The Cozy Mystery List Blog

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

Rita Lakin’s Gladdy Gold Mystery Series & Lee Harris’ Christine Bennett (Holiday) Mystery Series Have Finally Been Converted!

Every once in a while I go to some of my favorite authors’ pages to check to see if their Cozies are finally offered in Kindle format. Yes, I know this must seem strange to those of you who don’t use e-book formats to read your Cozies, but as I’ve written before, once I tried my husband’s Kindle (after years of refusing to even look at it!) I became a Kindle-maniac! I almost never read my Cozies in “real paper book” format now. I guess you could call me a Kindle addict! (And let’s face it, there are a whole lot of worse things a person could be addicted to!) But I digress…

Getting back to what I was going to tell you about…

I keep checking Cozy Mystery authors who I enjoy reading, hoping to find their books in Kindle format. Some of these authors include Patricia Moyes, Lee Harris, Valerie Wolzien, Rita Lakin, and Hazel Holt (some of her Cozies have already been converted). So, this past week, when I found that all of the Christine Bennett (Holiday) mysteries by Lee Harris and all of the Gladdy Gold mysteries by Rita Lakin have been converted to Kindle format, I was (quite literally) whooping it up while sitting at my computer! (My husband came downstairs when he heard me “talking to someone” >>> the “someone” happened to be my computer!)

For those of you who aren’t familiar with Rita Lakin‘s Gladdy Gold Mystery Series, let me tell you it’s a delightful series that features women who live in a retirement community as the sleuths. Gladdy is the most responsible, and she’s also the one who brings order to their sleuthing cases. These ladies may live at a retirement village, but let me tell you, they have not resigned themselves to sitting by the pool! I consider this one of my favorite Cozy Mystery series. (Rita Lakin wrote, produced, and edited for TV shows – including Peyton Place, Dynasty, Mod Squad, & Dr. Kildare. She also created Flamingo Road & The Rookies and wrote movies of the week and miniseries.) (Getting Old Is Murder is the first book in the series.)

The other Cozy Mystery author who I finally became aware of being Kindle-ized is Lee Harris. She writes the Christine Bennett (Holiday) Mystery Series. If you’ve been with me for a while, you probably know how much I love holiday themed Cozies. This was the primary reason I found Lee Harris (years ago) but the fact that she is a very good Cozy Mystery author is what made me become a fan of this series. This holiday Cozy series is unusual in that it features an ex-nun (Chris) as its sleuth. (The Good Friday Murder is the first book in the series.)

P.S. I’ll keep checking for Valerie Wolzien, Patricia Moyes, & the rest of Hazel Holt’s books!

Five New-to-the-Site Cozy Mystery Authors: K.J. Emrick: Darcy Sweet, Janet Finsilver: Redwood Cove, Delia James: Witch’s Cat, Emma Miller: Amish Mystery, Marty Wingate: Potting Shed

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.

K.J. Emrick – K.J. Emrick is a resident of Southern Australia, and when she isn’t writing, she enjoys spending time volunteering at her local library. K.J. Emrick is the author of the Darcy Sweet Mystery Series, starring a bookstore owner, her cat, and the ghost of her great-aunt. K.J. also writes the spinoff series of Darcy’s cat, Smudge the Cat Mysteries. She also writes the Pine Lake Inn Mystery Series, the Spirit of the Soul Wine Shop Mystery Series, and (as Kathrine Emrick) the Tempest Beach Romantic Suspense Series.


Janet Finsilver – Janet Finsilver has spent most of her career in education as both a teacher and a program administrator. She writes the Redwood Cove Mystery Series which is set in northern California. The sleuth in this series is Kelly Jackson, the manager of the Redwood Cove Bed and Breakfast.

 

 


Delia James – Delia James writes the Witch’s Cat Mystery Series which takes place in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The cat referred to in the title is Alistair, the sleuth’s familiar. Annabelle Britton is the sleuth of the series, and we meet her as she first becomes a witch, with the help of Alistair.

 

 

Emma Miller – Emma Miller lives in rural Delaware, and has taught in an Amish schoolhouse. She is the author of the Amish Mystery Series, which takes place in Stone Mill, Pennsylvania. The series features Rachel Mast, a former Amish woman who returns to Stone Mill to run a bed and breakfast. Miller also writes the Amish Matchmaker and the Hannah’s Daughters non-mystery series.

Marty Wingate – Marty Wingate lives in Seattle, but both of her Cozy Mystery series are set in England. A lover of plant life, she has led a number of group garden tours to destinations such as England, Ireland, Scotland, France, and North America. She is the author of the Potting Shed Mystery Series, which takes place in London and features gardener Pru Parke, a Dallas native who moves across the Pond. Wingate’s Birds of a Feather Mystery Series, features Julia Lanchester, a tourist manager in Smeaton-under-Lyme, a small English village. Wingate has also author several gardening books.

And of course, many more Cozy Mystery authors can be found on my Cozy Mystery site.

Duffy Brown: Consignment Shop Mystery Series

Iced Chiffon (A Consignment Shop Mystery Book 1) The Consignment Shop Mystery Series by Duffy Brown is yet another of the most recommended Cozy Mystery series in our monthly recommendations. The first book from the series is Iced Chiffon from 2012 and the series is already up to book five. (Great news for us!)

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.

Cozy Mystery News – March 2016

NewsTwo 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!

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