The Cozy Mystery List Blog

Spencer Quinn’s Chet and Bernie Mystery Series

November 12, 2014

As most of you Cozy Mystery readers who have been with me for a while know, I usually enjoy reading Cozies that you would consider “classics” of the Cozy Mystery genre, however, sometimes I make exceptions >>> as I’m guessing a lot of you do! I little while ago I found myself reading another of Spencer Quinn‘s Chet and Bernie mysteries. While you technically wouldn’t consider them to be Cozy Mysteries, I absolutely love them! Spencer Quinn is one of my very favorite mystery authors. I would recommend the Chet and Bernie mysteries to anyone who is looking for a good time, however, I must warn you that it is not technically a Cozy Mystery series.

The Chet and Bernie Mystery Series starts with Dog On It. Chet is an almost-former police dog who is now owned by private investigator, Bernie Little. I wouldn’t call Chet this book’s “sleuth” – despite being the narrator, Chet is limited far more than most animals you will see portrayed in Cozy fiction, which can be surprisingly refreshing. Many books featuring an animal as a main character tend to make them more “human” than in this book – instead, Chet is periodically distracted by things like cats, noises, and his own tail, and even has trouble telling people apart if he can’t smell them clearly. It is because of these limitations and shortcomings that I came to love Chet – he’s a dog, not a person that happens to look like an animal.

In a lot of ways, Dog On It feels more like a pulp detective novel than a Cozy Mystery. The detective Bernie is a rather hard-bitten, hard-drinking private investigator with military experience. He investigates things like drugs and disappearances, not the politely bloodless murders often featured in Cozies. Another character even compares Bernie to a Raymond Chandler character at one point, so Bernie is obviously intended to fit the “private investigator” more popular in pulp fiction. All that said, I still consider the Chet and Bernie series somewhat Cozy because of the narration provided by lively Chet. Because so much of the story is told through his clever (but limited) point of view, Quinn’s stories always feel light, even if the subject material sometimes isn’t.

By the way, Spencer Quinn is also known as Peter Abrahams, a mystery author for both adults and children. He writes both the Echo Falls Mystery Series and The Outlaws of Sherwood Street mysteries for grades 5-8. Abrahams (Quinn) has been nominated and won the Agatha Award for Best Children/Young Adult mysteries as well as the been nominated and won the Edgar Allan Poe Award for Best Young Adult mysteries.

For those of you who haven’t already found how wonderful the Chet and Bernie Mystery Series is, Quinn has written three stories that can give you a feel for the series:

A Cat Was Involved (prequel story)

The Iggy Chronicles

Tail of Vengeance

P.S. If you’re interested in other entries about some highly recommended Cozy Mystery series, you can see them on the Most Recommended Cozy Mystery Series page on my site.

Thank You to Our Armed Forces on Veteran’s Day (& Every Day!)

November 11, 2014

I hope many of you are off from work today and are able to take some time to think about the brave men and women who are serving and who have served in the armed forces. This is a day to thank them, because they are the reason we live in the country we do.

When I was quite young, my father served in the Air Force and later, my husband was also in the Air Force. I was fortunate to have lived over-seas while both my father, and then my husband were stationed in other countries. Our experiences have provided me with many wonderful memories, but I can also remember times when there were political problems in those countries.

On Veteran’s Day I reflect on how lucky we are to be living here, and how lucky we are to have men and women who are willing to serve in the armed forces. To me, it’s not just a day off from work, it’s a day of celebration of our freedom and a day for thanks to those whose sacrifices made and continue to make it possible.

Thank you to all of the men and women who make our country such a wonderful place to live!

San Antonio to Colorado, and Back Again

November 9, 2014

As I mentioned in one of my recent comments, my husband and I just returned from visiting my mother in Colorado Springs. I have to say, that the trips up there have changed so much that whenever I go there, it’s as if I’m visiting for the first time.

While our son and daughter were growing up, we made yearly trips out to Colorado to visit our children’s grandfather, grandmother, uncle, and Aspen. [We actually visited through two Aspens! Aspen was – or in this case I should say “were” – my father’s beloved Cocker Spaniel(s).] We are now visiting just my mother, my brother, her Spaniel, and all three of the rotating 24/7 health care providers who are assigned to my mother.

Yes, our visits are quite different from those times when we would sit out on my parent’s patio, gazing up at Pike’s Peak, eating some of the best Chicago Dogs (ever!) from a little hotdog stand in Manitou Springs. Gone are the days of cog railway rides up Pike’s Peak and all of us going to Cripple Creek to ride the narrow gauge railroad and watch the melodrama. You know what they say about time passing >>> and it certainly has!

Now that my mother goes to bed so doggone early, and since our bedroom there doesn’t have a TV (the health care providers sleep in the guest bedroom with a TV), my husband and I have found that our Kindles have come in mighty handy! I had been reading seasonal/holiday mysteries, most by authors I had never read before, but decided that I would stop reading those in lieu of reading one of my favorite authors: Monica Ferris.

I knew that at the end of the days, I would be in need of a book that would hold my attention and I also knew that I would find comfort in visiting the “friends” I have made who inhabit the Crewel World needlecraft shop. I knew I would want to sort of be transported to a fictional town, where Betsy would be sleuthing and my favorite character of the series, Godwin, would be teaching new-to-needlecraft people the ins and outs of the how to knit/crochet or needlepoint.

Now that we are back in San Antonio, I just bought my next Monica Ferris Kindle Cozy Mystery book (my mom doesn’t have WiFi) for another time when I am in need of immersing myself with Betsy and Godwin – fictional friends with whom I enjoy passing time.

Is there an author who you always want to take on a vacation with you? If so, could you tell us why you absolutely need this author’s characters, setting, and/or mysteries to accompany you?

Two New Cozy Mystery Series Coming in December 2014

November 8, 2014

December will soon be upon us, so what better time for me to tell you about two new Cozy Mystery series that will make their debut during that month. These two new Cozy Mystery series are written by three authors with whom most of you are already very familiar. One of these authors is Duffy Brown, and the other two authors are the Lavenes: Joyce and Jim.

Duffy Brown will be releasing the first book in her second series, entitled Geared for the Grave. The Cycle Path Mystery Series will take place on lovely Mackinac Island. Our sleuth, Evie Bloomfield, works at Rudy’s Rides bike shop on the island, but quickly sees she’s going to have to be good at sleuthing in order to keep her employer out of jail. Some of you may be familiar with Brown’s Consignment Shop Mystery Series, starring Reagan Summerside, owner of Prissy Fox Consignment Shop. Brown’s debut series has already earned her plenty of fans – let’s hope her second sleuth, bike shop employee Evie Bloomfield, leaves just as strong an impression!

The other new series beginning in December will be released by Joyce and Jim Lavene. This will be their seventh (or eighth?) series >>> and that’s only including the books they’ve written under the Lavene name, not the ones they’ve also written as J.J. Cook and Ellie Grant! Titled Spell Booked, this book will begin the Retired Witches Mystery Series starring Molly and Elsie, operators of a curio shop who are also (you guessed it!) retired witches who sometimes solve crimes.

If you would like to see more New Cozy Mystery Series by authors on the Cozy-Mystery site, click here: New Cozy Mystery Series

Also, if you would like to see the entry I wrote about the new Cozy Mystery series some of our favorite authors are bringing to us this month (November 2014) click on this link:

Two New Cozy Mystery Series Coming in November 2014

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