The Cozy Mystery List Blog

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

Cozy Mystery Site is Now Accessible to Mobile Phones & Tablets

Mobile Phone/TabletI have an announcement to make. For those of you who use either your mobile phones or tablets to browse the Cozy Mystery site, my “tech guy” (aka my husband) just reformatted my site so that you can view it on a small screen. (There shouldn’t be much of a difference for those of you who use your computers to see my site.)

I have mentioned that I am a hold-out for my old flip cell phone, but he finally got a smart phone a few months ago. When he accessed my site on his smart phone, he was shocked to see how difficult it was to read.

Long story, short >>> Since 2006 I have used Microsoft Frontpage for the Cozy Mystery site. However, Frontpage has been obsolete/discontinued for years. Frontpage wasn’t able to reformat the site so that you all who use your mobile phones and tablets could see it.

For those of you using your smart phones and tablets, the menu is at the top of your screen on the left side. The menu should be on every page. If you press the menu button (the one with three lines) it will drop the menu down so that it will be easier for you to navigate my Cozy Mystery site. (The mobile menu has been added to the blog too).

Whatever screen you have, big or small, would you please let me know if you notice any glitches? There shouldn’t be any, but my husband isn’t a “real tech guy”, just a dabbler, so there might be some (hopefully minor) glitches. Please let me know, and I’ll pass the information along to him.

You know, they say you should never work with family members. You can’t fire them, but you (I guess I should say “I”!) can always complain!

Cozy Mystery Book Goes from “YUCK” list to Favorite Cozy Authors List

list5I have talked about my personal lists that I keep about Cozy Mystery authors I have read. I have one list that has all of my favorite Cozy Mystery authors on it. I keep it on my computer’s desktop so that I can revise it whenever one of my favorite authors publishes a new Cozy. I mark off the books as I read them. This just works best for me, as I like to read my Cozies in chronological order.

The lists I don’t talk about much are the alphabetical lists I use to mark down my “YUCK” authors. I try a whole lot of Cozies but don’t end up enjoying all of them. I’ve talked about my “50 page rule” on many occasions. If I don’t like a Cozy I’m reading by page 50 (which I’m now translating to be about 20 – 25% of a Kindle copy) I stop reading the book, and place the author’s name on his/her corresponding alphabetical list with a big “YUCK” after the name. (Unfortunately, I just started adding the reason I didn’t enjoy the author a few years ago, so there are quite a few authors on the list who I can’t remember even trying, let alone the reason they didn’t appeal to me.)

We have discussed retrying Cozy Mystery authors who had once been favorites of our, who we then thought we had outgrown. This time I’m talking about authors who we never liked, perhaps not even making it to our cut-off page limit. These are authors who start on our yuck lists, and usually never get a chance to be taken off of it.

Usually I consult my lists before I buy a book by a new-to-me author, but sometimes I forget to do that. Fortunately, in the case of one of my very favorite authors, I forgot to consult my yuck list. Wow, am I glad I did! You cannot imagine how surprised I was to find that at one time in my life I had tried this author and had totally disliked her. Good grief! I have spent many hours of very enjoyable Cozy Mystery reading with this author’s sleuth, all because I (luckily) didn’t check that doggone yuck list! I have had this happen a few other times, so I am finding myself wondering if I actually dislike all of the Cozy Mystery authors who I have on my yuck list, or not!

Have any of you ever disliked an author who you later find you like a whole lot? Without naming names, could you tell us about it?

*** As usual, please do not mention the names of authors you don’t like.***

Hallmark Movies & Mysteries Channel Will Air “Gourmet Detective” by Peter King – May 16, 2015 (Edit)

This afternoon I started working on my list of television mystery movies that will air during May 2015. I found a movie that I absolutely cannot not wait to tell you about, even though it won’t air until next month. So here goes >>>

All of you no doubt already know about Joanne Fluke’s Hannah Swensen movie that will premier on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries channel on Saturday, May 2.

Well, it just keeps getting better! The Hallmark Movies & Mysteries channel will also be premiering another Cozy Mystery series’ movie during this May.

On Saturday – May 16, 2015, Peter King‘s Gourmet Detective Mystery Series will air its first Cozy Mystery movie at 8:00 PM (central)

Here is the synopsis from the Hallmark Mysteries and Movies channel:

Gourmet Detective
A chef turned culinary sleuth is partnered with a beautiful detective to unravel the clues surrounding the unexpected death of a guest at a prestigious dinner party. Stars Dylan Neal, Brooke Burns and Matthew Kevin Anderson.

I don’t know about you, but I cannot wait to see both of these new Cozy Mystery movies!

Fashion Theme in Cozy Mystery Books

fashionI have added a few Cozy Mystery authors to the site who have fashionista sleuths. Last week, when I went to add one of them to my fashion theme, I realized I didn’t have one! I had a tentative fashion theme going, but I hadn’t finalized it for the site yet. I finally did that today. So, here goes:

Fashion theme in Cozy Mystery Books

Victoria Abbott (Mary Jane Maffini & Victoria Maffini): Book Collector Mystery Series – Jordan Kelly loves wearing vintage clothes..

Juliet Blackwell (aka Hailey Lind): Witchcraft Mystery Series – Lily Ivory owns a vintage clothing shop in San Francisco

Annette Blair: Vintage Magic Mystery Series – Madeira Cutler has renovated an old funeral home into her vintage clothing store.

Melissa Bourbon (aka Misa Ramirez): Magical Dressmaking Mystery Series – Harlow Cassidy is a fashion designer who owns her own boutique in Texas.

Sandra Bretting: Missy DuBois Mystery Series – Missy designs hats and sells them in her shop.

Duffy Brown: Consignment Shop Mystery Series – Reagan Summerside is the owner of the Prissy Fox Consignment Shop in Savannah, Georgia.

Ellen Byerrum: Crime of Fashion Mystery Series – Lacey Smithsonina is a fashion columnist.

Grace Carroll (aka Carol Culver): Accessories Mystery Series – Rita Jewel is a salesperson at a high-end San Francisco boutique.

Elizabeth Lynn Casey (aka Laura Bradford): Southern Sewing Circle Mysteries – Tori Sinclair is a librarian in South Carolina and she is also a member of a sewing circle.

Cassandra Chan: Village Affairs – A high-fashion shoot is one of the settings in this mystery.

Jane K. Cleland: Deadly Threads – Josie Prescott is teaching a class on vintage clothing at her New Hampshire antiques shop.

Barbara Jean Coast: Poppy Cove Mystery Series – Daphne and Margot own a dress shop called Poppy Cove.

Sophie Dunbar: Fashion Victims – Frank and Ava Bernstein find themselves in the middle of a murder investigation at a Hollywood fashion show.

Elizabeth J. Duncan: Shakespeare in the Catskills Mystery Series – Charlotte Fairfax is a costume designer in New York.

Kathy Lynn Emerson (aka Kaitlyn Dunnett): Murder in the Queen’s Wardrobe – Rosamund Jaffrey is a Lady in Waiting for Queen Elizabeth (not the current queen, but her  16th century namesake) and she’s also the queen’s spy.

Dorothy Gilman: Mrs. Pollifax Mystery Series – This series isn’t about fashion, rather the senior citizen and spy, Mrs. Pollifax >>> who is most comfortable when sporting a big hat!

Chloe Green: Dallas O’Connor Mystery Series – Dallas O’Connor is a fashion stylist in Texas.

Gemma Halliday: High Heels Mystery Series – Maddie Springer is a shoe designer sleuth.

Sadie Hartwell (aka Susannah Hardy): Tangled Web Mystery Series – Josie Blair is a former fashion designer.

Dorothy Howell: Haley Randolph Mystery Series – California sleuth Haley simply can’t get enough handbags!

Susan Kandel: CeCe Caruso Mystery Series – CeCe is a biographer of detective mystery writers who is really into vintage clothes.

Kylie Logan (aka Miranda Bliss & Casey Daniels): Button Box Mystery Series – Josie Giancola is a vintage & antique button expert who owns a vintage button shop in Chicago.

Meg London (aka Peg Cochran): Sweet Nothings Vintage Lingerie Mystery Series – Emma Taylor is a stylist in Paris … Tennessee.

Nancy Martin: Blackbird Sisters Mystery Series – Nora loves (and wears) her grandmother’s extensive collection of haute couture.

Rosemary Martin (aka Rosemary Stevens): Murder A-Go-Go Mystery Series – Bebe Bennett works at a modeling agency as a secretary in New York. With a series title like this one, I’ll let you guess the decade!

Judi McCoy: Fashion Faux Paw – Ellie Engleman and her Yorkie (Rudy) have to find out who supplied the peanuts at New York’s Fashion Week’s model-with-dog fashion show.

Jenn McKinlay (aka Josie Belle  & Lucy Lawrence): Hat Shop Mystery Series – Floridian Scarlett Parker and her British cousin (Viv Tremont) inherit their grandmother’s hat shop in London.

Kate Parker: Milliner Mystery Series – Emily Gates is the milliner sleuth who has to resort to robbing her clients who won’t pay for their hats – during the early 1900s in London.

Rose Pressey: Haunted Vintage Mystery Series – Cookie Chanel owns It’s Vintage Y’All, a vintage clothing store in Sugar Creek, Georgia.

S.J. Rozan: Mandarin Plaid – Lydia Chin is on the search for a fashion designer’s design book with designs that are worth a lot of money.

Sofie Ryan (aka Sofie Kelly): Second Chance Cat Mystery Series – Sarah’s best friend owns the Second Chance second-hand shop that carries vintage clothes.

Angela M. Sanders: Vintage Clothing Mystery Series – Joanna Hayworth owns a vintage clothing store in Portland.

Rosemary Stevens (aka Rosemary Martin): Beau Brummell Mystery Series – Beau Brummell is a Regency era (1790 – 1820) fashion expert in London.

Fran Stewart: ScotShop Mystery Series – Peggy Winn sells Scottish kilts and describes the different plaids of the clans.

Susan Sundwall: Minnie Markwood Mystery Series – Minnie’s sidekick Rashawna is a fashonista.

Kari Lee Townsend: Mind Reader Mystery Series – Kalli Ballas has the ability to read minds. She is a fashion designing sleuth.

Diane Vallere: Material Witness Mystery Series – Poly (as in Polyester)  is a dress designer at her family’s California store.

Diane Vallere: Mad for Mod Mystery Series – Madison Night is an interior decorator whose clothes are items you could have found in Doris Day’s closet during the Doris Day/Rock Hudson days.

Diane Vallere: Style & Error Mystery Series – Samantha Kidd used to be a fashion buyer.

Elaine Viets: Mystery Shopper Mystery Series – Josie Marcus is a plain clothes detective who goes to a wide range of stores, from high-end fashion boutiques to pet stores.

fashionaI hope you stop by the theme page on my site. With all of the themes I have (and I have lots!), I’m pretty certain you can find a few you’re interested in. 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 fashion theme, please post a comment so I can include it/them on the list. Thank you!

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