Cozy Mystery (and Other Favorite) Books, Movies, and TV
Well, it’s time to add more authors to the site… This month I’ll be adding five new authors, all of whom have been recommended to me by some of you.
Marty Wingate
And of course, many more Cozy Mystery authors can be found on my Cozy Mystery site.
In Iced Chiffon we are introduced to the heroine, Reagan Summerside, whose mother is a local judge and a staunch Republican (thus the name “Reagan”). Reagan has just recently divorced from Hollis Beaumont, a seemingly well-off and well-connected in Savannah, real estate broker. The marriage lasted seven years. Against the stern advice from her mother, Reagan had married Hollis and had signed a prenuptial agreement that had left her pretty much destitute after the divorce. The only things she has left are her house (which her ex-husband has agreed to sign over but has not yet done so in the first book) and some of her clothes.
The book opens with Reagan living in her much loved sparsely furnished Victorian house that she and Hollis had bought and that she has partially refinished. Most of the furnishings have gone to pay some of her bills, and she is going through her clothes to take them to a consignment shop to pay even more bills. Instead, she eventually opens her own consignment shop (the Prissy Fox) due to the rapidly spreading of the word that Reagan has some nice designer clothes to sell. When she discovers the body of her ex-husband’s new girlfriend in front of her house in his car’s trunk, not only does the hunt for the killer begin, but Reagan’s new business gets some free publicity! (Hmmm, I think it’s a good thing…)
Our plucky heroine gets involved in solving the mystery to prevent her house from needing to be sold to pay for Hollis’ attorney fees when he (inevitably) is arrested for the murder. Reagan, along with her Aunt Kiki (who conveniently lives and runs a dance studio right next door), begins searching for clues and suspects in order to get her ex-husband off before the attorney’s fees rack up too high.
Set in and around a district with lovely historic homes in Savannah, Georgia, Reagan and her Aunt Kiki make a classic modern Cozy Mystery sleuth duo. With those two, along with Reagan’s practical, stern, and political mother, and Reagan’s two retired teacher neighbors who make money being paid to attend wakes, there are plenty of interesting recurring characters to get to know. (Yes, that’s what I said! Paid mourners!)
And, there is the handsome ex-gang member lawyer, Walker Boone. Walker represented Reagan’s ex in their divorce proceeding and has been retained to defend him over the murder charge. Reagan can’t stand Walker Boone because of the divorce negotiations where she lost practically everything. But she has to work with him (after a fashion) to try to get her ex-husband off before the attorney fees skyrocket and she loses her house. A handsome lawyer with a bad-boy past whom our heroine hates but has to work with. Hmm, I wonder where that leads?
Duffy Brown’s Consignment Shop Mystery Series is frequently recommended in our monthly recommendations >>> and I know why. It is a modern Cozy series with interesting and quirky but not too kooky characters. It has a setting filled with southern charm (and possible romance), with a sleuth who adopts a stray dog, is not daunted by having to take the bus (she has sold her car) to search for clues, and stops at nothing to get the truth to save her house and business. Recommended for anyone looking for a light and fun modern Cozy Mystery read.
P.S. If you’d like to see other entries about some of the most recommended Cozy Mystery authors, be sure to check out the Most Recommended Cozy Mystery Series page on my site.
Two months ago I wrote a Cozy Mystery News entry (Cozy Mystery News – January 2016). Well, I now have some other little Cozy Mystery tidbits to tell you about!
Avery Aames‘ very popular Cheese Shop Mystery Series will be closing its doors! Yes, the seventh Cozy in this series (For Cheddar or Worse) will have us saying goodbye to Charlotte. But don’t worry! Her Cookbook Nook Mystery Series (written as Daryl Wood Gerber) is alive and well! And also, Daryl will be releasing Girl on the Run (which is a stand alone suspense – so far!) in April.
Connie Archer, the author of the Soup Lover’s Mystery Series, will be using a new moniker, Connie di Marco, to write her new Zodiac Mystery Series. The Madness of Mercury will be the first book in the series, and it will feature Julia Bonattie, and astrologer in San Francisco.
This almost goes without saying, but I’m going to anyway: Emily Brightwell will be bringing us at least two more Mrs. Jeffries mysteries! I’m sure her legion of fans (as well as Inspector Witherspoon) will be over the moon about this news!
Rita Mae Brown (and her “co-author Sneaky Pie Brown”) will be kept super busy writing two more Mrs. Murphy mysteries as well as two more Sister Jane Foxhunting mysteries.
Here’s some great news for fans of Maia Chance‘s Discreet Retrieval Mystery Series. There will be at least two more in this series after the release of its scheduled second book. Wow, she’s already gotten the go-ahead for books 3 & 4!
Those of you who follow Maya Corrigan‘s Five-Ingredient mysteries probably already know her third book is scheduled to be released in June. Well, here’s great news: Corrigan has just green light for a fourth and fifth book in this popular Cozy Mystery series.
If you haven’t already heard, fans of the very popular White House Chef Mystery Series are in for a big disappointment. The ninth book in this series which was just released in January is Julie Hyzy‘s final adventure with Ollie. Thank goodness Hyzy’s Manor of Murder Mystery Series is still going to be able to continue!
Now, this is where it gets a little confusing! D.E. Ireland writes the (Edwardian) Eliza Doolittle & Henry Higgins Mystery Series, and Ireland is comprised of two authors (Meg Mims and Sharon Pisacreta). Both of these authors are now writing series of their own. Sharon Pisacreta is now writing the Berry Basket Mystery Series as Sharon Farrow, and Meg Mims will be writing a series as Meg Macy. Her series will star Sasha Silverman, the owner of a teddy bear shop.
If you’re a fan of Linda O. Johnston‘s Barkery & Biscuits Mystery Series, then you’ll be delighted to know that Carrie will be baking more canine treats in at least two more mysteries!
Unfortunately, also saying goodbye is Elizabeth Lee‘s Lindy Blanchard. The last Nut House mystery will be its final book. However, as Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli she will be starting the Little Library Mystery Series, which is inspired by Lewis Carrol’s Alice in Wonderland.
Molly MacRae, author of the Haunted Yarn Shop Mystery Series, will be starting a new Cozy Mystery series. The Highland Bookshop mysteries will feature Janet Marsh, co-owner of said Scottish bookshop. MacRae already has a contract for the first two books.
Radine Trees Nehring will be releasing the 8th in her Something to Die For Mystery Series. This comes as an unexpected surprise to those who have been waiting since 2012 for the return of senior citizens Carrie and Henry to solve another mystery.
Now I may be jumping the gun, but here’s some pretty welcome news: bestselling Cozy Mystery author, Karen Rose Smith, will be writing (at least!) a seventh and eighth Caprice De Luca mystery. Yep, it’s true! Even before her fifth Cozy has been released, we know we’re in store for two additional Cozies in that series!
Well, that’s it for me. If you hear some Cozy Mystery news that you think might interest the rest of us, please post a comment or drop me a note. Thanks!
How do you feel about Cozy Mysteries with cliffhangers? Do they make you anticipate the next book in a series OR do they irritate you? Do you think an author is making the mystery all that more intriguing OR do you think the author is trying to insure that people will read the next book in her/his series? Are you okay with cliffhangers at the end of each chapter but not at the end of the Cozy OR do you like your chapters self-contained with a cliffhanger at the end of the book?
During the past eleven years I have heard from lots and lots of Cozy Mystery readers, some who like cliffhangers and say things like “It has such a real cliffhanger that I can’t wait for the next one!”, “… there was a bit of a cliffhanger at the end which has me anxiously awaiting the next book.“, and “I, too, can’t wait for the next.” (referring to a Cozy with a cliffhanger). But at the same time I have read comments saying “I was bothered by the ‘cliffhanger’ ending.” and “The story just seems to end without the conflict being settled. I know some writers will leave cliff hangers for future books but it just seems the writer is tired of writing and just wants to get the book finished.”
Before I decided to write this entry, I knew that I was going to have to come clean >>> and be negative. I won’t mention any authors’ names but I will say this: I like my Cozy Mysteries to be wrapped up in each book. I want my sleuth to be able to start a fresh mystery each time I join her on a mystery-solving adventure. I don’t like the idea of having to wait a year to find out what is going on with my sleuth. I don’t even like the romantic interest to not be settled within, let’s say, five books >>> although I admit that I follow series that have the romantic triangle going for book after book, after even more books! (I wish I could commit to not reading those doggone romantic triangle Cozies, but they’re like potato chips…)
So, without naming any particular authors, please post a comment to let us know how you feel about cliffhangers in your Cozy Mysteries? Thanks!
