The Cozy Mystery List Blog

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

Cozy Mystery News – March 2018

It’s March already! And as always, time marches on, bringing us Cozy Mystery News, both good and (unfortunately this month) bad!

Anyway, here’s the Cozy Mystery News for March 2018:

Unfortunately, I have to lead off this month’s news with a very sad piece of news. Bill Crider, the author of multiple Cozy Mystery series, most notably the Sheriff Dan Rhodes Mystery Series that has been ongoing for over thirty years, passed away on February 12, 2018. He passed away in Alvin, Texas, where he served for a number of years as the Chair of the Division of English and Fine Arts at Alvin Community College.

On to more cheerful news… Linda Fairstein may not be a Cozy Mystery author, but she is a wildly successful mystery author and I know that she has quite a strong following here. So I’m glad to be able to tell you all that she has been given the go-ahead to continue her Alexandra Cooper Thriller Series for (at least!) another two entries, tentatively slated for release in early 2019 and 2020! She’s also the author of the Devlin Quick Mystery Series, which is a mystery series aimed at middle school readers. (I’m pretty sure both my children would have loved to read about Devlin’s sleuthing escapades!)

 Ellen Hart, author of the Jane Lawless Mystery Series (one of the longer-running Cozy Mystery series) – starring a restaurateur in Minneapolis, has been given the green light to continue writing (at least!) another two entries in the series. Ellen also writes the Sophie Greenway Mystery Series, starring an editor and food critic in Minneapolis. (Unsurprisingly considering both of her series are set in Minneapolis, she lives in Minnesota!)

Finally, Annelise Ryan (aka Allyson K. Abbott & Beth Amos) has been asked to not only write two more entries in her Mattie Winston Mystery Series (starring a deputy coroner in Wisconsin), but also to write two books in a spin-off series featuring a hospital social worker. Annelise also writes (as Allyson K. Abbott) the Mack’s Bar Mystery Series, starring a bar owner in Milwaukee.

That’s the Cozy Mystery News for March 2018. I know this one is a mixed bag, but I hope you can find some good news to outweigh the bad!

New Releases – March 5 to March 11, 2018

Here is the list of new releases for March 5 to March 11!

Susan Wittig Albert: The Darling Dahlias and the Unlucky Clover (This will be the 7th in the Darling Dahlias Mystery Series.)

Lynn Cahoon: Who Moved My Goat Cheese? (This will be the 1st in the NEW Farm-to-Fork Mystery Series.)

Laura Childs (aka Gerry Schmitt): Plum Tea Crazy (This will be the 19th in the Tea Shop Mystery Series.)

Kathi Daley: Farewell to Felines (This will be the 15th in the Whales and Tails Mystery Series.)

Anna Lee Huber: A Brush with Shadows (This will be the 6th in the Lady Darby Mystery Series.)

Kelly Lane: Dipped to Death (This will be the 3rd in the Olive Grove Mystery Series.)

Linda Wiken (aka Erika Chase): Marinating in Murder (This will be the 3rd in the Dinner Club Mystery Series.)

April 2018 Mystery Book New Releases

The following Mystery Books will be released in April 2018:

April 2018

Ellery Adams (aka J. B. Stanley, Jennifer Stanley, & 1/2 of Lucy Arlington): Murder in the Locked Library (This will be the 4th in the Book Retreat Mystery Series.)

Rebecca Adler: Cinco De Murder (This will be the 3rd in the Taste of Texas Mystery Series.)

Susan Wittig Albert: Queen Anne’s Lace (This will be the 26th in the China Bayles Herbal Mysteries Series.)

Barbara Allan: Antiques Wanted (This will be the 12th in the Trash ‘n’ Treasures Mystery Series.)

Juliet Blackwell (aka Hailey Lind): A Magical Match (This will be the 9th in the Witchcraft Mystery Series.)

Kathleen Bridge: Death by the Sea (This will be the 1st in the NEW By the Sea Mystery Series.)

V.M. Burns: Read Herring Hunt (This will be the 2nd in the Samantha Washington Bookshop Mystery Series.)

Maia Chance : Bad Neighbors (This will be the 2nd in the Agnes and Effie Mystery Series.)

Mary Higgins Clark: I’ve Got My Eyes On You (This will be a stand-alone Thriller.)

Jane K. Cleland: Antique Blues (This will be the 12th in the Josie Prescott Mystery Series.)

Cleo Coyle (aka Alice Kimberly): Shot in the Dark (This will be the 17th in the Coffeehouse Mystery Series.)

Mary Daheim: A Case of Bier (This will be the 31st in the Hillside Manor Bed-and-Breakfast Mystery Series.)

Elizabeth J. Duncan: The Marmalade Murders (This will be the 9th in the Penny Brannigan Mystery Series.)

Kaitlyn Dunnett aka Kathy Lynn Emerson): Crime & Punctuation(This will be the 1st in the NEW Deadly Edits Mystery Series.)

Janet Finsilver: Murder at the Mushroom Festival (This will be the 4th in the Kelly Jackson Mystery Series.)

Martha Grimes: The Knowledge (This will be the 24th in the Richard Jury Mystery Series.)

Nell Hampton (aka Nancy Coco and Nancy J. Parra): Lord of the Pies (This will be the 2nd in the Kensington Palace Chef Mystery Series.)

Sasscer Hill: The Dark Side of Town (This will be a Stand-Alone Mystery or the first in a new series.)

Anne Hillerman: Cave of Bones (This will be the 22nd in the Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee Mystery Series.)

Lee Hollis: Death of a Cookbook Author (This will be the 10th in the Hayley Powell Mystery Series.)

Tonya Kappes: Cold Blooded Brew (This will be the 4th in the Killer Coffee Mystery Series.)

G. M. Malliet: In Prior’s Wood (This will be the 7th in the Max Tudor Mystery Series.)

Edith Maxwell (aka Maddie Day & Tace Baker): Turning the Tide (This will be the 3rd in the Quaker Midwife Mystery Series.)

G. A. McKevett: Hide and Sneak (This will be the 23rd in the Savannah Reid Mystery Series.)

Jenn McKinlay (aka Josie Belle & Lucy Lawrence): Wedding Cake Crumble (This will be the 10th in the Cupcake Bakery Mystery Series.)

Catriona McPherson: Scot Free (This will be the 1st in the NEW Last Ditch Mystery Series.)

Anne Perry : Twenty-one Days (This will be the 33rd in the Pitt Mystery Series.)

Ann B. Ross: Miss Julia Raises the Roof (This will be the 20th in the Miss Julia Mystery Series.)

Paige Shelton: Lost Books and Old Bones (This will be the 3rd in the Scottish Bookshop Mystery Series.)

Denise Swanson: Tart of Darkness (This will be the 1st in the NEW Chef-to-Go Mystery Series.)

Rebecca Tope: The Staveley Suspect (This will be the 7th in the Lake District Mystery Series.)

Marty Wingate: Farewell, My Cuckoo (This will be the 4th in the Birds of a Feather Mystery Series.)

If you want to see this month’s releases, go to the March 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 – February 2018

February is almost over, so it’s time to talk about our favorite Cozy Mysteries that we read in the last 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! I haven’t had as much time to read this much as I would have liked, so unfortunately I don’t have a series to recommend this month.

That said, for previously recommended series, you can go to the Most Popular & Recommended Cozy Mystery Series page on my Cozy-Mystery site for my full write-ups on each of these great Cozy series.

So, what have you been reading that you can recommend in February? 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 February 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:

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

Winnie Archer (aka Melissa Bourbon & Misa Ramirez): Bread Shop Mystery Series

Lillian Bell: Funeral Parlor Mystery Series (first entry A Grave Issue)

Stephanie Blackmoore: Wedding Planner Mystery Series

Ginger Bolton: Deputy Donut Mystery Series (first entry Survival of the Fritters)

Laura Bradford (aka Elizabeth Lynn Casey):  Emergency Dessert Squad Mystery Series AND Tobi Tobias Mystery Series

Alan Bradley: Flavia de Luce Mystery Series

Duffy Brown: Consignment Shop Mystery Series

Ann Charles: Jackrabbit Junction Mystery Series AND Deadwood Mystery Series

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

Maddie Day (aka Edith Maxwell & Tace Baker): Country Store Mystery Series

Vicki Delany (aka Eva Gates): Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mystery Series

Kaitlyn Dunnett   (aka Kathy Lynn Emerson): Liss MacCrimmon Mystery Series

Warren Esby: Odd Girl Out

A.L. Herbert: Mahalia Watkins Soul Food Mystery Series

Mary Ellen Hughes: Keepsake Cove Mystery Series

Maddy Hunter: Passport to Peril Mystery Series

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

Laurie R. King: Mary Russell Series

Molly MacRae: Highland Bookshop Mystery Series

Sharon Pape: Crystal Shop Mystery Series

Louise Penny: Chief Inspector Gamache Mystery Series

Anne Perry: William Monk Series

Deanna Raybourn: Veronica Speedwell Mystery Series

Sofie Ryan (aka Sofie Kelly & Darlene Ryan for Young Adult): Second Chance Cat Mystery Series

Paige Shelton: Dangerous Type Mystery Series

Karen Rose Smith: Daisy’s Tea Garden 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.

MENU