The Cozy Mystery List Blog

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

Late 1800s or Early 1900s San Francisco Female Attorney Sleuth in Mystery Series

Last month, Fran wrote and asked for help finding the following author and/or mystery book series:

“A while back I read a couple of books that I’d like to find again. The books were set in San Francisco and were in the late 1800s or early 1900. The main character was a woman who had trained as an attorney and was trying to make it in the male dominated world of law – against her parents’ wishes.

Can you help?
Fran”

If you think you might know who the author of this series is, or the name of the mystery series, please post a comment. Thank you!

Connie Archer, Frances Brody, Duffy Brown, Peg Cochran, & Meg London : “Five” Author Additions to the Cozy Mystery Site

Since I have gotten several letters telling me about the following Cozy Mystery authors, I wanted to get their pages posted on the site quickly. Here are the four newest additions to the Cozy Mystery site:

Connie Archer: Soup Lover’s Mystery Series – Lucky Jamieson inherits her parents’ soup shop in a beautiful Vermont skiing town called Snowflake. (This culinary Cozy Mystery series includes recipes.)

Frances Brody: Kate Shackleton Mystery Series – Kate Shackleton lives in a small British milling  village during the 1920s. Our sleuth’s husband is a WWI MIA (missing in action).

Duffy Brown (aka Dianne Castell): Consignment Shop Mystery Series – Recently divorced Reagan Summerside is the owner of Prissy Fox Consignment Shop in Savannah, Georgia. Duffy Brown in a best selling romance novels, writing as Dianne Castell.

Peg Cochran (aka Meg London): Gourmet De-Lite Mystery Series – Gigi Fitzgerald has returned to Connecticut, after living in New York. She is a caterer for a very select crowd, and specializes in low calorie cuisine. (Low calorie recipes are included in this culinary Cozy Mystery series.)

Meg London (aka Peg Cochran): Sweet Nothings Vintage Lingerie Mystery Series – Emma Taylor has returned from New York City, where she worked as a stylist. She is now a stylist in Paris… but Tennesse, not France.

Mystery Books with Men as Sleuths – Male Amateur Sleuths, That Is

There is one place that I can name where “Equal rights for women.” has been taken very seriously, and that is in the amateur sleuth mystery book realm. Let’s face it, men simply are a very tiny, itsy-bitsy minority in the amateur sleuth world!

I have received several letters from people asking that I include this theme. The latest letter is from Carla:

“I was wondering if you could add another theme to your list.  It is very hard to find cozy mysteries with male protagonists.   It seems that mysteries with male detectives seem to be more procedurals and have a harder edge.  I prefer cozy mysteries with amateur detectives.”

Men as Amateur Sleuths in Cozy Mystery Series:

Peter Abresch: James P. Dandy Elderhostel Mystery Series (ex-physical therapist)

Bruce Alexander (aka Bruce Cook): Sir John Fielding Mystery Series (18th century judge)

Jeffrey Allen (aka Jeff Shelby): Stay at Home Dead (stay-at-home dad)

Margery Allingham: Albert Campion Mystery Series (semi nobility)

L.L. Bartlett (aka Lorna Barrett & Lorraine Bartlett: Jeff Resnick Mystery Series

Mike Befeler: Paul Jacobson Geezer Lit Mystery Series (octogenarian)

Lilian Jackson Braun: The Cat Who Mystery Series (journalist)

Simon Brett: Charles Paris Mystery Series (actor)

C. S. Challinor: Rex Graves Mystery Series (Scottish barrister)

G. K. Chesterton: Father Brown Mystery Series (British priest)

Jeffrey Cohen (aka E. J. Copperman): Aaron Tucker Mystery Series (stay-at-home dad)

Jeffrey Cohen (aka E. J. Copperman): Double Feature Mystery Series (owner of a theater)

Edmund Crispin: Gervaise Fen Mystery Series (Oxford professor)

Lindsey Davis: Marcus Didius Falco Mystery Series (ancient Roman detective)

Aaron Elkins: Gideon Oliver Mystery Series (professor of Anthropology)

Janet Gleeson: The Grenadillo Box (journeyman carpenter)

Lee Goldberg: Diagnosis Murder Mystery Series (doctor)

Jane Haddam: Gregor Demarkian Mystery Series (retired FBI agent)

The Hardy Boys: Credited under Franklin W. Dixon, but written by many ghost authors

Edward D. Hoch: Dr. Sam Hawthorn Mystery Series (country doctor)

Victoria Houston: Loon Lake Fishing Mystery Series (retired dentist)

Miranda James (aka Honor Hartman, Jimmie Ruth Evans, & Dean James):  Cat in the Stacks Mystery Series (librarian)

Harry Kemelman: Rabbi Small Mystery Series (rabbi)

John J. Lamb: Bear Collectors’ Mystery Series (retired police detective)

Jane Langton: Homer Kelly Mystery Series (professor)

Peter Lovesey: Bertie, Prince of Wales Mystery Series

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

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

Deborah Morgan: Antique Lovers’ Mystery Series (antiques dealer)

Tim Myers  (aka Elizabeth Bright, Melissa Glazer, Chris Cavender, & Casey Mayes): Lighthouse Inn Mystery Series (lighthouse inn keeper) & Soapmaking Mystery Series & Candlemaking Mystery Series

Robin Paige (aka Susan Wittig Albert and husband Bill Albert): Kate Ardleigh Sheridan & Sir Charles Sheridan Mystery Series (Victorian, nobility)

Hugh Pentecost: Pierre Chambrun Mystery Series (hotel manager)

Ellis Peters: Brother Cadfael Mystery Series (Medieval herbalist monk)

Ellery Queen: Ellery Queen Mystery Series (mystery author)

David Roberts: Lord Edward Corinth Mystery Series (nobility)

Sax Rohmer: Fu Manchu Mystery Series

Sapper: Bulldog Drummond Mystery Series

Dorothy L. Sayers: Lord Peter Wimsey Mystery Series (nobility)

Steven Saylor: Roma Sub Rosa Mystery Series (one century B.C. Roman investigator)

Malcolm Shuman: Alan Graham Mystery Series

J. B. Stanley (aka Jennifer Stanley, Ellery Adams, & 1/2 of Lucy Arlington): Supper Club Mystery Series (“retired” professor, librarian)

Dornford Yates: Chandos Mystery Series

Margaret Yorke: Dr. Patrick Grant Mystery Series (professor)

Sherban Young: Stand Alones

If you know of any other Men as Amateur Sleuths in Cozy Mystery Series, please post a comment. Thank you!

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

TNT’s The Closer Is Back!

This is just a quick note to remind you all that TNT’s The Closer returned to television on Monday night. As most of you know, it is The Closer’s last season. (I wrote about The Closer before, and it continues to be one of my favorite television shows.)

The Closer has followed Deputy Police Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson (Kyra Sedgwick) as she “closed” more cases for the L.A.P.D. than probably any other reigning police chief. Of course, she did this by using techniques that were more commonly practiced back in the 1950s and 1960s, than are allowed these days.

“Say it ain’t so!”>>> but it is! This is the final season for The Closer, but there is some good news at the end of this rainbow: In August, there will be a new show on the horizon: Major Crimes. Heading to the Major Crimes line-up will be Mary McDonnell (Capt. Sharon Raydor). And, even better news, some of The Closer’s other cast members will be following McDonnell to the Major Crimes unit.

I have a few characters who I definitely want to continue seeing… unfortunately, they include ALL of the major players from The Closer:

Lt. Provenza (G. W. Bailey)
Lt. Andy Flynn (Tony Denison)
Detective Sgt. David Gabriel (Corey Reynolds)
Detective Julio Sanchez (Raymond Cruz)
Lt. Mike Tao (Michael Paul Chan)
Technician Buzz Watson (Phillip P. Keene)
Asst. Police Chief Will Pope (J. K. Simmons)
FBI agent Fritz Howard (Jon Tenney)
Commander Taylor (Robert Gossett)

In case you missed Monday night’s debut of The Closer‘s final season, the episode is called “Hostile Witness“, and it will re-air this Saturday morning (July 14, 2012) at 10:00 AM (central) and again on this coming Monday night (July 16, 2012) at 7:00 PM (central) on TNT.

I am truly sorry to see this show leave TNT’s line-up, and hope that Major Crimes will continue to have the same great writers associated with it, and of course, the same wonderful actors we have all grown to love.

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