The Cozy Mystery List Blog

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

Mystery Book Recommendations – April 2014

It’s time for our monthly Cozy Mystery book recommendations. If you are new to the Cozy Mystery site, this is the time when we (Cozy Mystery readers) tell each other about our very favorite of favorite Cozy Mystery books that we have read during the month.

For those of you who visit the Cozy Mystery page on Facebook, you already know that I have been reading (listening to) the fourteenth book in Alexander McCall Smith‘s No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon. I absolutely love this series. It is amongst the very gentlest of Cozy Mystery series. You won’t catch Precious Ramotswe (the main sleuth) walking into a dark, abandoned apartment building in the middle of the night, only to meet the killer, who has been waiting for her. Precious won’t be tailing a red herring character in her hot-rod car, nor will she running away from a knife-wielding crazed culprit.

These mysteries by Alexander McCall Smith don’t involve murder. The mysteries are more “real life” type of mysteries: tracking down a loved-one, proving someone is not who he/she claims to be, checking on beauty pageant contestants’ values; those type of “real life” mysteries.

The series takes place in Botswana and is a delightful introduction to what life in its capital (Gaborone) is like. Mma Ramotswe opens the detective agency and bases all of her detecting techniques on a book written by Clovis Andersen: The Principals of Private Detection. This book explains all of the ins and outs that Mma Ramotswe and her very capable associate detective, Mma Makutsi, employ.

The characters and relationships are the most integral part of these “mystery books.” The reader truly gets to know the people and the country, and Alexander McCall Smith is a tremendously gifted story-teller. So, I am going to start the April Mystery Book Recommendations List with him.

[As usual, I ask that you don’t tell us about the mystery books you read that you didn’t like.]

What Cozy Mystery book (or author) have you read during April 2014, and why did you enjoy it (or him/her)?

Here are the current recommended authors who some of you have read this past month:

Isabella Alan (aka Amanda Flower): Amish Quilt Shop Mystery Series

Susan Wittig Albert: China Bayles Mystery Series

Beverly Allen (aka Barbara Early): Bridal Bouquet Shop Mystery Series

Donna Andrews: Meg Langslow Mystery Series

Nancy Atherton: Aunt Dimity Mystery Series

Donald Bain & “Jessica Fletcher”: Murder, She Wrote Mystery Series

JoAnn Bassett: Islands of Aloha Mystery Series (Livin’ Lahainia Loca, book #2)

M.C. Beaton (aka Marion Chesney): Hamish Macbeth Mystery Series

Melissa Bourbon (aka Misa Ramirez): Magical Dressmaking Mystery Series

Emily Brightwell: Mrs. Jeffries Mystery Series

Lynn Cahoon: Tourist Trap Mystery Series (Guidebook to Murder, book #1)

Joelle Charbonneau: Glee Club Mystery Series

Laura Childs: Tea Shop Mystery Series

Mary Higgins Clark: I’ve Got You Under My Skin

Peg Cochran (aka Meg London): Lucille Mystery Series

Peter Conradi: Hot Dogs and Cocktails: When FDR Met King George VI at Hyde Park on Hudson (not a mystery)

J.J. Cook (aka Joyce and Jim Lavene & Ellie Grant): Biscuit Bowl Food Truck Mystery Series

J.J. Cook (aka Joyce and Jim Lavene & Ellie Grant: Sweet Pepper Fire Brigade Mystery Series

Philip R. Craig & William G. Tapply: Brady Coyne & J.W. Jackson Mystery Series (not Cozy)

Cheryl Crane: Nikki Harper Mystery Series (The Bad Always Die Twice, book #1)

Jessie Crockett: Sugar Grove Mystery Series

Mary Daheim: Emma Lord Alpine Mystery Series

Kathi Daley: T J Jensen Mystery Series

Diane Mott Davidson: Goldy Bear Mystery Series

Vicky Delany: Constable Molly Smith Mystery Series (Under Cold Stone, book #7)

Nancy DeMarco: Saving Gracie (not Cozy)

Carola Dunn: Daisy Dalrymple Mystery Series

Dawn Eastman: Family Fortune Mystery Series

Monica Ferris: Needlecraft Mystery Series

Joanne Fluke: Hannah Swensen Cookie Jar Mystery Series

Ann Granger: Markby & Mitchell Village Whodunit Mystery Series

Ellie Grant (aka Joyce and Jim Lavene & J.J. Cook): Pie in the Sky Mystery Series

Joan Hadley (aka Joan Hess): Theo Bloomer Mystery Series

Parnell Hall: Puzzle Lady Mystery Series

Victoria Hamilton (aka Amanda Cooper): Merry Muffin Mystery Series

Julie Hyzy: White House Chef Mystery Series

Julie Hyzy: Manor House Mystery Series

Sharon Ricklin Jones: River of Time (not Cozy)

Shirley Kennedy: Looking for Lucky (not Cozy)

Sherry Lewis: Senior Sleuth Fred Vickery Mystery Series

Dixie Lyle: Whiskey, Tango, and Foxtrot Mystery Series

Charlotte MacLeod (aka Alisa Craig): Peter Shandy Mystery Series

Charlotte MacLeod (aka Alisa Craig): Sarah Kelling Mystery Series

Molly MacRae: Haunted Yarn Shop Mystery Series

Ngaio Marsh: Inspector Roderick Alleyn Mystery Series

Jenn McKinlay (aka Josie Belle & Lucy Lawrence): Cupcake Bakery Mystery Series

Camille Minichino (aka Margaret Grace & Ada Madison): Periodic Table Mystery Series

Gail Oust: Piper Prescott Mystery Series

Ann Purser: Ivy Beasley Mystery Series

Sara Rosett: On the Run Mystery Series

M.L. Rowland: Search and Rescue Mystery Series (Zero-Degree Murder, book #1)

Sofie Ryan (aka Sofie Kelly): Second Chance Cat Mystery Series

Susan Santangelo: Baby Boomer Mystery Series

Julia Spencer-Fleming: Adirondack Mystery Series

Alexander McCall Smith: The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency

Kathy Hogan Trocheck (aka Mary Kay Andrews): Callahan Garrity Mystery Series

Christine Wenger: Comfort Food Mystery Series

[If you click on the author’s name (blue) link, it will take you to his/her page on the Cozy Mystery site. The pages have all of the authors’ books listed chronologically.]

♦To access more Cozy Mystery Books Recommendations, click on this link♦

P.S. While I try to respond to all of the comments that are made on the Cozy Mystery blog, I generally don’t respond to the comments on these monthly recommendation entries. I do, however, list the recommended books!

Oh! One of My Favorite Cozy Mystery Authors Just Released a New Mystery! What Will I Do?

A little while ago, Lynn T. sent me a topic that she thought would be interesting as an entry idea. I totally agree with her.

Lynn T.:

“… What authors or series would you automatically buy or search out when the new book comes out. That would be a must read. I know I have a few that I wouldn’t even need to read a blurb or a recommendation. It is a given that I will read the next book. It is an immediate response to the new book. Years ago whenever I saw the new Grisham, I immediately put it in my basket. I didn’t even need to know what it was about. Then a lot of years ago and when I was younger, it was a Stephen King book that was automatic for me. I no longer do this with these two authors but I have some cozy books that I wait for the next book and buy right away. There are some that I am interested in but they aren’t immediate buys or reads.”

My answer included:

“I have a few authors who I automatically buy when I find out about a new book release. I don’t bother reading the blurb either. My husband keeps telling me that I shouldn’t “stock pile” my favorite authors’ books…”

(I should probably add that my husband’s attitude about buying one book after he finishes his last book sort of worked against him yesterday. He had a doctor’s appointment that took a lot longer than he thought it would take (five hours!) and he finished the one book he had on his Kindle. Lucky for him he had a science magazine on it as well! When he told me this, I managed to tell him that I always have my entire library on my Kindle. Enough said!)

How about you? Do you show restraint when a very favorite Cozy Mystery author of yours releases a new Cozy, or do you “throw caution to the wind” / “wing it” / “go for it” like Lynn T and I do?

Thank You ALL for “Liking” My Cozy Mystery Facebook Page & Visiting My Pinterest Page!

happyAs the title of this entry says: Thank You ALL!!!

A little less than two weeks ago I thanked you all for taking me over the “400 Likes” point on my Facebook page, and now I am over 600! When I started my Facebook page on December 6, 2013, I wasn’t quite sure what, how, or why (I knew where and when!) the Facebook Likes are important. As a newbie, I didn’t spend a lot of time over there. But, slowly I have found myself spending more and more time there.

In the past, I had been asked to put a Cozy Mystery page up on Facebook. My answer was always no. (Hopefully a polite no!) I knew that if I did join, I would spend way too much time over there. And I was sort of correct in thinking that! I am spending a whole lot of time there. On my clothes-washing days I find that I at least get up from my computer every once in a while to plop the clothes in the dryer, or to hang them up. Hmmm, doesn’t sound all that healthy, does it? I know I sound like a Computer Screen Potato!

That’s not to say that all of my time is spent working on my Facebook page…

pinsAs for my Pinterest page, I’m slowly getting my themes posted over there. Well, actually, for those of you who aren’t yet on Pinterest, they aren’t called “posts” over there. Pinterest uses the “Pin” label, as in thumb tacks, not the safety pins I have decided to “pin” on this entry of mine!

Of course, this blog and the Cozy Mystery site are my primary focus. As a matter of fact, I’m getting together the May Mystery Movies list (which will probably be ready to go up on April 30, if I can follow my tentative schedule), as well as updating my June Mystery Book Releases entry – which will definitely go up on May 1. (You’ve heard of the saying “Never say never.” >>> I should definitely never say definitely!)

So, thank you (again!) for all of your “Likes” on my Facebook page, and also for “following” me on my Pinterest page!

Debbie Macomber on Hallmark’s Home and Family…

I know that a lot of you enjoy Debbie Macomber‘s Mrs. Miracle books, as well as her Cedar Cove series, and her Blossom Street series, not to mention several other series. I also know that Debbie Macomber’s books are not Cozy Mysteries, however, they are pretty Cozy, and some of you requested that I add them to the Cozy Mystery site.

I just found out that Debbie Macomber will be on the Hallmark channel this coming Wednesday (in two days) so I wanted to let you know. Here is the synopsis that I have on my DVR’s listing:

 …best-selling Debbie Macomber gives a glimpse into her new novel, “Blossom Street Brides”…

So, if you aren’t going to be home, you might want to set up your taping mode for the Hallmark channel’s Wednesday Home and Family show. I’m looking forward to the show and finding out all about Blossom Street Brides, however, I hope she also gives us a sneak peak into her Mr. Miracle… because I am pleased to tell you that Debbie Macomber will be releasing a new Mrs. Miracle book in October: Mr. Miracle. Also, making this even better news is that the Hallmark channel is going to be airing a Christmas movie. That will make it the third Mrs. Miracle movie they have given us.

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