The Cozy Mystery List Blog

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

Sewing Theme in Cozy Mystery Books

Sewing Theme in Cozy Mysteries

You know, I have themes for quilting, and knitting, crocheting, needlework, & needlecrafts, but it never occurred to me to have a sewing theme >>> until I was asked if there were any sewing themed Cozies. Hmmm, let me think…

Sewing Theme in Cozy Mystery Series:

Janet Bolin: Threadville Mystery Series

Melissa Bourbon (aka Misa Ramirez): Magical Dressmaking Mystery Series

Elizabeth Lynn Casey (aka Laura Bradford): Southern Sewing Circle Mystery Series

Amanda Lee (aka Gayle Trent & Gayle Leeson): Embroidery Mystery Series

Cate Price: Deadly Notions Mystery Series

Liz Trenow: The Forgotten Seamstress (not technically a mystery, but does include a mystery of sorts)

My theme page has lots of different Cozy Mystery themes. You might find a few themes that pique your interest. Here’s the Cozy Mysteries by Theme page on my site. Just click on the link and it will take you to it.

If you know of any other Cozy Mystery series that have a Sewing Theme, please post a comment so I can include it/them on the list. Thank you!

The Pinkertons Television Mystery Series

The Pinkertons Television SeriesWay back in 1850, Allan Pinkerton started the very first private detective agency: the Pinkerton National Detective Agency. Their agents were simply known as “Pinkertons”. The Pinkertons were highly regarded as both detectives and bodyguards.

This brings me to The Pinkertons, a delightfully humorous western mystery series from Canada. That’s right >>> this is a Canadian import depicting life in Kansas City during the 1860s-1870s.

Mrs. Warne (Kate), played beautifully by Martha MacIsaac, is a Pinkerton based in Kansas City. She’s smart and dedicated, a no-nonsense type of Pinkerton. When she receives a new case, she doesn’t stop until she solves it. She is highly respected by Allan Pinkerton (Angus Macfadyen). This of course should be a great news, however because she’s such a good Pinkerton agent, she is saddled with Allan Pinkerton’s son, William (portrayed with great glee by Jacob Blair) as her partner.

The beginning of their pairing-up shows us just how much training William needs. While Kate’s methodology includes evaluating the mystery and coming up with a plan of action, William’s approach is sort of play-it-as-it-goes. Although William interjects the humor into the show, surprisingly, he is quite good at solving crimes. Let’s face it, Allan Pinkerton is his father!

The show is set a few years after the Civil War so a lot of plots include Confederate vs. Yankee plot lines. It’s interesting that the plots of the shows are based on real Pinkerton files from back then.

My husband & I have been watching The Pinkertons series on television as it airs. We both think it’s a lot of fun to watch. I recommend the show but should warn some of you that every once in a while you may notice an “about” being pronounced as “aboot” – which doesn’t bother us in the least. A good mystery show is well worth that, eh?

The Pinkertons is not available on Netflix. So if you’re interested in seeing the shows, check your local television schedules OR you can take a look at this schedule they have on their site:

Where to Watch The Pinkertons

Also, if you would like to see a whole lot of other Cozy Mystery television and movie ideas, click on this link to go to my TV and Movie page. I have written quite a few entries about mystery themed shows and mysteries, as well as some Cozy non mystery themed shows/movies.

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!

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