The Cozy Mystery List Blog

Mystery Books that Take Place in Wisconsin…

October 11, 2013

Here are some fun Wisconsin facts:
The state capital is Madison.
The largest city is Milwaukee.
State motto is “Forward.”
State nickname is the Badger State.
State flower is the Wood Violet.
State bird is the Robin.
State animal is the White-tailed Deer.
Wisconsin has 7,446 rivers and streams!

Mystery authors who are found on the Cozy Mystery Site who feature Wisconsin locations in their books:

Allyson K. Abbott (aka Annelise Ryan & Beth Amos): Mack’s Bar Mystery Series – Mackenzie “Mack” Dalton is the owner of a bar who serves up justice.

Laura Alden: PTA Mystery Series – Beth Kennedy is the owner of a children’s bookstore.

Sandra Balzo: Maggy Thorsen Mystery Series – Maggy is a woman who runs her own coffee shop while solving crimes.

Susan Bernhardt: Kay Driscoll Mystery Series – Kay Driscoll is a retired nurse who volunteers at the local free clinic.

Ginger Bolton (aka Janet Bolin): Deputy Donut Mystery Series – Emily Westhill runs a donut shop along with her retired chief of police dad and her Tabby cat, “Deputy Donut” >>> in Wisconsin.

Christine DeSmet: Fudge Shop Mystery Series – Ava Oosterling is the owner of a copper-kettle fudge shop who sleuths while sharing space in her grandpa’s bait shop.

Kathleen Ernst: Chloe Ellefson Mystery Series – Chloe is the curator of a living history museum in Wisconsin during the 1980s.

Victoria Houston: Loon Lake Fishing Mystery Series – Lewellyn Ferris is the police chief who enjoys fly fishing while thinking up whodunnit.

Mary Grace Murphy: Noshes Up North Mystery Series – Nell Bailey is a retired turned food blogger who lives in Wisconsin.

Hannah Reed (aka Deb Baker): Queen Bee Mystery Series – Story Fischer manages her bees while also managing to solve mysteries.

Annelise Ryan (aka Allyson K. Abbott & Beth Amos): Mattie Winston Mystery Series – Mattie is an ex-nurse who currently serves as a deputy coroner, which comes in handy in her investigations.

Please feel free to comment if you see an author from the Cozy Mystery Site who belongs on this list, or if you have any corrections.

♦To access more Cozy Mysteries by Theme click on this link.♦

One Deserted Island, Two Authors, Lots of Series, Lots of Pseudonyms…

October 8, 2013

So, while on our trip up to Colorado Springs, my husband and I had a lot of time to talk while driving the 1,800 miles (including there and back again). Some of the time we talked about books, authors, series, those types of things, sort of like when our children were small and we would play “What am I?” types of games.

Let me say, before I pose the following question we talked about, that I am utterly spoiled by my Kindle. Taking all sorts of mysteries, a whole lot of authors, and even games in one tiny, little “book” is incredible. But, my husband posed this question to me:

You’re on a deserted island, you don’t have a Kindle (or Nook, ETC), you have only two authors’ books, who would those two authors be?

Of course, my first question was: Is each of the authors a single-name author, or can I lump all of that authors’ pseudonyms and series into that authors’ books? So, here is the revision of this question:

You’re on a deserted island, you don’t have a Kindle, Nook, or any other library-type of reader, you have only two authors (each author is allowed all of his/her pseudonyms and/or series), who would those two authors be?

***** ***** *****

I went through all of the authors who you all said you would want to take with you to a deserted island. Here is the list:

Susan Wittig Albert

Donna Andrews

Amanda Ashley (aka Madeline Baker)

Jane Austen

Donald Bain (aka Jessica Fletcher)

M.C. Beaton (aka Marion Chesney)

Kathleen Brooks

Charles Dickens

Michael Dibdin

Doris Miles Disney

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Diana Gabaldon

Peggy L. Henderson

Reginald Hill (aka Patrick Ruell)

J.A. Jance

Harry Kemelman

Mercedes Lackey

Mary Lasswell

Joyce and Jim Lavene (aka J. J. Cook & Ellie Grant

Donna Leon

Barbara Mertz (aka Barbara Michaels & Elizabeth Peters)

Louise Penny

Ellis Peters

Terry Prachett

Nora Roberts (aka J.D. Robb)

J.K. Rowling

Dell Shannon (aka Lesley Egan & Elizabeth Linington)

Alexander McCall Smith

I hope I didn’t miss anyone!

Back in Texas

October 5, 2013

I just thought I would post a quick entry to say that I’m back home. Our trip out to Colorado Springs was particularly nice since I was able to meet all three of my mother’s care-givers. Each has her own particular strength. As examples, one of them enjoys taking my mother out and about, while another is particularly nurturing.

Even though it is easier to visit because I know she is well-taken care of 24/7, it’s still difficult to see her after having been away for several months. Unfortunately, there have been many changes. I remember my mom as a vibrant, active, social , life-of-the-party type of gal.

I feel a tremendous guilt when I leave her. I have asked her many times if she would please move to San Antonio, but Colorado is her home.

November 2013 Mystery Book New Releases

October 1, 2013

The following Mystery Books will be released in November 2013:

David Baldacci: King and Maxwell (This will be the 6th in the Maxwell & King Mystery Series.)

Heather Blake (aka Heather Webber): A Potion to Die For (This will be the 1st in the NEW Magic Potion Mystery Series.)

Helen Bran: Silent Night (a Robert B. Parker Spenser holiday novel)

Ali Brandon (aka Diane A.S. Stuckart): Words with Fiends (This will be the 3rd in the Black Cat Bookshop Mystery Series.)

Anne Canadeo (aka Katherine Spencer): Thomas Kinkade’s Cape Light: Songs of Christmas (not a mystery)

Bailey Cates (aka Cricket McRae): Charms and Chocolate Chips (This will be the 3^rd in the Magical Bakery Mystery Series.)

Chris Cavender (aka Elizabeth Bright, Melissa Glazer, Casey Mayes, Jessica Beck, & Tim Myers): The Missing Dough (This will be the 6th in the Pizza Mystery Series.)

Nancy Coco (aka Nancy J. Parra): All Fudged Up (This will be the 1st in the NEW Candy-Coated Mystery Series.)

Susan Rogers Cooper: Gone in a Flash (This will be the 11th of the E. J. Pugh Mystery Series.)

E. J. Copperman (aka Jeffrey Cohen): The Thrill of the Haunt (This will be the 5th in the Haunted Guesthouse Mystery Series.)

Patricia Cornwell: Dust (This will be the 21^st in the Scarpetta Mystery Series.)

Clive Cussler & Dirk Cussler: Poseidon’s Arrow (This will be the 22nd in the Dirk Pitt Mystery Series.)

Kate Ellis: The Shadow Collector (This will be the 17th in the Wesley Peterson Mystery Series.)

Janet Evanovich: Takedown Twenty (This will be the 20^th in the Stephanie Plum Mystery Series.)

Mary Anna Evans: Rituals (This will be the 8th in the Faye Longchamp Mystery Series.)

Charles Finch: An Old Betrayal (This will be the 8th in the Charles Lenox Mystery Series.)

Beth Groundwater: A Basket of Trouble (This will be the 3rd in the Claire Hanover, Gift Basket Designer Mystery Series.)

Victoria Hamilton: Freezer I’ll Shoot (This will be the 3^rd in the Vintage Kitchen Mystery Series.)

Betty Hechtman: For Better or Worsted (This will be the 8th in the Crochet Mystery Series.)

Kay Hooper: Hostage (This will be the 5th in the Bishop Special Crime Units Mystery Series.)

J. A. Jance: Deadly Stakes (This will be the 8th in the Alison Reynolds Mystery Series.)

Mary Lou Kirwin: Death Overdue (This will be the 2^nd in the Librarian Mystery Series.)

Joyce and Jim Lavene: Perilous Pranks (This will be a Renaissance Faire Novella.)

Joyce and Jim Lavene: Murderous Matrimony (This will be the 6th in the Renaissance Faire Mystery Series.)

Ada Madison (aka Camille Minichino & Margaret Grace): The Quotient of Murder (This will be the 4^th in the Sophie Knowles Mystery Series.) (This is a winter break/intersession mystery theme.)

Jenn McKinlay (aka Josie Belle & Lucy Lawrence): Read It and Weep (This will be the 4th in the Library Lover’s Mystery Series.)

Catriona McPherson: Dandy Gilver and the Bothersome Number of Corpses (This will be the 7th in the Dandy Gilver Mystery Series.) (This is the USA release.)

James Patterson: Cross My Heart (This will be the 21st in the Alex Cross Mystery Series.)

R. T. Raichev: The Riddle of Sphinx Island (This will be the 8th in the Antonia Darcy & Major Payne Country House Mystery Series.)

Ruth Rendell (aka Barbara Vine): No Man’s Nightingale (This will be the 25th in the Inspector Wexford Mystery Series.)

Diane Setterfield: Bellman & Black (This will be a Stand Alone Mystery.)

Sarah R. Shaber: Louise’s Dilemma (This will be the 3^rd in the Louise Pearlie Mystery Series.)

Alexander McCall Smith: The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon (This will be the 14th in The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency Mystery Series.)

Julia Spencer-Fleming: Through the Evil Days (This will be the 8^th in the Clare Fergusson & Russ Van Alstyne Mystery Series.)

Aimée & David Thurlo: Ghost Medicine (This will be the 17th in the Ella Clah Mystery Series.)

Rebecca Tope: The Ambleside Alibi (This will be the 2nd in the Lake District Mystery Series.)

Elaine Viets: Fixing to Die (This will be the 9^th in the Josie Marcus, Mystery Shopper Mystery Series.)

Penny Warner: The Mystery of the Pirate’s Treasure (This will be the 3rd in the Code Busters Club Mystery Series for children.)

Livia J. Washburn: The Fatal Funnel Cake (This will be the 8th in the Fresh-Baked Mystery Series.)

To go back to the Cozy Mystery New Book Release page, click here.

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