The Cozy Mystery List Blog

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

Ellie Alexander, Sherry Harris, Christine Husom, Maggie King, Ruth Moose: Five New Cozy Authors on the Cozy Mystery Site

It’s time once again to add another set of authors, taken as usual from your suggestions… This time I’ll be adding five new authors, most of whom only have one series (though one has a non-Cozy Mystery series many of you may enjoy!)

 Ellie Alexander    Alexander writes the Bakeshop Mystery Series, a Cozy series featuring Jules Capshaw, both an employee at her family Torte Bakeshop and an amateur sleuth living in a quaint Oregon town. Recipes are included in the series. (Meet Your Baker is the first in Bakeshop Mystery Series.)

Sherry Harris    Harris is the writer of the Sarah Winston Garage Sale Mystery Series. A recent divorcée, Sarah’s always looking for a bargain – but sometimes she finds murder instead, and when that happens she’s quick to help get to the bottom of any mystery! (Tagged for Death is the first book in the Sarah Winston Garage Sale Mystery Series.)

Christine Husom    Husom is the author of the Snow Globe Shop Mystery Series, starring Minnesotan Cami Brooks. Cami is an instructor on snow globe construction, as well as the manager of a gift shop. She uses her unique ability to see crime scenes in snow globes to help solve crimes. Husom writes another series set in Minnesota, the Winnebago County Mystery Series, a mystery thriller series. (Snow Way Out is the first book in the Snow Globe Shop Mystery Series.)

Maggie King    King is the author of the Book Group Mystery Series, a series starring amateur sleuth and professional romance writer, Hazel Rose. (Murder at the Book Group is the first in the Book Group Mystery Series.)

Ruth Moose     A North Carolina resident, Moose writes the Beth McKenzie Mystery series. The Dixie Dew is a small bed and breakfast in Littleboro, North Carolina, run by proprietor Beth McKenzie. When tragedy strikes at her small business and home, she’s forced to help solve the crime to keep her business afloat! (Doing It at the Dixie Dew is the first book in the Beth McKenzie Mystery Series.)

Happy Valentine’s Day!

February18Just a quick Valentine’s Day greeting. My husband decided years ago that we didn’t need to celebrate Valentine’s Day, since every day is a Valentine’s Day for us. Hmmm…. We were at the grocery store yesterday (not a high-end florist shop) and I saw rose arrangements selling for $149.99 and chocolate-covered strawberries for $2.99 a piece! >>> I think I know why he doesn’t think we need to celebrate Valentine’s Day. Oh, well, I guess I can forgive my tech guy for not being a romantic!

Also, he told me a nice gift to him would be for me to make him his favorite breakfast rolls, and his gift to me would be his smile of enjoyment as he ate them!

Happy Valentine’s Day to ALL!

Wolfe Pack’s Black Orchid Novella Writing Contest

I am guessing we have a few aspiring authors out there who might want to take advantage of this terrific contest. The Wolfe Pack (as in Rex Stout’s Nero Wolfe) and the Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine are hosting their 9th annual Black Orchid Novella contest. If you have visited the Awards pages on the Cozy Mystery site, then you have most likely seen the Black Orchid Novella award contest winners of the past.

The contest is intended for 15,000 to 20,000 word mystery works adhering to the spirit of the Nero Wolfe series by Rex Stout, one of the longest and most recognized Cozy Mystery series. This year, nominations are being organized by Jane K. Cleland, a popular modern Cozy author who is featured on the site!

As would be expected of any Cozy-friendly contest, the entries are expected to have no graphic violence or sex, while showcasing the talents of a detective to his/her fullest. Also, the novellas cannot have been published before. The winner will be announced at the Wolfe Pack’s Annual Black Orchid Banquet in December, and will net the winner a $1,000 prize and publication in the Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine!

You better hurry up and start writing your novellas, because the entries have to be postmarked May 31, 2015! You can find all of the details at www.nerowolfe.org.

Edie Claire’s Never Buried

As many of you know, I’m a fan of Edie Claire‘s Leigh Koslow “Never” Mystery Series. The first book in this series, Never Buried, establishes Leigh Koslow, somewhat-down-on-her-luck advertising writer whose strong community ties to the small Pittsburgh-adjacent borough of Avalon help her solve various mysteries that seem to plague her and her friends.

Sometimes when you pick up a book by a relatively unknown author, you feel a bit surprised to learn that this is their first professionally released book. Edie Claire‘s Never Buried was one of those books for me. The level of writing, especially the natural quality of the dialogue between Leigh, her cousin Cara, and former roommate Maura all feel like they were written by someone with at least a few books under her belt.

Unfortunately Claire left the Cozy Mystery arena for a decade, but she’s back >>> in the last few years she seems to have returned to the fold and picked up her Leigh Koslow series, once again releasing a steady book per year – great news for lovers of terrific Cozy Mysteries!

MJ’s really thorough January 2015 Mystery Book Recommendation got me thinking that I should really write something about Edie Claire. She’s a Cozy Mystery author you really shouldn’t miss! Here’s MJ’s recommendation:

Never Preach Past Noon — Edie Claire

I started two other books, both of which I read previous books in the series. I just couldn’t get beyond page 30 or 40. In one the story line was just two heavy and in the other, for some odd reason, I disliked the characters.

So I decided to read the third book in the ‘Never’ series by Edie Claire (a series I started reading because Danna gave it such high praise). I was so excited Ms. Claire hadn’t deviated from the quality writing of the previous two books. It is quick, witty, and evenly paced. I love the characters – so diverse, well developed, and some even a bit offbeat.

In one scene Leigh Koslow (protagonist) needs to call 911. She searches around for a pay phone. WOW! I thought I was reading ‘historical fiction’!!

The romantic story line is almost as compelling as the mystery storyline. I couldn’t wait to get to the end to see how the ‘romance’ situation was resolved.

I then read a couple of other books and decided to read the 4th book in this series, “Never Kissed Goodnight’. I’m not going to go on and on, but suffice it to say, “It is EXCELLENT”.

Originally I thought ‘Death is Like a Box of Chocolates’ would be my favorite book for this month. But after reading ‘Never Kissed Goodnight’ it went straight to the top of the list. What a surprise on the first page!

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