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Cozy Mystery Books Recommendations – May 2013

I have been anticipating this entry for almost an entire month. It is the time of the month when I ask you all to recommend your favorite Cozy Mystery book read of this past month. This should be the book you read during May 2013 that you think the rest of us have absolutely got to know about >>> so that we can read it also.  Of course, if you read more than one Cozy Mystery that you loved, let us know about those. Please tell us why you enjoyed the book (books). This makes it easier for the rest of us to decide whether we want to give the authors/books a try.

The Cozy Mystery book I read this month which I thought was a really good book is Susanna Calkins’ A Murder at Rosamund’s Gate. I am hoping that Calkins has many more Lucy Campion mysteries in store for us. (Here is the link to my entry explaining why I like this first mystery novel in Calkins’ new Lucy Campion Mystery Series so much.)

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

What Cozy Mystery book (or author) have you read during Mayl 2013, and why did you enjoy it (or him/her)?

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

Victoria Abbot (aka Mary Jane Maffini & Victoria Maffini): Book Collector’s Mystery Series

Ellery Adams (aka Jennifer Stanley, J. B. Stanley, & 1/2 of Lucy Arlington): Charmed Pie Shoppe Mystery Series

Susan Wittig Albert: China Bayles Mystery Series

Laura Alden: PTA Mystery Series

Lucy Arlington (Duo: Jennifer Stanley & Sylvia May): Novel Idea Mystery Series

Nancy Atherton: Aunt Dimity Mystery Series

Ella Barrick (aka Laura DiSilverio & Lila Dare: Ballroom Dance Mystery Series

C. C. Benison: Her Majesty Investigates Mystery Series 

Heather Blake (aka Heather Webber): Wishcraft Mystery Series

Janet Bolin: Threadville Mystery Series

Jacklyn Brady (aka Sherry Lewis): Piece of Cake Mystery Series

Emily Brightwell: Mrs. Jeffries Mystery Series

Duffy Brown: Consignment Shoppe Mysteries

Rita Mae Brown: Mrs. Murphy Mystery Series

Lucy Burdette (aka Roberta Isleib): Key West Food Critic Mystery Series

Susanna Calkins: Lucy Campion Mystery Series

Kate Carlisle: Bibliophile Mystery Series

Ann Charles: Deadwood Mystery Series

Erika Chase: Ashton Corners Book Club Mystery Series

Laura Childs: Scrapbooking Mystery Series

Laura Childs: Tea Shop Mystery Series

Edie Claire: Leigh Koslow (Never) Mystery Series

Mary Jane Clark: Piper Donovan Wedding Cake Mystery Series

Sheila Connolly (aka Sarah Atwell): County Cork Mystery Series

Jeanne M. Dams: Dorothy Martin Mystery Series

Laura DiSilverio (aka Lila Dare & Ella Barrick): Mall Cop Mystery Series

Joanne Dobson: Karen Pelletier Mystery Series

Alice Duncan: Mercy Allcutt Mystery Series

Laura Durham: Annabelle Archer Mystery Series

Sara Hoskinson Frommer: Joan Spencer Mystery Series

Anne George: Southern Sisters Mystery Series

Sally Goldenbaum: Seaside Knitters Mystery Series

Kerry Greenwood: Phryne Fisher Mystery Series

Carolyn Haines: Sarah Booth Delaney Mystery Series

Victoria Hamilton: Vintage Kitchen Series

Rosemary Harris: Dirty Business Mystery Series

Anna Lee Huber: The Anatomist’s Wife

Julie Hyzy: White House Chef Mystery Series

Julie Hyzy: Manor of Murder Mystery Series

Diane Kelly: Tara Holloway Death and Taxes Mystery Series

Joyce and Jim Lavene (aka J. J. Cook): Peggy Lee  Garden Mystery Series 

Sherry Lewis (aka Jacklyn Brady): Senior Sleuth Fred Vickery Mystery Series 

Karen MacInerney: Grey Whale Inn Mystery Series

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

Katherine Hall Page: Faith Fairchild Mystery Series

Nancy J. Parra: Gluten for Punishment

Cynthia Riggs: Martha’s Vineyard Series

Joanna Campbell Slan: Kiki Lowenstein Scrap-N-Craft Mystery Series

Dorothy St. James: White House Gardener Mystery Series

Ann Summerville: Lowenna Mystery Series

Shirley Tallman: Death on Telegraph Hill

Lea Wait: Shadows Antique Mystery Series

Edith Wharton: The Age of Innocence (not a mystery)

Livia J. Washburn: Literary Tour Mystery Series

Heather Webber (aka Heather Blake): Lucy Valentine Mystery Series 

Jacqueline Winspear: Masie Dobbs Mystery Series

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

Susanna Calkins, Author of A Murder at Rosamund’s Gate : My Newest Favorite Author

I am always happy when I read a new-to-me author and enjoy his/her book so much that I add the author to my Favorite Authors list. Susanna Calkins is the newest author I am adding to this “exclusive”  list.

Before I started reading Susanna Calkins’ A Murder at Rosamund’s Gate, I knew that it would be historically accurate. I knew this because Calkins has her doctorate in British History, and teaches at Northwestern University – which is no small feat! Calkins has attached an “Historic Note” at the very end of this mystery explaining any liberties she took in order to ensure the reader a pleasurable mystery read.

I would definitely label Calkins’ A Murder at Rosamund’s Gate as an historical Cozy Mystery. While it does deal with adult themes (it is written for adults) there is no graphic language or sex, and it is also lacking in excessive gore.  I am hoping that the Agatha Awards’ new Historical Novels category has this book listed as one of this year’s best!

A Murder at Rosamund’s Gate follows Lucy Campion, a chambermaid in the London home of a 17th century magistrate. As a chambermaid, Lucy’s time is not her own. She is fortunate to work for a particularly kind magistrate; however she still has to perform the daily chores those times dictated she perform.

Calkins’ London is not a sugar-coated version; there is poverty, sickness, and over-crowding outside of the magistrate’s house. Lucy knows she is lucky to work in a fair man’s home, and tries not to jeopardize her job – which forces her to find clever ways to follow the mystery’s clues.

Calkins’ characters are three-dimensional and very believable. She not only introduces us to her very likeable Lucy, but also to Lucy’s family, coworkers, and friends. Even the secondary characters in A Murder at Rosamund’s Gate are people I look forward to seeing again.

Lucy’s sleuthing makes perfect sense in the context of the story. It is not simply an interest that this very busy and (more than likely) tired young chambermaid devotes her time to. There’s a reason Lucy wants to solve this mystery. (I don’t want to say too much and give away any of the plot, so that others can enjoy the book.)

Calkins shows us how the British class system in the 17th century dictated every aspect of a Londoner’s life – including the way he/she would be treated by the judicial system. Calkins is able to weave London’s 17th century judicial system into the mystery in a way that piqued my interest.

Susanna Calkins‘ A Murder at Rosamund’s Gate has plenty of red herrings, a delightful young sleuth, a very solid mystery, and very enjoyable easy-to-read writing. (I was so interested in the characters and plot that I actually read this 357 page book in three days, which is a record for me!)

I hope Susanna Calkins will be releasing the second book in the Lucy Campion Mystery Series soon. I am definitely looking forward to spending more time with Lucy Campion as she solves many more mysteries.

P.S. I liked this book so much that I bought another copy as a gift for my adult daughter. (That’s a first for me for Kindle books!)

If you’re interested in reading more of these brief revisits of some of the more popular Cozy Mystery Series that I’ve written in the past, you can find them at the Most Recommended Cozy Mystery Series page on my site.

Bouchercon XLIV, More Commonly Known as Bouchercon 2013, Or Even Anthony Awards 2013!

Congratulations to all of this year’s Bouchercon mystery author nominees!

Most of you already know that Bouchercon is a huge convention that celebrates mystery authors and their books. This year, Bouchercon XLIV will be held in Albany, New York (at the Empire State Plaza) during the September 19 – 22 weekend.

The awards they present at the Bouchercon conventions are the Anthony Awards, which are named after Anthony Boucher, one of the founders of the Mystery Writers of America organization.

Here is the list of the Bouchercon XLIV authors and their works:

Lifetime Achievement:  Sue Grafton

International Guest of Honor:  Anne Perry

American Guest of Honor:  Tess Gerritsen

Toastmaster:  Steve Hamilton

Fan Guests of Honor:  Chris Aldrich & Lynn Kaczmarek

Best Novel:

Dare Me by Megan Abbott
The Trinity Game by Sean Chercover
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
The Beautiful Mystery by Louise Penny
The Other Woman by Hank Phillippi Ryan

Best First Novel:

Don’t Ever Get Old by Daniel Friedman
The Professionals by Owen Laukkanen
The Expats by Chris Pavone
The 500 by Matthew Quirk
Black Fridays by Michael Sears

Best Paperback Original:

Whiplash River by Lou Berney
Murder for Choir by Joelle Charbonneau
And She Was by Alison Gaylin
Blessed are the Dead by Malla Nunn
Big Maria by Johnny Shaw

Best Short Story:

Mischief in Mesopotamia by Dana Cameron
Kept in the Dark by Shelia Connolly
The Lord is My Shamus by Barb Goffman
Peaches by Todd Robinson, Grift
The Unremarkable Heart by Karin Slaughter

Best Critical Nonfiction Work:

Books to Die For: The World’s Greatest Mystery Writers on the World’s Greatest Mystery Novels by John Connolly and Declan Burke, eds.
Blood Relations: The Selected Letters of Ellery Queen, 1947-1950 by Joseph Goodrich, ed.
More Forensics and Fiction: Crime Writers Morbidly Curious Questions Expertly Answered by D.P. Lyle, M.D.
The Grand Tour: Around the World with the Queen of Mystery Agatha Christie by Mathew Prichard, ed.
In Pursuit of Spenser: Mystery Writers on Robert B. Parker and the Creation of an American Hero by Otto Penzler, ed.

Congratulations to ALL!

A Touch of Frost Television Series

A Touch of Frost is yet another example of a British police procedural television show that (to me) makes most of these types of shows made in the USA look overly ambitious and… if you’ll excuse me for saying… idiotic.

A Touch of Frost began airing in 1992 and continued many years after that (2010). The shows are based on the mystery books by author R. D. Wingfield. I have read several of Wingfield’s mysteries, and highly recommend them to people who want to read a really good police procedural series. Unfortunately, there are only six in this mystery series.

The always-entertaining actor, David Jason, portrays  Detective Inspector Jack Frost. This is another example of an actor who made the part his own, much like John Thaw in the British Inspector Morse television series. (See what I mean?!? Bravo to the Brits!)

I think what I like the most about A Touch of Frost is the interaction Jack has with everyone – both his superiors and his subordinates, as well as the individuals he interviews. Frost isn’t the most patient man, but his character exudes an incredible amount of empathy for others, which in a lot of  television police procedurals is lacking.

He is a great detective, as well as a wonderful teacher. For some reason, Frost seems to be assigned a lot of young “newbies” to teach the ropes to. Unfortunately, some of Jack’s “ropes” include tip-toeing down the hallways to avoid his superiors (more on that later) as well as leaving piles of unfinished paperwork on his desk.

Frost’s permanent sergeant is Detective Sergeant George Toolan, played by John Lyons. There is a great rapport between these two men. However, the most interesting interaction for me is between Jack and the young detectives assigned to him. While Jack seems gruff with them, he actually is a perfect teacher for them. I always feel like those young detectives have benefited immensely from their time with unconventional and independent Jack.

As in a lot of police procedural television shows, Jack and his boss (Superintendent Mullett – played by Bruce Alexander) don’t see eye to eye. As a matter of fact, if Jack sees his boss before Mullett sees him, Jack makes it a point to slip out/hide/leave very quickly… before Mullett sees him. This makes for some comedic scenes.

My husband and two adult children watched the entire series, which of course indicates that we like it. There is one minor qualm we have with the show: for some reason, Jack invariably runs after culprits.. literally! We didn’t notice this until the final seasons of the show. We would find ourselves wondering when Jack would start running after the robust, young criminals, and when he would overtake them. (Did I mention that Jack is not a young man?) Jack would run up stairs, down stairs, through corridors with obstacles being thrown at him, etc. (Or should I say ETC?!? As in capital etc!) While I always enjoy David Jason, and I must admit he has kept himself very trim, we just found it a little odd that a man of his age could tackle/catch men one third his age. We couldn’t quite understand why the director decided to include these action-filled chase scenes.

Regardless, we all truly enjoyed A Touch of Frost, and I highly recommend it.

For more Cozy viewing ideas, click on my Cozy Mystery TV & Movies page.

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