The Cozy Mystery List Blog

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

New Releases – October 1 to October 7, 2018

Here is the list of new releases for October 1 to October 7!

Ellie Alexander (aka Kate Dyer-Seeley): The Pint of No Return (This will be the 2nd in the Sloan Krause Mystery Series.) (This is an Oktoberfest themed mystery.)

M.C. Beaton (aka Marion Chesney): The Dead Ringer (This will be the 29th in the Agatha Raisin Mystery Series.)

Laura Childs & Terrie Farley Moran:  Glitter Bomb (This will be the 15th in the Scrapbooking Mystery Series.) (This is a Mardi Gras mystery.)

Leslie Langtry: Mean Girl Murder (This will be the 8th in the Merry Wrath Mystery Series.)

November 2018 Mystery Book New Releases

The following Mystery Books will be released in November 2018:

November 2018

Ellery Adams (aka Jennifer Stanley, J. B. Stanley, & 1/2 of Lucy Arlington): The Whispered Word (This will be the 2nd in the Secret, Book & Scone Society Mystery Series.)

David Baldacci: Long Road to Mercy (This will be the 1st in the NEW Atlee Pine Thriller Series.)

Bethany Blake: A Midwinter’s Tail (This will be the 4th in the Petsitting Mystery Series.) (This is a Christmas themed mystery.)

Rhys Bowen: What Child Is This (This will be a Stand Alone story.) (This is a Christmas themed story.)

Laura Bradford (aka Elizabeth Lynn Casey): Just Plain Murder (This will be the 6th in the Amish Mystery Series.)

Simon Brett: Blotto, Twinks and the Intimate Review (This will be the 8th in the Blotto and Twinks Mystery Series.)

Rita Mae Brown: Homeward Hound (This will be the 11th in the Sister Jane Mystery Series.) (This is a Christmas themed mystery.)

V.M. Burns: The Novel Art of Murder (This will be the 3rd in the Mystery Bookshop Mystery Series.)

Lynn Cahoon: Slay in Character (This will be the 4th in the Cat Latimer Mystery Series.)

Lynn Cahoon: Santa Puppy (This will be a novella in the Tourist Trap Mystery Series.) (This is a Christmas themed mystery.)

Kate Carlisle: A Wrench in the Works (This will be the 6th in the Fixer-Upper Mystery Series.)

Maia Chance: Naughty on Ice (This will be the 4th in the Discreet Retrieval Agency Mystery Series.)

Mary Higgins Clark & Alafair Burke: You Don’t Own Me (This will be the 6th in the Under Suspicion Mystery Series.)

Lesley Cookman: Murder and the Pantomime Cat (This will be a short story in the Libby Sarjeant Mystery Series.)

Elizabeth Craig (aka Riley Adams & Elizabeth Spann Craig): On Pins and Needles (This will be the 10th in the Southern Quilting Mystery Series.)

Ellen Crosby: Harvest of Secrets (This will be the 9th in the Wine Country Mystery Series.)

Kathi Daley: The Catsgiving Feast (This will be the 17th in the Whales and Tails Mystery Series.) (This is a Thanksgiving themed mystery.)

Krista Davis: The Coloring Crook (This will be the 2nd in the Pen & Ink Mystery Series.)

Vicki Delany (aka Eva Gates): A Scandal in Scarlet (This will be the 4th in the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mystery Series.)

Carole Nelson Douglas: Absinthe Without Leave (This will be the 1st in the NEW Midnight Louie Cafe Noir Mystery Series.)

Laura Durham: Marry and Bright (This will be the 11th book in the Annabelle Archer Wedding Planner Mystery Series.) (This is a Christmas themed mystery.)

Kate Dyer-Seeley (aka Ellie Alexander): Violet Tendencies (This will be the 2nd in the Rose City Mystery Series.)

Janet Evanovich: Look Alive Twenty-Five (This will be the 25th in the Stephanie Plum Mystery Series.)

“Jessica Fletcher” &‎ Jon Land: Manuscript for Murder (This will be the 48th in the Murder, She Wrote Mystery Series.)

Amanda Flower (aka Isabella Alan): Death and Daisies (This will be the 2nd in the Magic Garden Mystery Series.)

Agatha Frost: Wedding Cake and Woes (This will be the 15th in the Peridale Cafe Cozy Mystery Series.)

Jacqueline Frost (aka Julie Chase & Julie Anne Lindsey): ‘Twas the Knife Before Christmas (This will be the 2nd in the Christmas Tree Farm Mystery Series.) (This is a Christmas mystery.)

Daryl Wood Gerber (aka Avery Aames): Wreath between the Lines(This will be the 7th in the Cookbook Nook Mystery Series.) (This is a Christmas themed mystery.)

Sally Goldenbaum: How to Knit a Murder (This will be the 2nd in the Seaside Knitters Society Mystery Series.)

Lena Gregory: A Cold Brew Killing (This will be the 2nd in the All-Day Breakfast Cafe Mystery Series.)

Victoria Hamilton (aka Amanda Cooper & Donna Lea Simpson): Breaking the Mould (This will bed the 8th in the Vintage Kitchen Mystery Series.) (This is a Christmas themed mystery.

Susan Hill: The Comforts of Home (This will be the 9th in the Simon Serrailler Mystery Series.)

Mary Ellen Hughes: A Vintage Death (This will be the 2nd in the Keepsake Cove Mystery Series.) (This is a fall themed mystery.)

Louise Penny: Kingdom of the Blind (This will be the 14th in the Chief Inspector Gamache Mystery Series.l

Anne Perry: A Christmas Revelation (This will be the 16th Stand Alone Christmas mystery.)

Alexander McCall Smith: The Colors of All the Cattle (This will be the 19th in the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency Mystery Series.)

Karen Rose Smith: Cut to the Chaise (This will be the 8th in the Caprice De Luca Mystery Series.)

Diane A.S. Stuckart (aka Ali Brandon): Fool’s Moon (This will be the 1st in the NEW Tarot Cats Mystery Series.)

Victoria Thompson: City of Secrets (This will be the 2nd in the Counterfeit Lady Mystery Series.)

Marty Wingate: Midsummer Mayhem (This will be the 7th in the Potting Shed Mystery Series.)

If you want to see this month’s releases, go to the October 2018 Mystery Book New Releases.

You can find these and many more Cozies scheduled for release soon on the Soon to be Released Mysteries page on my site.

(These are the mysteries by authors who are currently on the Cozy Mystery site.)

Cozy Mystery Book Recommendations – September 2018

September is coming to an end, so it’s time to discuss our favorite Cozy Mysteries that we’ve read over the course of the month!

If you read a Cozy mystery this month and want to recommend it to the rest of us, be sure to post it here! This month, I read Dorothy L. Sayers’s Lord Peter Wimsey Mystery Series. If you want to know why I recommend that series, be sure to check out the blog entry I wrote on it!

So, what have you been reading that you can recommend in September? Please be sure to tell us why you liked these Cozies so much. I know we’re all always on the lookout for more particularly good Cozy Mystery authors! (If you have a lot of Cozies you think are great, please post the ones you like the most at the top of the list.)

As always, please do not tell us about the Cozy Mysteries you did not like.

What really good Cozy Mystery did you read during September 2018 that you want the rest of us to know about, and why did you enjoy it?

Here are the current recommended authors who some of you have read and recommended this past month:

Susan Wittig Albert: China Bayles Herbal Mystery Series

Donna Andrews: Meg Langslow Mystery Series

Nancy Atherton: Aunt Dimity Mystery Series

Bree Baker: Seaside Cafe Mystery Series (first entry Live and Let Chai)

Lorna Barrett (aka L. L. Bartlett & Lorraine Bartlett): Booktown Mystery Series

M. C. Beaton: Hamish Macbeth Mystery Series

Ginger Bolton (aka Janet Bolin): Deputy Donut Mystery Series

Susan M. Boyer: Liz Talbot Mystery Series

Simon Brett: Mrs. Pargeter Mystery Series

Allison Brook (aka Marilyn Levinson): Haunted Library Mystery Series

Kate Carlisle: Bibliophile Mystery Series

Vivien Chien: Noodle Shop Mystery Series

Sheila Connolly  (aka Sarah Atwell): Ocrchard Mystery Series AND County Cork Mystery Series

Cleo Coyle (aka Alice Kimberly)

Mary Daheim: Emma Lord Mystery Series AND Hillside Manor Bed & Breakfast Mystery Series

Carolyn F. Dean: Ravenwood Cove Mystery Series (first entry Bed, Breakfast, and Bones)

Charles Finch: Charles Lenox Mystery Series

Joanne Fluke: Hannah Swensen Mystery Series

Darci Hannah: Very Cherry Mystery Series (first entry Cherry Pies and Deadly Lies)

Sofie Kelly  (aka Sofie Ryan & Darlene Ryan for Young Adult): Magical Cats Mystery Series

Cornelia Kidd (aka Lea Wait): Maine Murder Mystery Series

Libby Klein: Poppy McAllister Mystery Series (first entry Class Reunions are Murder)

M L Hamilton: Zion Sawyer Mystery Series (first entry Cappuchino)

Charlotte MacLeod (aka Alisa Craig): Sarah Kelling & Max Bittersohn Mystery Series

Faith Martin: Hillary Greene Mystery Series (first entry Murder on the Oxford Canal)

Jenn McKinlay (aka Josie Belle & Lucy Lawrence): Library Lover’s Mystery Series

Louise Penny: Chief Inspector Gamache Mystery Series

Rebecca Raisin: Little Paris Mystery Series (first entry The Little Bookshop on the Seine)

Dorothy L. Sayers: Lord Peter Wimsey Mystery Series

Denise Swanson

Ashley Weaver: Amory Ames Mystery Series

[If you click on the author’s name (blue) link, it will take you to his/her page on the Cozy Mystery site. The pages have all of the authors’ books listed chronologically.]

I will list the authors and series that have been recommended, but I urge you to read the comments below so you can see the reasons other Cozy Mystery readers thought these were their best reads of the month.

♦To access more Cozy Mystery Books Recommendations, click on this link♦

P.S. I usually don’t comment on your recommendations since they speak for themselves.

Favorite Established (5+ books) Cozy Mystery Series?

This is something of a follow-up for last month’s question, which was whether viewers preferred long series or short…

Brooke asks:

What are your favorite established (at least 5 books) cozy mystery series?

That’s a surprisingly hard question! Well, I suppose the first answer springs to mind is that I have a real weakness for the “classics”. I can’t turn down anything by Agatha Christie, or many of the other authors of her generation. Beyond that, I have written about many, many series, all of which have their own charm, and most of which have at least five entries, most linked in the Cozy Mystery Recommendations page.

Recommended Cozy Mystery Series of at least 5 books:

Victoria Abbott (Mary Jane Maffini & Victoria Maffini): Book Collectors 

Ellery Adams (aka Jennifer Stanley, J. B. Stanley, & 1/2 of Lucy Arlington): Books by the Bay

Susan Wittig Albert: China Bayles

Susan Wittig Albert: the Darling Dahlias

Ellie Alexander (aka Kate Dyer-Seeley): Bakeshop

Madelyn Alt: Bewitching

Donna Andrews: Meg Langslow 

Nancy Atherton: Aunt Dimity

Lorna Barrett (aka L. L. Bartlett & Lorraine Bartlett): Booktown 

M.C. Beaton (aka Marion Chesney): Hamish Macbeth

M.C. Beaton (aka Marion Chesney): Agatha Raisin

Juliet Blackwell (aka Hailey Lind): Witchcraft

Heather Blake (aka Heather Webber): Wishcraft

Rhys Bowen: Royal Spyness

Rhys Bowen: Molly Murphy

Susan M. Boyer: Liz Talbot (Lowcountry)

Lilian Jackson Braun: The Cat Who…

Simon Brett: Mrs. Pargeter

Emily Brightwell: Inspector and Mrs. Jeffries (Victorian)

Duffy Brown: Consignment Shop

Rita Mae Brown: Mrs. Murphy

Kate Carlisle: Bibliophile

Kate Carlisle: Fixer-Upper

Elizabeth Lynn Casey (aka Laura Bradford): Southern Sewing Circle

Bailey Cates (aka Cricket McRae & Bailey Cattrell): Magical Bakery

Bailey Cates (aka Cricket McRae & Bailey Cattrell): Enchanted Garden

Laura Childs: Tea Shop

Laura Childs: Scrapbooking

Agatha Christie: Miss Marple

Agatha Christie: Hercule Poirot

Edie Claire: Leigh Koslow

Jane K. Cleland: Josie Prescott Antiques

Blaize Clement/David Clement: Dixie Hemingway

Nancy Coco (aka Nancy J. Parra and Nell Hampton): Candy-Coated

Kate Collins: Flower Shop Mystery Series

E.J. Copperman (aka Jeffrey Cohen): Haunted Guesthouse

Cleo Coyle (aka Alice Kimberly): Coffeehouse

Ellen Crosby: Wine Country

Mary Daheim: Emma Lord

Mary Daheim: Hillside Manor Bed & Breakfast

Jeanne M. Dams: Dorothy Martin

Shirley Damsgaard: Ophelia & Abby

Diane Mott Davidson: Goldy Bear

Krista Davis: Paws & Claws

Krista Davis: Domestic Diva

Jo Dereske: Miss Zukas

R.B. Dominic (Emma Lathen): Ben Safford

Selma Eichler: Desiree Shapiro

Lynn Florkiewicz: Sir James Harrington

Joanna Fluke: Hannah Swensen

Earlene Fowler: Benni Harper (Quilting)

Dick/Felix Francis: horseracing

Margaret Frazer (aka Gail Frazer, Monica Ferris): Sister Frevisse Medieval

Margaret Frazer (aka Gail Frazer, Monica Ferris): Joliffe the Player

Paul Gallico: Mrs. ‘Enry

Eva Gates (aka Vicki Delany): Lighthouse Library

Anne George: Southern Sisters

Dorothy Gilman: Mrs. Pollifax

Sally Goldenbaum: Seaside Knitters

Sue Grafton: Kinsey Millhone

Kerry Greenwood: Phryne Fisher

Kerry Greenwood: Corinna Chapman

Elly Griffiths: Ruth Galloway

Jane Haddam (aka Orania Papazoglou): Gregor Demarkian

Carolyn Haines: Sarah Booth Delaney

Victoria Hamilton (aka Amanda Cooper & Donna Lea Simpson): Vintage Kitchen

Lee Harris: Christine Bennett Holiday

Sherry Harris: Sarah Winston Garage Sale Mystery Series

Carolyn Hart (aka Carolyn G. Hart): Death on Demand

Betty Hechtman

Veronica Heley: Ellie Quicke

Joan Hess (aka Joan Hadley): Maggody 

Joan Hess (aka Joan Hadley): Claire Malloy

Tony/Anne Hillerman: Leaphorn, Chee, & Manuelito (Navajo)

Julie Hyzy: Manor of Murder

Sue Ann Jaffarian: Odelia Grey

Miranda James (aka Honor Hartman, Jimmie Ruth Evans, & Dean James): Cat in the Stacks

Dianne Kelly: Paw Enforcement series

Sofie Kelly: Magical Cats

Emma Lathen (aka R. B. Dominic): John Thatcher (Wallstreet)

Jim and Joyce Lavene (aka J. J. Cook & Ellie Grant): All series

Laura Levine: Jaine Austen

Kylie Logan  (aka Miranda Bliss & Casey Daniels):  League of Literary Ladies

Jess Lourey: Murder by Month

Karen MacInerney: Gray Whale Inn

Charlotte MacLeod: Peter Shandy & Helen Shandy 

G. M. Malliet: Max Tudor

Margaret Maron: Judge Deborah Knott

Alyssa Maxwell: Gilded Newport

Judi McCoy: Dog Walker

G.A. McKevett: Savannah Reid

Jenn McKinlay (aka Josie Belle & Lucy Lawrence): Cupcake Bakery

Jenn McKinlay (aka Josie Belle & Lucy Lawrence): Hat Shop

Leslie Meier: Lucy Stone

Barbara Michaels (aka Elizabeth Peters & Barbara Mertz)

Emma Miller: Amish

Patricia Moyes: Henry and Emily Tibbett

Shirley Rousseau Murphy: Joe Grey Cat

Tamar Myers: Pennsylvania Dutch Inn

Gail Oust: Spice Shop

Katherine Hall Page: Faith Fairchild

Sara Paretsky: V.I. Warshawski

Louise Penny: Chief Inspector Gamache

Leigh Perry (aka Toni L.P. Kelner): Family Skeleton

Elizabeth Peters (aka Barbara Michaels & Barbara Mertz): Amelia Peabody

Ellis Peters: Brother Cadfael

Maggie Pill: The Sleuth Sisters

Rhonda Pollero: F. A. T.

Ellery Queen: Ellery Queen

Ann B. Ross: Miss Julia 

Hank Phillippi Ryan: Jane Ryland

Sophie Ryan (aka Sofie Kelly): Second Chance Cat

Alexander McCall Smith: No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency

Elizabeth Daniels Squire: Peaches Dann

Rex Stout: Nero Wolfe

Denise Swanson: Scumble River

Leann Sweeney: Cats in Trouble

Ann Swinfen: Oxford Medieval

Marcia Talley: Hannah Ives

Victoria Thompson: Gaslight

Rebecca Tope: Cotswold

Various Authors: Miss Seeton

Robert Van Gulik: Judge Dee

Elaine Viets: Dead-End Job

Lea Wait: Mainely Needlepoint

Lea Wait (aka Cornelia Kidd): Shadows Antique Print

Livia J. Washburn: Fresh-Baked Mysteries

Jacqueline Winspear: Maisie Dobbs

P.S. Brooke, I sure hope this list of recommended Cozy Mystery authors and at least 5-book series gives you a starting point!

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