The Cozy Mystery List Blog

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

Two New Cozy Mystery Series Coming October 2021

It may not be as busy as it will be for holiday releases, but there will still be some activity in October for new Cozy Mystery Series! Specifically, there will be two new series releasing in October 2021.

First, Diane Kelly will be starting the Mountain Lodge Mystery Series. with The Moonshine Shack Murder. Misty Murphy, who has both recently celebrated her 50th birthday and amicably divorced, has decided to start over by investing in a mountain lodge in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Unfortunately, the grand-reopening is marred by the death of the retreat’s leader, a yoga instructor – and it was obviously murder.

Also, Kate Kingsbury will be putting out In Hot Water, the first in the Misty Bay Tea Room Mystery Series. Vivian Wainwright, a middle-aged widow, has recently started her dream business, the Misty Bay Tearoom, an English-themed tea shop, on the Oregon Coast. She’s had some success so far, but on the night of the business’s second anniversary, her assistant’s ex-husband falls to his death from a hotel balcony. Vivian will need to clear her assistant’s name if she wants to keep her business thriving.

For more upcoming Cozy Mystery Series, check the New Mystery Series page!

Six More New Holiday Cozies Coming October 2021 (Part 2)

Continuing from the post last week! Six more Christmas themed Cozies coming out in October 2021!

First up! Jacqueline Frost (aka Julie Chase, Julie Anne Lindsey, & Bree Baker) will be putting out Slashing Through the Snow, the 3rd in the Christmas Tree Farm Mystery Series. As always, this particular series is all about Christmas, and this will be no exception. This year, Holly is doing a sideline business as a B&B at the Reindeer Games Christmas Tree Farm, but it’s unlikely to go well when a local B&B reviewer with a reputation for harsh criticisms turns up dead in the toy donation box.

Next, Lena Gregory will be releasing Mistletoe Cake Murder, which will be the 6th in the All-Day Breakfast Cafe Mystery Series. Gia Morellis is enjoying what is for her an unusually warm Christmas, as she’s still more used to her native New York temperatures, but it’s still the season for happiness and togetherness, especially considering her best friend Savannah is getting married on Christmas Eve. Unfortunately, their paths cross with another bride who turns up dead at the caterer testing.

Spencer Quinn (aka Peter Abrahams) will be putting out It’s a Wonderful Woof, which will be the 12th in the Chet & Bernie Mystery Series. K-9 detective Chet and his human partner Bernie are preparing for the holiday season as best they can considering their Bernie’s terrible financial condition. When another private investigator turns up missing after Bernie refers a client to him, Bernie feels more than a little responsible – responsible enough to try to track both private investigator and client down, who has also vanished.

David Rosenfelt will be releasing Best in Snow, which will be the 24th in the long-running Andy Carpenter Mystery Series. The Christmas season is more than a bit cold in New Jersey, which makes it more than a bit inconvenient to walk his retriever, Tara… a process made even more inconvenient when Tara locates the body of the town mayor in a particularly deep snow drift.

Kirsten Weiss will be putting out Gnome Alone, which will be the 5th in the Doyle Mystery Series. The UFO-themed B&B run by Susan is having a bit of a down season, as the current trend in Doyle is more themed for Bigfoot Days than UFOs in the winter. She’s also been annoyed by the recent disappearances of local garden gnomes – though this is likely to be quickly overshadowed when a member of the local caroling group turns up unexpectedly murdered.

Finally, and this one is more of an “honorable mention”, but I definitely think it’s still worth mentioning… Joanne Fluke will be putting out Christmas Dessert Murder, which will be a rereleased package of two previously published Christmas Hannah Swensen Mysteries – Christmas Caramel Murder and Christmas Cake Murder. Maybe not the most noteworthy entry, but still a great opportunity to pick up two holiday Cozies for the price of one!

That’s a whole lot more Christmas, for two big doses coming in October, so there should be plenty for all of us to be reading in the holiday season!

For more Christmas-themed Cozies, see my Christmas Mystery Book List page!

Jenn McKinlay: Library Lover’s Mystery Series

Books Can Be Deceiving (A Library Lover's Mystery Book 1) You know you have just finished a true Cozy when immediately after the last chapter you find supplemental appendices with such subjects as “The Briar Creek Library Guide to Crafternoons,” a reader’s guide for a completely unrelated book (except that the characters in the Cozy read the book as part of their book group), “Lindsey’s Knitting Pattern for a Rolled Hat,” and, not one, but two recipes. After all, where else but at the end of a Cozy Mystery would you not be surprised to find such additions to the book?

All of this, and more, can be found in Jenn McKinlay‘s first book in her Library Lover’s Mystery Series, Books Can Be Deceiving, the next book in my series of posts discussing some of the most popular and recommended Cozy series. Jenn McKinlay is actually on this list twice now. In 2016, I wrote about the first book in her Cupcake Bakery Mystery Series, Sprinkle With Murder. If you’d like to read what I said back then about Sprinkle With Murder, please click here.  

Books Can Be Deceiving begins not long after Lindsey Norris has moved to Briar Creek to be the head of the public library. Briar Creek is a quaint, small town on the shore of Connecticut. Not too surprisingly, Lindsey had recently broken up with her fiance and had lost her job due to budget cuts at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale. She landed on her feet, however, partly due to her best friend Beth’s help. Beth now works for Lindsey as the children’s librarian. Lindsey has a landlord, Mary, who runs a seafood restaurant in downtown Briar Creek (hence the recipe for Chowder in the appendices of the book). And, Lindsey runs a weekly reading group that combines crafting with reading – hence, the “…Guide to Crafternoons.”

Of course, a Cozy being a Cozy, there is soon a murder, and the small-town chief of police (who is something of a dunderhead) jumps to the wrong conclusion and suspects Lindsey’s best friend of being involved. Lindsey (and others) are soon deeply involved in running their own investigation; and, they won’t rest until the real culprit is found and brought to justice.

Reading Books Can Be Deceiving reminded me of just why I was drawn to Cozies so many years ago.  The setting is attractive and charming. I wish I lived there or at least had the chance to visit Briar Creek. The people have taken to Lindsey quickly, even though real small towns are probably much more suspicious of “outsiders.” But, the worlds Cozies are set in sure seem more attractive than the real ones do sometimes.

Lindsey is young and bright and has a lot to offer the town. She makes friends easily, and the possibilities for romance are never far away. And, the mystery is interesting and multifaceted. 

There are good reasons why Jenn McKinlay (who also writes as Josie Belle & Lucy Lawrence) has so many successful series going (six). The Library Lover’s Mystery Series already has twelve entries (and this is not her longest series!) Her writing style is fluid, her settings are charming and her mysteries are interesting. I highly recommend Books Can Be Deceiving.

If you’re interested in seeing more highlights of some of the most recommended or popular Cozy Mystery authors/series, visit the Most Popular & Recommended Cozy Mystery Series page on my site.

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