeared in The Perfect Paragon as a bonus.] You don’t get it as quickly, but, again, the market is the market. I think it’s great to have a small treat from a beloved author in between longer works.

    Reply

    • Joshua, I think you and I are in the minority on this issue. I feel exactly as you do, why should I have to buy a “whole” anthology book if I only want a story (or “novella”) by one author.

      As for people complaining about the length of a FREE novella… hmmm… I’m at a loss for words!

      Reply

      • Free is lovely. Inexpensive is lovely. I’m just not a fan of novellas or short stories. A big part of the reason I read mysteries is detail – I am a detail person and I look for it in my books. I eat up descriptions of the houses the characters live in, the view from their front windows and (no pun intended) the food they eat when they get there (although I don’t really care about what clothes they wear). I want to read all about the fog blowing in or the rain spattering against the windowpane, or the creak of the step on the front porch that alerts you to the presence of the killer. I want to feel that in that wealth of detail there is a vital clue that I (and only I, of course) can glean to solve the mystery before the sleuth does.

        In a short story or novella, there simply isn’t time for the detail I crave. The scene is set, a small cast of characters is introduced, the crime is committed and then the sleuth has to find all the clues, deduce the culprit and trick him or her into confession and/or capture in the space of a few pages. The pace can be dizzying and there simply isn’t room for second victims, or red herrings, or a moonlit stroll in the garden with the later-to-be-revealed killer that shows his human side.

        Reply

  12. Thanks for the November list !- now if I can just receive Amazon gift cards for my birthday next month I will be able to get all the books on the list that I want.

    Reply

    • Denise, I know what you mean. My husband’s birthday is in early November and he already has three Kindle books on his wish list. I told him I didn’t think I would be getting those for him because it would mean that they would download immediately, thus, no surprises. I was thinking that either he would know as soon as he turned on the WiFi and they downloaded. Otherwise, I would have to wake up on his birthday and come downstairs and buy the Kindle books so that he would get them that day. He told me that you can buy the books and have them delivered at a later date.

      Has anyone else done this?

      Reply

      • Danna, I’ve done the delayed delivery with both Kindle and Nook books – it’s very simple. For Kindle you can have an e-mail confirmation with dowload instructions sent to the person on the specific day or you can have them sent to yourself, print them out and wrap them up (that’s what I did). With Nook you can buy the e-book in the store and the receipt has the instructions on it (they also give you a little gift envelope to put it in).

        Reply

  13. Another great list, thank you. As always, I feel hopelessly behind. 🙂 But I’m going to this library this weekend, so hopefully I can stock up!

    Reply

  14. Danna

    I started John Sanford’s new book Mad River yesterday and finished it today. Nice way to spend my day off. Could not put it down. Highly recommend it to everyone

    JMW

    Reply

    • Jerry, Mad River must be a riveting book. I can’t imagine reading an entire book in one day!

      Reply

      • Danna and Jerry, I just placed a request for this book by John Sandford. I sure hope the library has more than one copy becauses there are 83 request ahead of me!!!

        Reply

  15. Danna. Concerning the novella type books, I like to keep a book in my purse for when I go to places that I know I might have to wait. The shorter books like this are ideal for me because this way I don’t have to keep starting over between wait times. Hope this makes sense!!
    I like the books, especially paperbacks that have more than one author included. This way I can have a small taste of different authors. When some of my favorite authors, like Sharon Muller or Margaret Maron are included it’s a great big plus. I like getting a taste of getting to try new-to-me authors in this type of book, too.

    Love the new November listing. I am looking forward to November even though November here in my part of Ohio is normally a very dreary month as far as the weather goes.

    Reply

    • Linda C, take a look at John Mortimer‘s Rumpole of the Bailey book some time. I think it might be a perfect “purse book” for you. It is full of short stories that can be read when you don’t have a lot of time to give to your reading. My husband and I are listening to it in the car, when we go up to visit our daughter.

      Reply

  16. Danna, I have become hooked on downloading books on my Nook. It started with buying older books by authors that I wanted to own, but now I am obtaining new books by my favorite authors rather than wait for my Library to honor my reserve. Meanwhile my financial outlay for books has risen from $.99 to $ 13.99 and up. I try to buy books by authors that I really enjoy or am familiar with. Your suggestions have proved a god send. Thank you for your help.

    Reply

    • Regina, it sounds like you and I are doing the same thing with our Kindle and Nook. When I first got my Kindle I told myself I would only keep one book ahead of my reading. But, especially when I read the monthly recommendations you all tell us about, I find myself getting more and more books to try, on top of my favorite authors’ books. My husband finally taught me how to make different files for all the books I have in my Kindle queue. Each time I get a new book, I assure myself that this will be the last for a while.

      Reply

  17. Hmmm, these posts have given me an idea. I enjoy short stories and in truth, often prefer them, as I’m often “short” on time. Danna, do you have a thread or page specifically for short story collections? It seems most of the books I’ve found are anthologies, but there are a few Agatha Christie books, such as the Parker Pyne stories and Harley Quin stories, that are exclusively short stories by one author.

    Reply

  18. Donna Ball of the Raine Stockton dog mysteries has a new book, Silent Night: A Raine Stockton Dog Mystery, coming out in November. She also has novellas available in digital format.

    Reply

    • I am sorry, my mistake, her book came out in November of 2011, instead of this year. I looked at the publishing date wrong. Thanks for the Cozy Mystery website. I frequently use it as a guideline for my book buying.

      Reply

      • M. Burns, I’m still very happy you told me about Donna Ball’s Silent Night. It seems I also missed her The Dead Season mystery book this year!

        Reply

    • Thank you, M. Burns, for telling me about the mystery book additions for Donna Ball‘s Raine Stockton Dog Mystery Series. I just updated her page.

      Thanks, again!

      Reply

  19. Danna

    I am on a non serious vampire kick. After reading a few Maryjanice Davidson books I just finished Tall Dark and Dead by Tate Hallaway. A very good read.

    JMW

    Reply

  20. Danna, Just because there are a few holiday selections on this month’s list, I thought I would check out your holiday theme listings. There are quite a few for Halloween as well as Thanksgiving. I just placed a few request for the books for Halloween. I found a few at the nearest library to me, will try the other 2 libraries later on.
    I wll try for the Thanksgiving selections later on, too.
    Thank you very much for providing these listings for all of us.

    No wonder you were honored with a review of your blog. You do provide a very good service for all of us.

    Reply

  21. Danna

    I found three more authors because of your Website. My Wife , Mother-in-law and I all thank you so much. Keep them coming

    If anyone is looking for a quick I can’t put it down book take a look at 15 Seconds by Andrew Gross. It keeps you turning the pages even though you want to go to bed.

    Reply

    • Thanks, Jerry, for telling us about 15 Seconds. (I’m glad you have found some authors you enjoy reading from the site. I love these monthly recommendations.)

      Reply

    • Jerry. Any book written by John Grisham has that effect on me. Love his books. Although, believe it or not, I haven’t yet to read some of his earlier books, I haven’t read one yet that I haven’t really enjoyed, to the place where I can put it down! Love this type of book!!

      Reply

  22. Danna

    James Patterson’s new one just came out NYPD RED. My wife read it yesterday. I read it today. Patterson at his best.

    JMW

    Reply

  23. Danna, I know I should keep this book review until your monthly summary of books we have read, but I can’t wait. I just finished Ruth Dudley Edward’s new book, “Killing the Emperors”. It was intriguing to put it mildly. She has always written books that were very amusing, but this book her humor has turned to irony and sarcasm. While the same characters are still present, the whole book revolves around Lady Jack while the others are subservient to her. She posits a world where modern art and prices for it are taken to extremes. This situation causes a crisis whose denouement will astound the reader. It did me. I could not stop reading it because I wanted to see the resolution. Maybe I am ascribing too much to the plot, but and that is a big but, I came away after finishing the story disturbed. I hope someone else has read this book and can confirm or disagree with my conclusions.

    Reply

    • Regina, I really hope that someone is able to comment about Ruth Dudley Edwards’ Killing the Emperors. Your comment has me wondering…

      Reply

  24. Hi,
    I just wanted you to know how much I love your website! I have found so many cozy mystery authors on this site. I really love the Sofie Metropolis series and was wondering why Tori Carrington was not on your list?

    Reply

  25. Thanks for posting these! I love this time of the year for cozy books! All this rain makes me want to curl up and read all day.

    Reply

    • Julia M. W., I love seeing new Cozy Mystery books by authors. Even if I don’t read the particular author, I still am happy to see that publishers are continuing to publish these mysteries. A few years ago, it seemed like a lot of publishers were dropping Cozy Mystery authors…

      Reply

    • Me too Julia, This kind of weather, dismal and wet, is made just for readers!! There is even a bright side to rainy, gloomy weather, isn’t there!!

      Reply

  26. Hi,
    Just finished ‘Death of a Neighbourhood Witch’ by Laura Levine. Now just about to start Cinnamon Roll Murder by Joanne Fluke!
    Sometimes I say to myself – why does work have to interrupt my reading time LOL

    Reply

    • Andrea, what’s with these bosses and their inconsiderate rules about not reading on the job!?!

      Reply

    • This was a very good book Andrea. I read that book this week. I am now reading ” Scary Stuff” by Sharon Fiffer. I had a hard time getting into this book and I almost used Danna’s 50 page rule! But I thought I would give it a few more chapters. Now I have really gotten an interest in the book. I will probably finish it tonight while watching the World Series. The Halloween theme is what attracted me to this book in the first place. Now I want to see ‘ who dunnit!!”

      Reply

  27. ‘Killer Librarian’ by Mary Lou Kirwin comes out late November. Does anyone know anything about the author? It looks like a fun read.

    Reply

  29. If anyone is looking for a nice quick cozy read take a look at Joanna Carl’s The Chocolate Moose Motive. Started it yesterday finished it today. On to the next book.

    JMW

    Reply

  30. Take a look at Maryjanice Davidson if you want a good vampire book with a lot of humor. She is a very good author. Just finished her seventh book Undead and Uneasy.

    JMW

    Reply

  32. I just want to thank you for this absolutely terrific site.
    You cover everything I could always want to read or not and
    you save me so much time.
    This site is like a present to me and I love the comments and I learn alot. If anyone knows any cozies with older people in it, that are strong determined women like Agatha Raisin that would be great, also I love old ghostly paranormal books, not the new vampire or werewolf stuff, like the Crystal Ball series etc maybe someone has suggestions. Thanks for this amazing site, you save me so much money!

    Reply

  33. Danna

    Just finished Deadly Row to Hoe by Cricket McRae. Another very good cozy by Ms. McRae. Back to the vampire books

    JMW

    Reply

  34. I want to encourage Linda C to read those Sharon Fiffer’s as that is one of my favorite series. Pata F might enjoy Carolyn Hart’s Henri O books and Sue Henry’s Maxie and Stretch books. Danna, I love this website – I ‘ve found so many new authors from it and the new releases info is invaluable. It is gray and dreary here in Minnesota!

    Reply

    • Emma, I am so glad you are enjoying the site. And, I’m glad you have been able to find some new authors to follow.

      I remember visiting my grandmother in the very northern part of Iowa, and miss those “gray and dreary” days.

      Reply

  35. Danna, this is another one of your older postings that I am revisiting today. There are some of my favorites listings that I have yet to read. The books by Janet Evanovich, Margaret Maron and Marcia Mueller are three. Know I will want to read after Christmas .

    Reply

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