The Cozy Mystery List Blog

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

They’re Finally a Couple >>> Does He Have to Leave Town Now?

luggageLast month, in the recommendations, MJ brought up a point that I have wondered about in the past. MJ was referencing Kate Carlisle’s Bibliophile mysteries and here’s her comment:

This author does a fantastic job of keeping the relationship between Brooklyn and Derek relevant and vibrant. They work beautifully together and their rapport adds to a pleasurable read. As with several cozy relationships, it started out antagonistic and developed into a ‘couple’ relationship. MANY, many other cozy authors (some of my favorites) send the significant other (once they become a couple) on trips and their part in the story is reduced to a few phone calls. KUDOS to this author for her creativity!!! (This might be a topic worth discussing sometime — do you want the male half of the couple to remain an integral part of the story or not?)

I didn’t respond at the time, instead I decided to take her advice and ask you all about this. Once a sleuth is in a “couple relationship” >>> have you noticed her (his) partner leaves town a whole lot? If so, how do you feel about the partner’s part being reduced to a few phone calls? Please post a comment. Thank you!

Cleo Coyle: Coffeehouse Mystery Series

Next on my list of the most popular & recommended Cozy Mystery series is the Coffeehouse Mystery Series by Cleo Coyle. This very popular series is a New York Times Bestselling series for a reason! I probably should mention that Cleo Coyle is actually a husband and wife writing team, but I think it will be easier to  just refer to the author as “her” in this entry. The duo also writes the Haunted Bookshop Mystery Series as Alice Kimberly.

On What Grounds is the first book in this very popular series, and it introduces us to Clare Cosi, an almost 40 year old manager of a historic New York coffeehouse, the Village Blend. As the book begins Clare is just about to finish moving into the apartment above the coffeehouse, having just returned to manage the Blend after a 10 year hiatus to raise her daughter in the New Jersey suburbs. She has returned as manager >>> lured by the promise of “Madame” (the aging owner) that she would get an ownership stake in the shop. Madame has also made a similar deal with her son (Clare’s ex-husband Matt). So Clare and her ex will be living in the same rooms above the shop, at least during a week or so every month when Matt, a coffee buyer, will be in town. (As an aside, why do most all good things come with at least one not-so-good?)

As Clare is arriving early one morning with the final things in her car from her move, she discovers that her assistant, Annabelle, has not opened the shop. When she takes a look around she finds Annabelle’s nearly lifeless body at the bottom of the stairs leading to the basement storeroom. I doubt I give too much away when I say that (of course!) Annabelle was not the victim of a tragic accident. Clare suspects foul play – and she won’t stop until she finds the culprit.

The detective in charge of determining whether Annabelle fell or was pushed is Detective Quinn. (Hmmm… As this is the first book in the series, the reader may wonder if Detective Quinn and Clare’s ex-husband Matt provide a romantic rivalry in the series? No spoilers here, but I will say I certainly hope so!) Also in Clare’s life is her daughter, Joy, who is also Matt’s daughter. Joy is attending culinary school in the city, which is one of the reasons that Clare was willing to come back to the Blend.

There are a lot of Cozy Mystery theme books that just provide the barest of background information related to the books’ theme. This book isn’t like those series. The making and drinking of coffee is woven throughout the book. You will no doubt learn what goes into buying coffee beans and even proper techniques to make a great cup. Also, the book contains many coffee recipes and tips. (I know I’m only discussing the first book in the series, but I want to interject that all of the Coffeehouse mysteries have recipes in them.)

Cleo Coyle’s Coffeehouse series takes place in New York City, but the author is able to provide a small community in the midst of NYC by making the coffeehouse into a small community. On What Grounds is a great start to the series with just the right combination of character introduction and sleuthing. The mystery is difficult enough to solve that I did not guess the ending >>> but looking back on it I think I should have! There were plenty of clues, I just missed them! Although there is a lot of discussion about coffee, the theme does not become overwhelming, and I would guess that even non-coffee lovers would still enjoy the book.

This is a Cozy Mystery series I’ve followed since its beginning, and I’m looking forward to the next one, which is scheduled to be published in January 2017. (Even though I haven’t caught up with it, I always like to hear there’s another on the way!)

As always, 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.

Cozy Mystery Villages, Towns, Communities We Would Love to Live In…

friendsAbout a week ago, WJ made a comment right here on the blog that got me thinking about all of the Cozy villages/towns/communities that we have been introduced to by some of our favorite Cozy Mystery authors. WJ’s comment referred to Leslie Meier’s Lucy Stone mysteries setting. Here is WJ’s comment:

I love her books and want to move to Tinkers Cove, Maine!!

So, naturally I started thinking about some of the Cozy Mystery fictional places seem (almost) real to me.  The characters have become like friends >>> no matter how long it has been since I was last with them, things go back as if no time has passed. The locations have taken on brick and mortar realities to me, so much so that when the characters in the Cozies talk about their shops or cafés (etc.), I feel like I have been in them, too!

I have a few Cozy Mystery places I would love to live in, with characters I would love to hang out with. Let’s see, right off the top of my head I can think of four: Gerry Porter’s Lincoln Point (by Margaret Grace), Hannah Swensen’s Lake Eden (by Joanne Fluke), Jessica Fletcher’s Cabot Cove (by Donald Bain & “Jessica Fletcher”), and Peggy Jean Turner’s Cobb’s Landing (by Kate Borden).

How about you? Are there any Cozy Mystery towns you would love to move to? (Without all the murders, of course!) If so, please post a comment with the town, series, and author. Thank you!

Five New-to-the-Site Cozy Authors: Rebecca Adler: Taste of Texas, Susan Bernhardt: Kay Driscoll, Marla Cooper: Destination Wedding, Kendel Lynn: Elliott Lisbon, Carlene O’Connor: Irish Village

I’m adding another set of authors to the site >>> five new authors this time! As always these are authors that I’ve heard of through visitors to the Cozy Mystery site, either through comments here or through email.

A former theatrical actress, Rebecca Adler grew up in Florida, and has lived in New York, Mississippi, and now in Houston, Texas. She is the author of the Taste of Texas Mystery Series, starring Josie Callahan, a former Austin journalist now working as the head waitress in her aunt’s restaurant in the small town of Broken Boot, Texas. This series includes Tex-Mex recipes.

 

 Susan Bernhardt lives in Wisconsin and volunteers at her local free clinic, and previously was a public health nurse. She writes the Kay Driscoll Mystery Series, which also stars a Wisconsin-dwelling former nurse who volunteers at a local free clinic. The Kay Driscoll mysteries all take place during different holiday seasons.

 

A professional writer who was born in Texas and now lives in California, Marla Cooper has written on a variety of subjects ranging from advertising copy to poetry to travel guidebooks. One book she wrote on destination weddings inspired her Destination Wedding Mystery Series. This series stars Kelsey McKenna, a wedding planner in California.

 

Born in California, Kendel Lynn has also lived in Michigan and now lives in Dallas, Texas. She started both a stamp company and co-launched a mystery publishing house (Henery Press), and is the author of the Elliot Lisbon Mystery Series. This series stars the director of a foundation on Sea Pine Island, South Carolina who does minor sleuthing for donors of the foundation.

 

 Carlene O’Connor spends most of her time in either New York or Ireland, and is the author of the Irish Village Mystery Series, which takes place in the fictional small town of Kilbane, County Cork, and stars Siobhán O’Sullivan, the owner of a small family bistro. (Actually, she and her five siblings manage the bistro.)

I hope you enjoy these new authors to the site!

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