Hmmm… What do all of the Cozy Mystery authors in the title of this entry have in common?
In today’s world of Cozy Mysteries, it is becoming more and more common to have one author with two, three, or even four personas. Sometimes it takes a reader having his/her favorite sleuth’s detecting skills to find all of their favorite author’s aliases!
Just this week I found out that one of my very favorite authors is adopting a new pseudonym. Yikes! One more Cozy Mystery author for me to keep track of on my Favorite Authors list.
I discovered physicist Camille Minichino’s Periodic Table Mystery Series years ago, when my daughter lived in Cambridge, Massachusetts. (As an aside, I started reading – and enjoying – Laura Childs’ Scrapbooking series when my daughter moved to New Orleans.) I remember visiting my daughter in Cambridge when we took a bus tour of the Boston area, and I actually recognized some of the places Camille Minichino referred to in her Periodic Table Cozies. I felt like I (almost) knew the area!
Getting back to the reason for this entry…
Camille Minichino (a miniaturist) adopted the Margaret Grace pseudonym for her Miniature Mystery Series. This is yet another of my favorite Cozy Mystery series. (No, my daughter did not move to California!) This meant that I had another favorite Cozy Mystery author >>> sort of like the “two, two, two mints in one.” ad!
Yow-zee! In 2011, who should appear on the Cozy Mystery horizon but Ada Madison! Ada Madison started writing the Sophie Knowles Mystery Series. Out came my computer desktop’s Favorite Authors list, and I added “Ada Madison (aka Camille Minichino & Margaret Grace” to the list. I finally felt like this was it. I had the list pretty much the way it would remain.
Until… last week! This is when I found out that Camille Minichino, also known as Margaret Grace, who is also known as Ada Madison, will soon be known as Jean Flowers. Jean Flowers will be writing the Post Office Mystery Series, which will begin with Death Takes Priority.
Now, don’t get me wrong! I’m excited to see that Camille Minichino/Margaret Grace/Ada Madison will be writing another Cozy Mystery Series. However, I sometimes wonder why the Cozy Mystery world has so many multiple personalities!
A Cozy Mystery reader recently wrote in a request to make a new sub-category for Amish themed Cozy Mysteries. I also decided to add Quaker, Shaker, and Mennonite themed mysteries to the list as well. Most of these are Amish themed – if I don’t say that it is Quaker, Shaker, or Mennonite >>> then it’s Amish. Here’s what we have so far, mostly provided by the requester. (Thank you, Ty, for this great Cozy Mystery theme idea!)
Deborah Woodworth