The Cozy Mystery List Blog

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

July 14, 2016

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!

Christmas in July? Winter Cozies in Summer?

July 10, 2016

So having just finished re-reading a Christmas-themed Cozy (Leslie Meier‘s Mistletoe Murder – if you want to read that blog entry, go here), it’s gotten me in a bit of a “holiday” sort of mood >>> despite the fact that it is more than 100 degrees outside pretty much every day!

Normally I don’t read holiday themed Cozies “out of season” >>> I tend to read a lot of holiday themed Cozies but only when the actual holiday rolls around. While I was re-reading this Christmas themed Cozy during a rather hot spell here in San Antonio, I started thinking about Christmas in July Cozy Mystery reading. About two years ago, MJ wrote a comment about just this:

… Oft discussed on this blog are the ‘seasonal/theme’ cozies. Danna, too, has said she enjoys reading Christmas cozies in Nov/Dec., winter cozies in Jan/Feb, etc., etc. In addition, many of us have talked about how we enjoy the characters in our favorite series. I’m always looking forward (generally waiting for a year) to the next book in an enjoyable on-going series.

HERE’S THE DILEMMA …….what if a book in a series you enjoy is released with a Christmas theme in June?? Do you read it now because you’ve been waiting for the next ‘installment’? OR, do you wait for 6 months to enjoy the ambiance of the Christmas season?

That’s exactly what happened when I automatically picked up ‘The Diva Wraps It Up’ (released 6/3), by Krista Davis. Since it’s a series I follow, I didn’t even bother reading the story description. When I started reading the first page, I realized it has a Christmas theme! What’s with that?

I haven’t read it yet. But whether one does or doesn’t read it in the summer, probably will depend on how much patience one has. I’m thinking about a ‘Christmas in July’ read (perhaps around the 7/22, 7/23, 7/24 time frame). Since in the last book there was some ‘relationship’ uncertainty in a subplot, I assume this will be a continuing storyline in the new book. We’ll see………………..I’m not a real patient person.

And then just last month, “HookedOnCozyMysteries” wrote this:

Just finished a crazy Donna Andrews mystery: The Nightingale Before Christmas. She’s always good for a laugh, and she came through again; reading something that is set during chilly weather at least makes me feel a little cooler. Now I’m onto A Cherry Cheesecake Murder by Joanna Fluke. It’s March in Lake Eden, Minnesota … still chilly and Hannah Swenson is sure to bake up something yummy

I know we have discussed reading holiday/seasonal Cozies out of their corresponding season, but I’m wondering (again) when the rest of you Cozy Mystery lovers read holiday Cozies. Do you do what I normally do >>> read holiday mysteries in the “proper” season? (This is sort of a drag if you have to wait several months for the specific holiday.) Or do you read your favorite authors’ Cozies when they are released (or when they are the next books in your TBR pile), regardless of the holiday/season they take place in? Please leave a comment below. Thank you!

Leslie Meier: Lucy Stone Mystery Series

July 8, 2016

The first book I’m going to be covering this month for the monthly most popular & recommended mystery series is Leslie Meier‘s Lucy Stone Mystery Series. The first book in this series is Mistletoe Murder – a Christmas themed mystery, which is no surprise since the Lucy Stone Mystery Series is a holiday themed series, with each entry revolving around a different holiday. This series began in 1991, and I’ve been reading it for almost that long! It is Leslie Meier’s only series >>> which means she can devote all of her writing time to keeping her fans (like me!) happily reading.

With the holidays approaching, Lucy Stone is about as busy as you can expect for a mother of three children (son Toby and daughters Elizabeth and Sara), though her husband Bill picks up some of the slack. She works nights at the Country Cousins mail order phone support line. When she discovers the body of Sam Miller, owner of the company, dead in his car with a hose running from his exhaust pipe into a window, she thinks it’s suicide>>> but in a small community like Tinker’s Cove, Maine, it doesn’t take long for word to get out that Sam Miller was murdered.

One of the things I liked about this entry in the series is how the murder investigation needed to bend around Lucy’s schedule, instead of Lucy just deciding to drop everything to pursue something that isn’t really her job. Lucy Stone is a wife with three children and visiting relatives, and at the same time is casually investigating the owner of the company she works at. It’s only natural that something is going to have to give – and during the more thoroughly “holiday” part of the book, she’s definitely in full on “mom mode”, and investigating a murder just has to fade into the background to the practical details of shopping, hosting family guests, managing meals, and child care. This is one of the reasons I enjoy the series so much >>> Lucy isn’t able to just start investigating mysteries while her family is busy doing something else. Her family seems real.

The Lucy Stone Mystery Series takes place in a quaint town in Maine (the fictional Tinker’s Cove) which provides a great Cozy atmosphere. The people are very much like people who you would know. And, as many of you who have been with me a while know, I love different yearly seasons. Tinker’s Cove is perfect for seasonal fun. You’ll “feel” the winter cold while you enjoy the snow, and the fall has its vibrant leaves >>> things I truly miss down here in San Antonio. I very much rely on the Cozy Mysteries I read to provide the seasonal atmosphere that I miss so much down here.

Another thing I really like is that this particular mystery did keep me guessing pretty far into the book. A lot of the time, I’m able to make a pretty educated guess as to “whodunit”, but in this case I actually wasn’t sure. At the same time, when the mystery did resolve, it was obvious in hindsight >>> the clues were all there. To me that’s one of the hallmarks of a really really good mystery.

There are some elements that some Cozy readers may not like. For example, the death of a family pet is a plot point in the novel in an unpleasant fashion, and this is definitely something that I would be surprised to see in a lot of the Cozies released today.

As I said earlier, this series started years ago and I’ve been a fan for many of those years. I definitely recommend this series. This specific book is (in my opinion) the beginning to a “modern classic” Cozy Mystery series. It’s a Cozy Mystery series that should be read chronologically, so you can grow with Lucy and her family and friends.

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.

Two New Cozy Mystery Holiday Books & One More New Cozy Series Coming August 2016

July 5, 2016

Two days ago I told you about five very interesting looking series starting in August from established Cozy Mystery authors, and here’s one more! I just found out that Linda Wiken (aka Erika Chase) is starting a new Cozy Mystery series. We’ll also be fortunate enough to have two holiday themed Cozy releases! (Over the years, I have noticed that August is sort of the beginning of the Cozy Mystery holiday themed time-of-year >>> and I can’t wait!)

I’ll start with Linda Wiken‘s new Dinner Club Mystery Series (since I’m late in telling you about it and it was just released today!) Toasting Up Trouble introduces us to J.J. Tanner, an event planner who is also a member of the Culinary Capers Dinner Club. The club members are all very interested in food, both eating it and preparing it. And for those of you who absolutely love Cozies with recipes, you’ll be happy to know they are included in these Cozy Mysteries! As Erika Chase she writes the very popular Ashton Corners Book Club Mystery Series. (The first Cozy in this series was nominated for the very prestigious Agatha Award.) Now she’ll be using her “real name” to write this series. (Toasting Up Trouble is available now.)

Site author Lee Hollis will be releasing Death of a Pumpkin Carver, a holiday themed Cozy and the 8th in Hailey Powell Food & Cocktail Mystery Series. In this entry, Hailey will be preparing for a fun Halloween when an unexpected guest arrives in Bar Harbor, Maine >>> Hailey’s ex-husband. Despite her trouble with her ex-husband in the past, she just can’t believe that he’s capable of murder – which he is unfortunately accused of after the suspicious death of his uncle. As always, this novel will feature delectable recipes, no doubt centered around the fall season!

The other Cozy Mystery author who will be releasing a Halloween themed Cozy during August is Kathi Daley. Costume Catastrophe will be the 21st in the Zoe Donovan Mystery Series. Zoe will be trying to avoid any major problems at the haunted house this year. Since it’s Homecoming weekend all of her high school friends are having a reunion in town. Unfortunately, not all of her high school cronies live through this gathering!

If you’re looking for more Halloween themed Cozy Mysteries, be sure to check out the Halloween Theme page on my site!

« Previous Page