Cozy Mystery (and Other Favorite) Books, Movies, and TV
Well, it’s just a little late, but I wanted to wish you all a very happy New Year!
We’re enjoying the last few days of my daughter visiting, so I’ve still been a bit busy today!
Does anyone have any New Year’s resolutions they want to share? I’m afraid that this year I’m not feeling particularly motivated – though I do hope to read at least a few more Cozies per month than I managed last year!
M. C. Beaton: Death of an Honest Man (This will be the 34th in the Hamish Macbeth Mystery Series.)
Frances Brody: Death in the Stars (This will be the 8th in the Kate Shackleton Mystery Series.)
Krista Davis: Color Me Murder (This will be the 1st in the NEW Pen & Ink Mystery Series.)
Vicki Delany (aka Eva Gates): The Cat of the Baskervilles (This will be the 3rd in the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mystery Series.)
Amanda Flower (aka Isabella Alan): Lethal Licorice (This will be the 2nd in the Amish Candy Shop Mystery.)
Joanne Fluke: Raspberry Danish Murder (This will be the 22nd in the Hannah Swensen Mystery Series.) (This is a Thanksgiving themed mystery.)
Sherry Harris: I Know What You Bid Last Summer (This will be the 5th in the Sarah Winston Garage Sale Mystery.)
Miranda James (aka Honor Hartman, Jimmie Ruth Evans, & Dean James): Claws for Concern (This will be the 9th in the Cat in the Stacks Mystery Series.)
T.C. LoTempio: Death by a Whisker (This will be the 2nd in the Cat Rescue Mystery Series.)
Carlene O’Connor: Murder in an Irish Churchyard (This will be the 3rd in the Irish Village Mystery Series.)
Diana Orgain: Killer Cravings (This will be the 6th in the Maternal Instincts Mystery Series.)
Carol J. Perry: It Takes a Coven (This will be the 6th in the Witch City Mystery Series.)
Loretta Ross: Death & the Viking’s Daughter (This will be the 4th in the Auction Block Mystery Series.)
Annelise Ryan (aka Allyson K. Abbott & Beth Amos): Dead Calm(This will be the 9th in the Mattie Winston Mystery Series.)
Sofie Ryan (aka Sofie Kelly): The Fast and the Furriest (This will be the 5th in the Second Chance Cat Mystery Series.)
Charles Todd: The Gatekeeper (This will be the 20th in the Inspector Ian Rutledge Mystery Series.)
If you want to see this month’s releases, go to the January 2017 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.)
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 December, I’ve read two Cozy series I feel strongly enough about to recommend: first, Ali Brandon‘s Black Cat Bookshop Mystery Series, and second, Laura Bradford’s Emergency Dessert Squad Mystery Series.
If you’re interested in reading why I’m recommending these 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 December? 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 December 2017 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:
Adele Abbott: Witch P.I. Mystery Series (first entry Witch Is When It All Began)
Kristi Abbott: Popcorn Shop Mystery Series
Victoria Abbott (Writing duo Mary Jane Maffini & daughter Victoria Maffini): Book Collectors Mystery Series
Ellery Adams (aka J. B. Stanley, Jennifer Stanley, & 1/2 of Lucy Arlington): Books by the Bay Mystery Series AND Secret, Book & Scone Society Mystery Series
Donna Andrews: Meg Langslow Mystery Series
Alice K. Boatwright: Ellie Kent Mystery Series
Laura Bradford: Emergency Dessert Squad Mystery Series
Ali Brandon: Black Cat Bookshop Mystery Series
Emily Brightwell: Mrs. Jeffries Mystery Series
Allison Brook: Haunted Library Mystery Series (first entry Death Overdue)
Laura Childs (aka Gerry Schmitt): Tea Shop Mystery Series
Edie Claire: Leigh Koslow “Never” Mystery Series
Cleo Coyle (aka Alice Kimberly): Coffeehouse Mystery Series
Vicki Delany (aka Eva Gates): Year-Round Christmas Mystery Series
Kaitlyn Dunnett (aka Kathy Lynn Emerson): Liss MacCrimmon Mystery Series
Barbara Early (aka Beverly Allen): Vintage Toy Shop Mystery Series
Dawn Eastman: Family Fortune Mystery Series
Sarah Fox: Pancake House Mystery Series
Jacqueline Frost (aka Julie Chase and Julie Anne Lindsey): Christmas Tree Farm Mystery Series
Sally Goldenbaum: Seaside Knitters Mystery Series
Kerry Greenwood: Phryne Fisher Mystery Series
Nancy Haddock: Silver Six Crafting Mystery Series
Leigh Hearon: Carson Stable Mystery Series (first entry Reining in Murder)
Cheryl Hollon: Webb’s Glass Shop Mystery Series
Sue Ann Jaffarian: Odelia Grey Mystery Series
Craig Johnson: Walt Longmire Mystery Series (first entry The Cold Dish)
Alexander McCall Smith: The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency Series
Jenn McKinlay (aka Josie Belle & Lucy Lawrence): Library Lover’s Mystery Series
Liz Mugavero (aka Cate Conte): Pawsitively Organic Mystery Series
Gail Oust: Spice Shop Mystery Series
Katherine Hall Page: Faith Fairchild Mystery Series
Nancy J. Parra (aka Nancy Coco and Nell Hampton): Perfect Proposals Mystery Series
Louise Penny: Chief Inspector Gamache Mystery Series
Rose Pressey: Haunted Vintage Mystery Series
D. M. Quincy: Atlas Catesby Mystery Series (first entry Death in May)
Deanna Raybourn: Veronica Speedwell Mystery Series
Patricia Rockwell: Essie Cobb, Senior Sleuth Mystery Series (first entry)
Barbara Ross: Maine Clambake Mystery Series
Paige Shelton: Dangerous Type Mystery Series
Fran Stewart: Scotshop Mystery Series
Denise Swanson: Scumble River Mystery Series
Diane Vallere: Sylvia Stryker Mystery Series
Lea Wait: Mainely Needlepont Mystery Series
Cy Wyss: Eyeshine
Diana Xarissa: Isle of Man Cozy Mystery Series (first entry Aunt Bessie Assumes)
[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.
Laura Bradford is a new-to-me author, but she has been writing Cozies as Elizabeth Lynn Casey since 2009. She has five series listed on the site, and after having read Éclair and Present Danger, I believe that I must make time to try her other series!
Winnie Johnson is having a very bad day as the book begins. She discovers that her neighbor who recently died left her a cat (who doesn’t like Winnie) and an old ambulance. Winnie was hoping that she was being left some money or at least something of great value since this is also the last day her dream bakery is open. She is being forced to close because of an increase on the rent which she cannot pay and still keep the bakery a going concern. Her bad day gets worse by far when she discovers another elderly neighbor dead — murdered.
Of course, being a Cozy series, Winnie takes it upon herself to find the killer of her neighbor. And, it turns out that there are a number of people with ample motive to want him dead. Winnie, her friend Renee and her other elderly neighbors Bridget O’Keefe and Parker Nelson (Mr. Nelson lives in the other apartment in her house) all lend a hand (to varying degrees) in the sleuthing to find the killer.
And, Winnie has the brilliant idea to turn her old ambulance into a mobile delivery van for her new idea >> the “Emergency Dessert Squad” bakery business. With Renee as her helper, Winnie uses her own home to bake the goodies with each having emergency-related names. And, then she delivers them using the ambulance. The names of the baked goods are along the lines of “You Are One Smart Cookie, Cookie”, and “Don’t-Be-Blue Berry Pie”. The business quickly becomes a great success with Bridget’s help >> Bridget writes a column in the local paper.
There are several potential romantic interests in the book for Winnie. Her friends are quite keen to see her find someone and settle down. Winnie is not so much in a hurry, but in the first book she does find someone who she likes a lot.
I enjoyed Éclair and Present Danger, and I am quite tempted to read the first book in Laura Bradford’s Amish Mystery Series soon (if I can find the time to squeeze in even more reading time!
Click here to read more posts about the most popular and recommended Cozy Mystery series.
PS: There are a bunch of recipes included at the end of the book!
