The Cozy Mystery List Blog

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

Kerry J Charles, Eva Gates (aka Vicki Delany), Heather Horrocks, T.C. LoTempio, Mary Grace Murphy: Five New Authors on the Cozy Mystery Site

Taken as usual from your suggestions, five (or is it six?) new authors being added to the Cozy Mystery Site. With at least one series each, I’m sure that all of these authors will find a great audience here!

 Kerry J. Charles   With her Masters degree in Art History, Charles has worked for many prestigious employers, such as National Geographic Magazine, the Smithsonian Museum, and Harvard University. Lucky for us, she is now writing the Dulcie Chambers Mystery Series, starring a museum curator!

 Eva Gates (aka Vicki Delany)   Gates writes the Lighthouse Library Mystery Series. A single mother with three daughters, Eva began writing part-time, working as a computer programmer as her main job. When her writing career took off and her daughters grew up, she retired from her programming job and began writing full time. The Lighthouse Library series features Lucy Richardson, the librarian/sleuth and Charles, the library cat. Eva Gates also writes the Constable Molly Smith Mystery Series and Klondike Mystery Series as Vicki Delany. Delany  also writes the Merry Wilkinson Mystery Series.

 Heather Horrocks     Horrocks pens the Bad Mothers Club Mystery Series which features Becky Montgomery, a stay-at-home mom in Denver who does a little sleuthing on the side. She also writes the Who-Dun-Him Inn Mystery Series. Vicki Butler is the owner of a bed and breakfast and she is also a lover of mysteries, which comes in very handy in her sleuthing.

 T.C. LoTempio    LoTempio has long been a fan of mystery novels, and still loves reading them even after starting her own series, the Nick and Nora Mystery Series. Nora is a sandwich shop owner who, along with Nick (her cat) has taken up solving mysteries.

 Mary Grace Murphy    Murphy, upon retiring from her job as a school teacher after 30+ years, decided the time was right to start writing full-time. Murphy now writes the Noshes Up North Cozy Mystery Series, which stars Nell Bailey, herself a recent retiree who has started up a food review blog – and found herself at the center of a number of murders!

Crossword Puzzle Cozy Mystery Series…

calendarI got a letter asking for help in identifying a Cozy Mystery book that Brenda read a while back.

Brenda:

… I started keeping track of my fav authors/books/characters on a spreadsheet, however about a year (ago) I let it slide, but have since taken it up again.
I had picked up a pocketbook at the library about a lady that created crossword puzzles. Before I go on, no it is not Parnell Hall or the other gentlemen who uses crossword puzzles as a theme.
I can remember the plot but can’t remember the characters name or author’s name, and it is driving me crazy. Because it’s a pocketbook our local library does not keep detailed records on their site, as I have tried looking for it in their search engine.
Here is what I can remember…….she is late twenties/early thirties, married to a former law officer who I think has become a private eye. She creates crossword puzzles and has them syndicated for National Newspapers. In this book, she and 4 other “specialist” columnists are called to a meeting by their agent and are coerced into signing new contracts for less money under threat of losing their newspapers. The Agent is killed, hence the mystery…

I’m at a loss! I have no idea who this author could be. The only two crossword puzzle mystery series I can think of are Parnell Hall and Nero Blanc, but Brenda is sure that neither of them is the author. If you think you know who Brenda is looking for, please post a comment below. Thank you!

Favorite Dogs in Cozy Mysteries

vallere111111111111111f;agjpajgpjRecently I posted a blog about some of our favorite cats featured in Cozy Mysteries, and I thought it would only be fair to give the same treatment to our other four-legged friends, dogs. Naturally, we’ve already got a Dog Themed Mysteries List, but here I’m hoping to be both more selective and less in a way – more selective because we’re only talking about our favorites, and less because we can talk about dogs that aren’t necessarily the stars of the show, so to speak, but instead favorite side characters.

To get the ball rolling, I’m going to say one of my current personal favorites >>> Rocky, the adorable Shih Tzu from Diane Vallere‘s Mad for Mod Mystery Series. Rocky is named after one of his owner’s favorite actors, Rock Hudson. (Some of you know that I’m mad for Doris Day/Rock Hudson movies!) Though only a minor character of the series, he helps bring a charm and life to his owner’s time away from murder and intrigue, helping give the series a much more real feeling while also amusing us with his adorable antics.

So, what are some of your favorite dogs in Cozy mysteries? Let me know in the comments below, so I can start up a list of our most favorite canine crime-solving companions!

Here’s a list of our favorite Dogs in Cozy Mystery Series:

Victoria Abbot: Book Collectors Mystery Series: Walter & Cobain

Ellery Adams: Books by the Bay mysteries: Captain Haviland

Isabella Alan (aka Amanda Flower): Amish Quilt Shop mysteries: Oliver

Barbara Allan: Trash ’n’ Treasure mysteries: Sushi

Donna Andrews: Meg Langslow mysteries: Spike

Donna Ball: Raine Stockton mysteries: Cisco

Laurien Berenson: Melanie Travis: Faith and Hope

Heather Blake (aka Heather Webber): Wishcraft mysteries: Missy

Emily Brightwell: Mrs. Jeffries mysteries: Fred

Rita Mae Brown: Mrs. Murphy Mystery Series: Tee Tucker

Rita Mae Brown: Fox Hunting mysteries: Diana

Leslie Budewitz: Seattle Spice Shop mysteries: Arf

Laura Childs: Tea Shop mysteries: Earl Grey

Laura Childs: Scrapbooking mysteries: Boo and Poobah

Margaret Coel: Wind River mysteries: Walks On Three Legs

Krista Davis: Domestic Diva mysteries: Daisy

Krista Davis: Paws and Claws mysteries: Trixie

Janet Evanovich: Stephanie Plum mysteries: Bob

Carolyn Haines: Sarah Booth Delaney mysteries: Chablis

Dashiell Hammett: Thin Man mysteries: Asta

Linda O’Johnston: Pet Rescue mysteries: Zoey

Annie Knox (aka Wendy Lyn Watson): Pet Boutique mysteries: Packer

Amanda Lee (aka Gayle Trent): Embroidery mysteries: Angus O’Ruff

Virginia Lowell: Cookie Cutter Shop mysteries: Spunky

Judi McCoy: Dog Walker mysteries: Rudy

Laura Morrigan: Call of the Wilde mysteries: Moss

Leigh Perry (aka Toni L.P. Kelner): Family Skeleton mysteries: Byron

Spencer Quinn (aka Peter Abrahams): Chet and Bernie mysteries: Chet

Maggie Sefton: Knitting mysteries: Carl

Karen Rose Smith: Caprice DeLuca mysteries: Lady

Diane Vallere: Mad for Mod mysteries: Rocky

Tracy Weber: Downward Dog mysteries: Bella

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

Three New Holiday Releases Coming April 2015 – Fourth of July, Mother’s Day, and Christmas!

Three of our favorite Cozy authors will be releasing holiday-themed mysteries this April! Let’s jump right into them!

First, Nancy Coco will be releasing a Fourth of July themed mystery, Oh Say Can You Fudge, the third entry in the Candy-Coated Mystery Series. This Fourth of July, Allie McMurphy, owner of the Historic McMurphy Hotel and Fudge Shop, plans to hire an aerial skywriter for a holiday display… but he turns up murdered! Allie will need to get to the bottom of this mystery fast, before she (and the rest of the island) can enjoy their independence day! Nancy Coco also writes the Baker’s Treat Mystery Series and the Perfect Proposals Mystery Series as Nancy J. Parra.

The second holiday mystery will be Isis Crawford‘s A Catered Mother’s Day, the 11th book in her Mystery with Recipes Series. This entry in the holiday-themed series will focus on Mother’s Day, and the returning mystery-solving adventures of sisters Bernie & Libby Simmons, owners of A Little Taste of Heaven Catering and Bake Shop. When what starts out as a friends’ ill-conceived but harmless ploy for attention from her family uncovers murder, the sisters will need to work fast to get their friend out of trouble! Isis Crawford also writes the Robin Light Mystery Series as Barbara Block.

The third holiday Cozy will be about the most popular holiday for Cozies – Christmas! Margaret Grace‘s Manhattan in Miniature will be the eighth adventure for Geraldine (Gerry) Porter, miniatures enthusiast, who is taking her granddaughter Maggie to a big craft fair in New York. But will the two detectives be able to discover the truths behind the death that will no doubt coincidentally occur on their visit to the Big Apple? Margaret Grace also writes the Periodic Table Mystery Series as Camille Minichino, the Sophie Knowles Mystery Series as Ada Madison, and the Post Office Mystery Series as Jean Flowers.

Originally I thought we had four new Cozy Mystery holiday themed books that would be released in April. However, I contacted Ann B. Ross to make sure her Miss Julia Lays Down the Law is truly a Christmas themed mystery. She very kindly responded telling me that Miss Julia Lays Down the Law is set in the cold of November and the ladies are getting together to make Christmas ornaments to sell at the Christmas bazaar, but it’s not a Christmas themed mystery.

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