The Cozy Mystery List Blog

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

New Series Vs. Old Series – Which Do You Prefer?

A while ago, the following question was asked by Margaret StashEmpress as part of a longer comment:

Am I the only one that’s getting a bit tired of seeing so many new series (instead of continuations of favorite old series?) I think at this point a new series has to have a REALLY unique “hook” that grabs me before I’m interested enough to try it (the upcoming Kensington Palace Chef series is one whose premise “grabs” me).

-Margaret StashEmpress

It feels like this has been a more regular occurrence lately than it was in years gone by, so I’ve had some time to think about it more frequently, and thought I’d ask what everyone thinks.

Sometimes there just isn’t any alternative to starting a new series, and that’s understandable. For example, when an author is discontinued by their publisher, they don’t generally have the option to continue writing the same series under a different publisher or as a self-published author as the publisher has significant rights to the series. So they don’t get a choice on whether they want to start over again as it were – if they want to continue writing, they need to come up with a new series.

However, there are other times when it seems like an author just wants to start something new. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing – if classic authors just stuck with the one series they began with, we wouldn’t have many of the classic sleuths they came up with in their later writings! There’s also the issue that some series just get old with time – that sometimes there are only so many stories that can be told about a given cast before books begin to feel very “same-ey”. The unfortunate side effect is that series that we already love can feel side-tracked, ignored in favor of the new favorites.

So, what do you prefer? New series and fresh starts? Or the continuation of tried and true favorites?

New Releases – December 12 to December 18, 2016

Here is the list of new release for December 12 to December 18!

Elizabeth J. Duncan: Ill Met by Murder (This will be the 2nd in the Shakespeare in the Catskills Mystery Series.)

Carola Dunn: Buried in the Country (This will be the 4th in the Cornish Mystery Series.)

Christopher Fowler: Strange Tide (This will be the 13th in the Bryant and May Mystery Series.)

Victoria Laurie: Forever, Again (This may be a Stand Alone or a Maddie Flynn mystery for young adults.)

Kendel Lynn: Pot Luck (This will be the 4th in the Elliot Lisbon Mystery Series.)

Gail Oust: Curried Away (This will be the 4th in the Piper Prescott Mystery Series.) (This is an Oktoberfest themed mystery.)

James Patterson & Chris Grabenstein: Word of Mouse (This will be a Middle Grade book.)

Colin Dexter’s Last Bus to Woodstock

I started thinking about some of the non Cozy mysteries I have read that I consider classics from yesteryear, one of which is Colin Dexter‘s Last Bus to Woodstock, the book that introduced Dexter’s classic detective, Inspector Morse.

Note that Colin Dexter definitely isn’t a Cozy mystery author. His books are much closer to police procedural than Cozy >>> they star an actual member of the police, and include many elements that would not be included in Cozies (mostly swearing, graphic description of violence, and much stronger sexual themes in the mysteries investigated).

Despite this, I feel that a lot of Cozy readers still have a very convenient entry point to Colin Dexter’s work >>> the very excellent and long-running Inspector Morse television series, as well as its modern spin-offs, Endeavor and Inspector Lewis (for the record, I don’t think the spin-offs, are as good as the original Inspector Morse television series).

Last Bus to Woodstock introduced us to Chief Inspector Morse (whose first name isn’t known for quite a long time, so I won’t use it either generally), as well as his Detective Sergeant, Robert (Robbie) Lewis. Morse and Lewis are an exceptional pair, working well off each other to help make sure that all potential avenues of investigation are covered. It’s obvious that both men consider the other a partner who complements their skills. Morse is a surprisingly educated man for a police officer, enjoying classical operas and crossword puzzles, though he has few personal ties. Lewis, on the other hand, is relatively uneducated, but has strong family ties. The pair are actually surprisingly well suited partners – while Morse is prone to flashes of brilliance, Lewis has the far more organized approach to crime solving, letting him gather the clues and collate the data that Morse needs to come up with whatever brilliant deduction he will eventually reach.

Though I haven’t seen the Inspector Morse television series in years, I still think that it’s worth discussing whenever Colin Dexter’s books come up. Even Dexter himself considered John Thaw’s portrayal of Morse to be beyond reproach, considering him such an iconic portrayal of Inspector Morse that he actually stopped writing Morse novels after Thaw’s unfortunate death in 2000. Dexter actually stated in his will that no further adaptations of his Morse works should be made since Thaw is no longer available (the Endeavor series is not included in that statement – Dexter approved the actor as a younger version of Morse, for stories that could be told before he reached the rank of Chief Inspector).

My Cozy Christmas Reading…

Christmas PuppyI just finished reading both The Neon Ornaments, a novella in Camille Minichino‘s Periodic Table Mystery Series and The Deadliest Christmas Pageant Ever, a novella in Teresa Trent‘s Pecan Bayou Mystery Series. Both of these Cozy Mystery authors are authors I really enjoy reading, and they are both on my favorite authors list.

Let’s see, what else do I have to tell you about … Oh, I started putting our Christmas decorations up after Thanksgiving and am finally finished. Having our puppy, Cocoa, under foot made it a little more taxing than it would have ordinarily been. It’s been so many years since our Sprite was a puppy, so I had sort of forgotten how much more time it takes while being careful not to drop anything on the floor.

I sure enjoyed seeing all the ornaments as I unwrapped them. In the past I have mentioned that the only ornaments I decorate our tree with are those that our son and daughter made while growing up as well as ornaments made out of their tiny toys. I was transported back to when our children’s little, itty-bitty hands played with these beloved toy characters (I hang them on the tree with festive Christmas ribbons). Little, itty-bitty Transformers, My Little Ponies, Care Bears, Bert, Ernie, Cookie Monster, and Oscar, etc. Boy, do they take me back!

I certainly hope all of you are enjoying this holiday season. Whether it’s Christmas, pre-Hanukkah, pre-Kwanzaa, or simply the winter season!

P.S. If you’re interested in seeing a terrific Christmas mystery book list, click on this link.

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