The Cozy Mystery List Blog

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

Cozy Mystery Little Bits of Information

I have some very good news for some of you! Here are some little morsels of information that fans of these Cozy Mystery authors will be especially be happy about seeing:

 Molly Cox Bryan, author of the Cumberland Creek Mystery Series, will be writing a new Cozy Mystery series that will take place in North Carolina and will feature a craft retreat. How many of us wish we could attend the first session?

 

 Heather Blake (aka Heather Webber) will be releasing a sixth Cozy in her Wishcraft Mystery Series. The tentative title is Gone with the Witch, and believe me, I’ll let you know when it is going to be released!

 

 Joyce and Jim Lavene may be starting a new Cozy Mystery series called the Purple Door Detective Agency Mystery Series. I’m still not entirely sure about this, since they will be starting their new Pumpkin Patch Mystery Series in the same month (August) as the Purple Door Detective Agency series is supposed to be starting. More news about this when I get the scoop…

 

All of you fans of Lynn Cahoon‘s Tourist Trap Mystery Series have something to be extra happy about! Lynn Cahoon will be releasing A Story to Kill, the first Cozy in her new series called the Cat Latimer Mystery Series. The series will star an author/professor who inherits a Victorian house. And guess what she’s going to do with her converted Victorian! She’s going to turn it into a Bed and Breakfast for authors’ retreats! (See, I told you you’d be happy!)

 

Here’s some great news for Leann Sweeney‘s fans! Her Cats in Trouble Mystery Series has gotten the green light for the next two books in the series. Yahoo! I absolutely love to hear about our authors being able to continue their Cozy Mystery series!

 

At the risk of asking a terribly obvious question: This is pretty doggone good Cozy Mystery news, isn’t it?

How Many Cozy Mysteries Do You Have in Your TBR Pile?

I know that recently I have mentioned (more than once!) that my husband thinks I have way too many ToBeRead (TBR) Cozies. He is of the mind that I should wait and purchase my next Cozy Mystery right after I finish my current Cozy. (Like that’s going to happen!) It seems that every time I read the monthly recommendations I find at least one new-to-me Cozy author who I simply feel I have to try! And then of course, my favorite authors keep releasing new Cozies…

So, this morning, since I had a doctor’s appointment which I knew would give me lots of time to sit and tally, I decided to finally answer my husband about something he has asked me over and over. I would go through my Kindle and see exactly how many books I have waiting for me to read!

In order to do this, it meant that I would have to go through the  different folders that I have created to keep my books “tidy” >>> another word for an obsessive/compulsive’s need to keep things organized.

The first folder I looked at was my Maybe Books. These are Cozy Mysteries that I have accumulated while gathering book titles for my monthly FREE and cheap lists. Let’s see, I’m embarrassed to admit that I actually had 94 books in that folder! Ninety four mysteries that I had downloaded for FREE. Yep! They weren’t authors who I had ever really wanted to read, but since they were FREE, what did I have to lose?

The reason I use the past tense about those 94 books is that after actually studying the list this morning, I pared it down to seven. That’s right! I deleted 87 FREE mysteries since I knew I had no intention of ever reading any of them. I just “bought” them, ’cause they were FREE. I decided that these authors are probably wonderful mystery authors, but I really had no intention of spending hours/days/weeks with them! I have so many favorite authors who I already follow. Too little time for quality Cozy reading!

Another folder: Funny Classics. Hmmm, if these four books are so funny, why haven’t I ever heard of them (except for the day I decided to download them for FREE!) Out they go!

Keepers. Well, yes, I have to keep those four books. They are, after all, Keepers!

Christmas. Those of you who have been following me for a while know that I absolutely love my holiday Cozies. Those five should almost be in my Keepers folder!

Favorites. I follow lots of Cozy Mystery authors, so it makes sense that I have lots in this folder. When you think of it, you would expect that I would have more than 12 in this folder. However these are not all of my favorite Cozy authors, they are only the next chronological book of 12 of my favorite authors. These books are there so that when I want to pick a book for my next read, I don’t have to scamper around trying to find one.

I then have two folders devoted to (1) Anne George‘s 8 Southern Sisters mysteries and (2) E.F. Benson‘s 6 Lucia books. Both of these folders should probably be in my Keepers folder! I don’t care how many times I read them, I’ll never tire of these books.

I have even more mysteries by my favorite authors which I have divided into two different folders. I also have a folder of Books to Try, which is where I put the Cozies that you all have talked about in your monthly recommendations. I simply can’t resist some of them! I have lots of these Cozies, and try to read about three new-to-me books between one Cozy by one of my favorite authors, with the hopes of finding even more favorite Cozy Mystery authors to follow!

I have 68 Cozies in my TBR pile! When will I possibly find the time to read them all? I had better spend less time at my computer and more time reading!

How about you? Please post a comment and let us know how many Cozy Mysteries you have in your ToBeRead pile  >>> that you know you will read!

Mystery Books that Take Place in Hawaii

Hawaii's HibiscusHere are some Fun Hawaii Facts:

Hawaii is known as the “Aloha State.”
Honolulu is the capital and also the largest city.
State Motto: The life of the land is perpetuated in righteousness.
State Flower: Hibiscus
State Animal: Monk Seal
Hawaii is the only state that has a tropical rain forest and also a royal palace (Iolani Palace).

Mystery authors who are found on the Cozy Mystery Site and who feature Hawaii locations in their books:

Donald Bain & “Jessica Fletcher”: Murder, She Wrote Mystery Series – Aloha Betrayed (Maui)

JoAnn Bassett: Island of Aloha Mystery Series

K.K. Beck: Iris Cooper Mystery Series – Peril Under the Palms (Honolulu)

Frankie Bow: Professor Molly Mystery Series (remote Mahina)

Catherine Bruns: Death of the Big Kahuna

Kathi Daley: Zoey Donovan Mystery Series – Maui Madness

Earl Derr Biggers: Charlie Chan Mystery Series

Carolyn Hart: Henri O Mystery Series – Death in Paradise (Kauai)

Maddy Hunter: Passport to Peril Mystery Series – Hula Done It? (cruise)

Madison Johns: Agnes Barton Senior Sleuth Mystery Series – Hawaiian Hangover

Josi S. Kilpack: Culinary Mystery Series – Banana Split (K’auai)

Mai Tai One On by Jill Marie Landis Jill Marie Landis: Tiki Goddess Mystery Series – Em Johnson manages the Tiki Goddess bar on Kauai, Hawaii. A senior dance troupe called the Hula Maidens help Em in her sleuthing.

Leslie Langtry: Ukulele Murder (Kauai)

Sujata Massey: Rei Shimura Mystery Series – Shimura Trouble (Oahu)

 Toby Neal: Lei Crime Mystery Series (not Cozy)

Please feel free to contact me if you see an author from the Cozy Mystery Site who belongs on this list, or if you have any comments.

♦To access more Cozy Mysteries by Theme click on this link.♦

 

Three New Cozy Mystery Series Coming July 2015 – Cathy Ace: WISE Enquiries Agency, Susan Furlong (aka Lucy Arlington): Georgia Peach, Karen MacInerney: Dewberry Farm

Well, it looks like June is going to be a bit “light” on new Cozy Mystery series getting started, but fortunately it appears that we’ll have three new series from established Cozy authors to look forward to in July!

First up is Cathy Ace, who will be starting her second Cozy Mystery series, the WISE Enquiries Agency Mystery Series, with the introductory novel The Case of the Dotty Dowager. This British mystery set in the scenic Welsh countryside will introduce the four women detectives of the WISE Enquiries Agency, one each of whom is Welsh, Irish, Scottish, and English… thus the acronym WISE.  All four of the women working at WISE have their own reason for needing money, so when Henry Twyst, Duke of Chellingworth, asks the ladies to investigate his aging mother’s questionable claims to have seen a corpse in the dining room, they jump at the chance. Cathy Ace also writes the Cait Morgan Mystery Series, starring plus-size professor and criminal profiler, as well as several anthologies of murder mysteries. (Also, she won the Canadian Bony Blithe Award this year for one of her Cait Morgan mysteries!)

The next new Cozy Mystery series will be Susan Furlong‘s Georgia Peach Mystery Series, which will begin with the book Peaches and Scream. When Nola Harper returns home to help run her family’s orchard in the small town of Cays Mill, Georgia, the last thing she expects to be asked to do is solved a murder. Despite this, when a local businessman is found dead in the orchard, she’ll need to help solve the case in order to clear the business (and herself!) of any wrongdoing. Susan Furlong also writes the Pippi O’Brien Mystery Series, starring the online seller of used merchandise, and is the current author of the Novel Idea Mystery Series, starring middle aged ex-journalist and current literary agency internt, Lila Wilkins.

Finally, Karen MacInerney will be releasing Killer Jam, the first in her new Dewberry Farm Mystery Series. Houston reporter Lucy Resnick is done with fast-paced city life >>>  she’s ready to retire to a more quiet countryside living, and has cashed in her early retirement to buy her grandmother’s farm in Buttercup, Texas. Unfortunately, when a local oil executive who hoped to buy out the farm and replace it with an oil derrick turns up dead, Lucy will be the most obvious suspect, forcing her to get to the bottom of the murder to help clear her name and keep the family business open! Karen MacInerney also writes the Gray Whale Inn Mystery Series, starring Natalie Barnes, the owner of a small bed and breakfast.

If you would like to see what some of our Cozy Mystery authors have in store for us, in regards to NEW Cozy Mystery series, click on this link to go to my New Cozy Mystery Book Series page on the site.

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