The Cozy Mystery List Blog

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

Emily Brightwell (Mrs. Jeffries Mystery Series) – One of the Most Recommended Cozy Mystery Authors on the Cozy-Mystery Site

Mrs. Jeffries and the One Who Got Away (Mrs.Jeffries Mysteries Book 33) I know I have mentioned (many times!) that I am a little compulsive about certain things, so it was just a matter of time before I actually sat down and made a tally of how many times Cozy Mystery readers recommended Cozy Mystery authors for our monthly recommendations lists.

Once I had the Cozy Mystery authors all tallied up, I thought I would be finished with this (rather time consuming) endeavor of mine. But then I started thinking, hey, I should highlight some of the most recommended Cozy Mystery authors for my blog.

Emily Brightwell is one of the most recommended Cozy Mystery authors on our monthly recommendations lists. Mrs. Jeffries, her main sleuth, is a policeman’s widow in Victorian England. She heads the household staff of Inspector Gerald Witherspoon. He is quite lucky to have such a woman in his household! It turns out that the Inspector is a bumbling, not-so-clever Scotland Yard detective. However, because of Mrs. Jeffries’ sleuthing efforts, he has become a very well known gets-his-culprit type of Victorian era detective. Mrs. Jeffries is a great sleuth, and she is quite anonymous in her efforts: She lets the Inspector believe he solves the mysteries.

Emily Brightwell (aka Cheryl Lanham, Cheryl Arguile, & Sarah Temple) started writing the very popular Mrs. Jeffries Mystery series in 1993 (The Inspector and Mrs. Jeffries) and will be releasing her 33rd, Mrs. Jeffries and the One Who Got Away early next year.

(As an aside, I have always thought that it is interesting that the Inspector got top billing in the first Cozy Mystery of this series, but thereafter Mrs. Jeffries was clearly the star of the titles.)

If any of you all would like to add a little something about why you enjoy (and in some cases recommend) Emily Brightwell‘s Mrs. Jeffries Mystery Series, please post a comment. Thank you!

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.

Fourth of July Mystery Book Theme (List)

I truly cannot believe that June is almost over! We have actually had some rain down here in San Antonio, but it is still hot, hotter, and hottest!

Since Fourth of July is coming up so soon, I thought now would be a good time to post the Fourth of July Mystery Book List that I have compiled. If you know of any other mysteries that take place during this holiday, would you please let us know. Thank you!

Fourth of July Mystery Book List

Harold Adams….. The Fourth of July Wake

Donald Bain…. Murder on Parade

Laurien Berenson….. Hair of the Dog

Lilian Jackson Braun…..The Cat Who Went Underground

JoAnna Carl….. The Chocolate Frog Frame-Up

Meg Chittenden….. Dead on the 4th of July

Jill Churchill….. Someone to Watch Over Me

Anne-Marie Clark….. Independence Day

Carol Higgins Clark…..Twanged

Cleo Coyle….. Murder Most Frothy

Isis Crawford….. A Catered Fourth of July

Bill Crider….. Red, White, and Blue Murder

Jeffery Deaver (editor of anthology)….. A Century of Great Suspense Stories (includes Fourth of July Picnic by Rex Stout)

R. E. Derouin….. Dead on the Fourth of July

“Jessica Fletcher”….. Murder on Parade

Joanne Fluke….. Lemon Meringue Pie Murder

Shelley Freydont ….. Independence Slay

Sarah Graves….. Knockdown

Jane Haddam….. Act of Darkness

Victoria Hamilton….. Bowled Over

Carolyn G. Hart….. Yankee Doodle Dead

Carolyn Hart….. Dead, White, and Blue

Sue Ann Jaffarian ….. Rockets’ Red Glare (Short Story)

Carolyn Keene….. Murder on the Fourth of July

Joyce and Jim Lavene….. A Timely Vision

Jess Lourey….. Knee High by the Fourth of July

Donna McLean…..  A Sparrow Falls Fourth of July  (story)

Donna McLean….. A Sparrow Falls Holiday (Includes 4 stories: Christmas, Halloween, Valentine’s Day, & the above Fourth of July)

Leslie Meier….. Star Spangled Murder

James Patterson & Maxine Paetro….. 4th of July

George P. Pelecanos….. King Suckerman

Cathy Pickens….. Can’t Never Tell

Sharon Short….. Death by Deep Dish Pie

Earl H. Smith….. The Dam Committee

Julia Spencer-Fleming….. A Fountain Filled with Blood

Rex Stout….. Fourth of July Picnic (found in And Four to Go)

Carla Lee Suson….. Independence Day Plague

Valerie Wolzien….. A Star-Spangled Murder

Sue Owens Wright….. Embarking on Murder

If you know of any other Fourth of July mysteries, please post a comment. Thanks!

If you would like to see more Holiday Mystery Books, click on this link.

Cozy Mystery Sleuth Lives Next Door (Yikes!)

Last week, a Cozy Mystery reader made a comment (I wish I had written it down in a note to myself, since I can’t remember the exact comment!) about a Cozy Mystery sleuth moving in next door. I went back and read my Definition of a Cozy Mystery (click on the blue link to see the entire definition), since I sort of remember talking about Jessica Fletcher moving in, and the horror one might feel to know that someone who apparently is followed by the Grim Reaper should be moving in next door.

So, at this time, I would like to borrow from that comment and ask you all:

Which Cozy Mystery sleuth would you most want to live next door to, and why?

Oh, and to do this, let’s pretend that your favorite Cozy Mystery sleuth doesn’t follow the Grim Reaper around, solving mysteries, because, let’s face it, none of us would want to live next door to him/her!

Thank you!

Extra, Extra: Cozy Mystery News! (Shelley Freydont, Marcia Talley, Nevada Barr, & Barbara Graham) Pt. 2

On to the second part of the Cozy Mystery news!

Shelley Freydont (yes, the author of the  Celebration Bay Mystery Series, the Sudoku Mystery Series, and the Lindy Haggerty Mystery Series) will be writing a mystery series that features a debutante in Newport, Rhode Island. It takes place during the Gilded Age (between 1870 and 1900).

Marcia Talley has gotten the green light for her 14th in her Hannah Ives Mystery Series. It will be entitled Daughter of Ashes. (I’m always hesitant about listing titles to books that haven’t yet been published. A few times I have had them listed, and then found that the titles were changed!)

All of you Nevada Barr fans, there is great news! Anna Pigeon will be back in 2016. OK, now I know it’s a while off, but the good news is that this National Park ranger will continue to entertain us in her Anna Pigeon Mystery Series.

The sixth Cozy Mystery in Barbara Graham‘s Quilted Mystery Series has just been given the go-ahead. We will be able to keep up with Theo, her quilt shop, and husband, Tony (sheriff). That’s great news for the quilters among us, as well as for all Cozy Mystery readers in general.

Also, in the news are some new mystery series that are slated to begin:

Diane Vallere will be writing the Costume Shop Mystery Series which will feature a sleuth who works in (yes, you guessed it!) a costume shop.

Vannetta Chapman is writing the Amish Village Mystery Series. The first book is called Murder Simply Brewed.

Joyce Tremel will be writing a Cozy Mystery series that features a brewmaster. The first book will be called To Brew or Not to Brew. (Not to be confused with the first book in Vannetta Chapman’s series!)

Judith Flanders will be releasing a mystery called Writer’s Block. Her series will feature a sleuth who works in the publishing arena.

And, Mary Lawrence will be writing an historical mystery series set in Tudor London (sometime between 1485 and 1603). The first mystery in the series is A Matron’s Bane.

Well, that’s a wrap on my information. Hopefully next month I will have some more really good Cozy Mystery news to share.

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