The Cozy Mystery List Blog

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

Elizabeth Lee, Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli, Leighann Dobbs, Kathleen Ernst, & Mary McHugh : Four (or Five?) New Cozy Mystery Authors on the Cozy Mystery Site

You all have sent me some great recommendations for Cozy Mystery authors who I should post on the site, and I don’t know why it takes me so long to finally get their pages up! Well, I have finally finished getting pages made of four authors – one of whom uses two names, thus the 4 or 5 dilemma.

 Elizabeth Lee (aka Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli)  Elizabeth Lee writes the Nut House Mystery Series, which takes place in Texas. The sleuth in this series is Lindy Blanchard, a biologist. Lindy works on her family’s pecan farm as a bioengineer, trying to develop the best pecan crops her family can grow. Lindy also works in the farm’s shop, where they sell all sorts of pecan products. Oh, and Lindy also works at solving mysteries!

 Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli (aka Elizabeth Lee)  Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli writes the Emily Kincaid Mystery Series, which takes place in Michigan. Emily is a reporter who sort of works with Dolly Wakowski, a deputy, solving crimes.

 Leighann Dobbs  Leighann Dobbs writes several different Cozy Mystery series. Her Lexy Baker series features a baker who gets a lot of help from her grandmother (and her friends!) when solving crimes. Dobbs also writes the Blackmoore Sisters Romantic Cozy Mystery Series, which features two sisters who sell herbal remedies and crystals. Oh, and they can communicate with their dead grandmother. Willa Chance is a crime journalist who sees ghosts in the Mystic Notch Cozy Mystery Series. Dobbs also writes the Mooseamuck Island Mystery Series which takes place in Maine, and features two police consultants, one of whom is a retired police detective and the other, a retired psychologist. Dobbs also writes the Fancytales series (which are based on fairy tales) and the  Kate Diamond Adventure Series.

 Kathleen Ernst Kathleen Ernst writes the Chloe Ellefson Mystery Series, as well as several American Girl History Mystery books and American Girl mysteries for children. Ernst worked at a living museum in Wisconsin for twelve years, which sounds like the basis for her Chloe Ellefson series. Chloe is a sleuth who is the curator at a living history museum in Wisconsin, during the 1980s. Ernst has been nominated for several Agatha Awards for Best Children’s/Young Adult mysteries and she was also nominated for an Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Juvenile mystery.

 Mary McHugh  Mary McHugh pens the Happy Hoofers Mystery Series. The Happy Hoofers are a group of friends in their fifties who love to tap dance. They love tapping so much that they now tour the world showing off their tap dancing skills. They travel to places like Russia and Spain, not just tap dancing their ways across the globe, but also solving mysteries. McHugh has written articles for the “Sophisticated Traveler” section of the New York Times.

Best Selling Authors with Children’s or Young Adult Mystery Series, Part 3

Today we’ll be continuing our ongoing look at mystery series that are appropriate for children or young adults by authors who are usually thought of as mystery authors for adults.

I will begin with Joelle Charbonneau. She writes the Glee Club Mystery Series and the Rebecca Robbins Mystery Series for adult mystery readers. She also writes the Testing thriller series for young adults. The first mystery in this series is called The Testing, and it introduces us to Cia Vale, a gifted graduate who has been chosen to attend a program for potential leaders of the new civilization (post-war). (It was nominated for the Agatha Award for Best Children/Young Adult mystery.) This sounds like a sci-fi mystery sereis that is aimed at young adults.

Jane Langton writes the Homer Kelly Mystery Series (for adults) which features a Harvard professor. Something I just very recently became aware of is that she is the same Jane Langton who writes the Hall Family Chronicles Mystery Series for children. These mysteries are geared for children in the fifth grade and up. The Diamond in the Window is the first in the series, and was nominated for the prestigious Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Juvenile mystery. The Fledgling is the fourth in the Hall Family Chronicles Series.

Victoria Laurie, author of the very popular paranormal Psychic Eye Mystery Series and the Ghost Hunter Mystery Series also writes a paranormal mystery series for children. The Oracles of the Delphi Mystery Series introduces us to Ian Wigbyin in the first book called Oracles of Delphi Keep. Ian and his sister (Theo) live in Delphi Keep orphanage, on the English southern coast. Ian and Theo find a special treasure box, and from there, they are on exciting adventures, solving mysteries with their group of friends.

Kathy Reichs, author of the Temperance Brennan (Bones) Mystery Series for adults writes the Virals Series for young adults. She wrote the first two by herself, but was then joined by her son, Brendan Reichs, for the rest. This series has, as its sleuth, Tory Brennan, the niece of Temperance Brennan (Bones). Virals (the first mystery in this young adults series) was nominated for the Agatha Award for Best Children/Young Adult mystery.

 Penny Warner‘s Code Busters Club Mystery Series stands out even among fellow Agatha nominees, as it has won once and been nominated twice more – and it would be a bit surprising if she didn’t get at least a nomination this year for the fourth book! The first book in the series, The Secret of the Skeleton Key, introduces readers to Cody, Quinn, Luke, and M.E., the members of the Code Busters, as they try to decode a message left by a neighbor – a code that could just be an SOS! The Code Busters Club series includes a number of codes within the books themselves for children to solve, and provides answers in the back if you get stuck. The Code Busters series is most appropriate for children ages 9-12.

Finally, Nancy Means Wright is the author of both the Mary Wollstonecraft Mystery Series and the Ruth Willmarth Mystery Series, both series are for adult mystery lovers. She is also the author of the Northern Spy Mystery Series. Inspired by the Nancy Drew mysteries, Wright’s two children-appropriate mystery novels revolve around Zoe Elwood and the Northern Spy Club of Northern Vermont. The first book, The Pea Soup Poisonings, which won the 2006 Agatha Award for Best Children/Young Adult mystery, revolves around young Zoe’s attempts to get into the Northern Spy Club by solving the possible-murder of a friend’s grandmother after eating a bowl of pea soup. The 2nd mystery book is called The Great Circus Train Robbery, and it was nominated for the very prestigious Agatha Award for Best Children/Young Adult mystery.

This is the last of this mini-series of entries. Have I missed your favorite young adult or children’s mystery series? Let me know in the comments!

Best Selling Authors with Children’s or Young Adult Mystery Series, Part 1

Best Selling Authors with Children’s or Young Adult Mystery Series, Part 2

Mystery Books for Pre Teens…

Enjoying December with All Its Preparations

December14111111115868798I have been waiting patiently for December to begin. Well, I guess it has been more like IMpatiently! Two months ago MJ wrote a couple of comments that caught my eye. I wanted to showcase her comments during December, since most of us like to do special things around our houses during December. You know, things like decorating a tree, or baking cookies >>> perhaps from a recipe out of one of our Cozy Mystery authors’ culinary mysteries!

MJ’s comment from October 15:

Autumn is my favorite season, too. I live in an area where we can enjoy fall and all its glorious colors. You should see my house! I have LOTS of fall decorations. But, I believe we had this discussion a year ago…………

MJ’s comment from October 16:

I’m obviously veering off-topic AGAIN……….But, I put up my fall decorations right after Labor Day and leave them up until after Thanksgiving, so I can get the maximum enjoyment out of them. I even have 4 different quilts/bedspreads for the bed to ‘change’ with the seasons! I REALLY like the ‘fall’ bedroom. I probably put up more fall decor than xmas decor. Fanatic?……..perhaps.

MJ’s comment from October 17:

I also change the bathrooms seasonally, putting in different shower curtains and towels for fall, winter, and spring/summer in two bathrooms.

Also wanted to mention (since I am so-o-o-o-o far off topic), there is a WONDERFUL Pumpkin Curry soup recipe at the Nestle website. It’s great for the fall season and is easy, easy easy. Even those that don’t like pumpkin love this soup. The curry makes it pop (without over powering it)!

Very Best Baking by Nestle: Pumpkin Curry Soup 

Another yummy/tasty new fall item (at least new to me) is Pepperidge Farm’s Caramel Apple Bread and also their Pumpkin Spice Bread — both are so-o-o-o good! They even make great french toast.

Well………at least the foods are ‘fall’ related!!

Most people are probably done reading this particular entry, so these fall food suggestions are probably for naught.

Nope, MJ, your suggestions are not for naught! (And, I think Pumpkin Curry soup sounds great for the winter months as well!)

Here’s my question for ALL of you: Do you have some delicious food items like MJ’s Pepperidge Farm’s breads you would share with us? Or is there a special recipe like MJ’s Nestle’s Pumpkin Curry soup you wouldn’t mind telling us about?

Five New Cozy Mystery Series Starting in January 2015

Unfortunately, January won’t have any major holiday Cozy Mystery releases, which isn’t too surprising, since there won’t be any major holidays until Valentine’s Day. Fortunately, we will be able to pick up five new series from some of our favorite authors!

First up, Lorraine Bartlett will be releasing the first book in her Lotus Bay Mystery Series, titled With Baited Breath. This series will star Tori Cannon, owner of a small bait shop and motel, along with her grandfather Herb, and best friend Kathy. When a guest at the Cannon family motel turns up dead, Tori will need to enlist their help to try to get to the bottom of the mystery, before her business goes bottom up! You might be more familiar with Lorraine Bartlett under one of her other pen names – Lorna Barrett and L.L. Bartlett. Lorraine Bartlett writes the Victoria Square Mystery Series and the adventure-fantasy series, Tales of Telenia. As Lorna Barrett whe writes the Booktown Mystery Series, and as L.L. Bartlett she writes the Jeff Resnick Mystery Series.  If you’re a fan of Bartlett, regardless of name, this should be an easy pick!

Next, Kathi Daley will be putting out Romeow and Juliet, the first book in her Whales and Tails Mystery Series. Catlovers are sure to be fans of Daley’s new protagonist, Caitlin Hart, co-owner of Coffee Cat Books, as well as a part time volunteer at her aunt’s cat shelter. Caitlin doesn’t just love cats, though – it’s while out walking her dog, Cody, that she discovers the body of a local town council member. Can Caitlin – and her adorable four-legged friends – help crack this case? (Kathi Daley also writes the Zoe Donovan Mystery Series as well as the Tj Jensen Paradise Lake Mystery Series.)

Third of our five new series next month will be Sarah Graves‘ Lizzie Snow Mystery Series, Winter at the Door. This series will star Lizzie Snow, Boston cop moving to remote Bearkill, Maine, with the hope of discovering the secret of her sister’s untimely death, as well as the disappearance of her niece. She’ll be teaming up with Sheriff Cody Chevrier, who hopes that her big-city experience will help her avoid becoming the next victim of a killer who preys upon local cops – though officially the deaths are all still considered accidents and suicides. Cozy fans are probably more familiar with Graves’s long-running Home Repair is Homicide Mystery Series, a much more lighthearted Cozy Mystery series.

Next, Victoria Laurie will be releasing the first book in her upcoming young adult mystery series, the Maddie Flynn Mystery Series. Titled When, this novel will introduce us to Maddie and her unsettling ability – she can tell when someone is going to die by the numbers she sees floating above their heads. When Maddie’s mother forces her to use her questionable gift to make quick money, she predicts the imminent death of a client’s child – a prediction that quickly proves accurate. Maddie quickly finds herself both a suspect and a help for the police as more children go missing. Most of you probably already know that Victoria Laurie is the author of the Psychic Eye Mystery Series, the Ghost Hunter Mystery Series, and the children’s mystery series called the Oracles of the Delphi Mystery Series.

Finally, Lea Wait will be releasing the first book in her Mainely Needlepoint Mystery Series, titled Twisted Threads. This series will have Angie Curtis returning to her Maine coastal small-town home from the big city. Angie’s mother disappeared from Harbor Haven when Angie was just a child, and she’s returning because the disappearance has finally been revealed to be a murder. Upon returning home, another Harbor Haven resident dies – and Angie will need to look at this new death to see if there are any connections to her mother’s death. (Lea Wait also writes the Shadows Antique Print Mystery Series.)

Whew! That sure looks like a good crop of new series! Here’s hoping the rest of 2015 looks just as good!

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