The Cozy Mystery List Blog

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

Was Mary Higgins Clark the First “Blockbuster Crime Writer to Start a Recurring Christmas Series”…

I received a letter the other day from a site reader asking me this question regarding Mary Higgins Clark:

“… I’m trying to figure out if Clark was the first blockbuster crime writer to start a recurring Christmas series…. wondered if you know of any that predate Clark’s first Christmas book.”

I started writing her back, and then realized that since I haven’t read every single book on the list I came up with, I had better ask you all for help in addressing this question. The authors who I came up with that predate

Mary Higgins Clark…..Still watch   ’84
Silent Night   ’95
My Gal Sunday   ’96
All Through the Night    ’98
Santa Cruise   ’07 (w/Carol Higgins Clark)
Dashing through the Snow (w/Carol Higgins Clark)  ’08

are the following:

Marian Babson…..Murder, Murder, Little Star    ’77(see Judith’s comment below)
The Twelve Deaths of Christmas    ’79
Line Up for Murder   ’80
Murder on a Mystery Tour   ’85
(Babson’s are all Stand Alones)

Charlotte MacLeod…..Rest You Merry    ’78
Murder Goes Mumming   ’81
The Convivial Codfish   ’84
(All three of MacLeod’s Christmas mysteries belong to different mystery series)

Robert Barnard…..Death in a Cold Climate  ’81
The Habit of Widowhood   ’96
(Barnard’s are Stand Alones)

Martha Grimes….The Man with a Load of Mischief   ’81
Old Fox Deceived   ’82
Jerusalem Inn  ’84
(All three belong to the same mystery series)

First of all, since I haven’t read all of the books above, do any of you know if one of the listed books above is not a Christmas mystery? I try to make sure that they are when I update my Christmas mystery book list as best I can.

Also, are there any other “blockbuster crime writers” who you all know about who predate Mary Higgins Clark (other than the ones I have listed above)?

Thank you all for the help!

Aileen G. Baron, Alan Bradley, Catherine O’Connell, & Chessen Parker… the Four Newest Author Additions to the Cozy Mystery Site

Aileen G. Baron: Lily Sampson Mystery Series… Lily is an archaelogy graduate student in the early to mid 1900s. Baron, who has her Ph.D. in archaelogy/anthropology has also taught in Fullerton’s California State University.

Alan Bradley: Flavia de Luce Mystery Series… Flavia is an eleven year old British girl/sleuth. Bradley has won many mystery writing awards, including the prestigious Agatha Award.

Catherine O’Connell: High Society Mystery Series… Pauline Cook is a widowed socialite living in Chicago. Pauline spends a lot of her time traveling, as well as sleuthing.

Chessen Parker: Crystal Coast Mystery Series… Clara Dare Ivankova lives in a coastal village in North Carolina. Parker attended Duke University Law School, and has, as her sleuth, an attorney.

Some of the Cozy (and Not So Cozy) Mystery Series I Read:

I have been asked to write about some of the authors who I read. I think that I will begin by telling you about the mystery authors I follow – who have been around for many years, and whose works have withstood the test of time. I know that most of you are familiar with these authors, but if you aren’t, then do yourself a favor and check them out. (I’ll write another time about “more current” authors who I follow…)

Agatha Christie: I enjoy both her Miss Marple and her Poirot mystery series, although I am a bit more partial to Miss Marple. (since 1922)

Dorothy Gilman: I love sleuthing and traveling with Mrs. Pollifax. (since 1966)

Martha Grimes: I truly enjoy the Jury & Plant mystery series. (since 1981) (I know that 1981 doesn’t seem like “around for many years” but I went ahead and added her since I have MacLeod on the list, and she was only three years before Grimes…)

Cyril Hare: Hare’s style of writing seems effortless. I know I have mentioned (many times!) how much I enjoy his Christmas mystery called An English Murder.  I also enjoy following his Inspector Mallet series, as well as his (very short) Francis Pettigrew series. (since 1937)

Reginald Hill: There’s nothing Cozy about Dalziel & Pascoe, but what a treat this mystery series is to read! (since 1970)

Charlotte MacLeod/Alisa Craig: I love her Peter Shandy mystery series, followed by her Sarah Kelling series. (I guess I prefer her MacLeod mystery series over her Craig mysteries.) (since 1978)

Ngaio Marsh: Inspector Roderick Alleyn is one of my very favorite inspectors. (since 1931)

Patricia Moyes: Here’s yet another inspector I enjoy. I also love Inspector Henry Tibbett! (since 1958)

Stuart Palmer: His Hildegard Withers Mystery series is another series I follow. (since 1931)

Ellis Peters: Her Brother Cadfael mystery series is one of the best historical mystery series that I know of. (since 1951)

Ruth Rendell: Inspector Wexford is yet another inspector I love to follow. (since 1964)

I know that I have talked about “pacing” myself before. Since most of these series are limited to a number of mysteries, I try not to read the books too often. For example, last year I read one Dorothy Gilman, two Cyril Hare, three Reginald Hill, two Ngaio Marsh, one Stuart Palmer, two Ellis Peters, and five Agatha Christie mysteries. I just don’t want to read through the series so fast that I finally run out of these authors’ books! That’s how good I think they are!

How about you? Do you have a “been-around-for-a-while” mystery author (or two, or three…) who you love to read?

April 2011 Mystery Book New Releases

The following Mystery Books will be released in April 2011:

Susan Wittig Albert: Mourning Gloria (This will be the in the 19th in the China Bayles Mystery Series…)

Donald Bain & “Jessica Fletcher”: Skating on Thin Ice (This will be the 35th in the Murder, She Wrote Mystery Series…)

David Baldacci: The Sixth Man (This will be the 5th in the Maxwell & King Mystery Series…)

Sandra Balzo: Running on Empty (This will be the 1st in the NEW Main Street Mysteries Series…)

Jessica Beck: Evil Éclairs (This will be the 4th in the Donut Shop Mystery Series…)

Rita Mae Brown: Hiss of Death (This will be the 19th in the Mrs. Murphy Mystery Series…)

Elizabeth Lynn Casey (aka Laura Bradford): Deadly Notions (This will be the 4th in the Southern Sewing Circle Mystery Series…)

Dixie Cash: I Can’t Make You Love Me, But I Can Make You Leave (This will be the 7th in the Domestic Equalizers Mystery Series…)

Chris Cavender (aka Elizabeth Bright, Melissa Glazer, Tim Myers, & Casey Mayes): A Pizza to Die For (This will be the 3rd in the Pizza Lover’s Mystery Series…)

Carol Higgins Clark: Mobbed (This will be the 14th in the Regan Reilly Mystery Series…)

Mary Higgins Clark: I’ll Walk Alone (This will be a Stand Alone…)

Jane K. Cleland: Deadly Threads (This will be the 6th in the Josie Prescott Antiques Mystery Series…)

Kate Collins: Night of the Living Dandelion (This will be the 11th in the Flower Shop Mystery Series…)

Michael Connelly: The Fifth Witness (This will be the 4th in the Mickey Haller Mystery Series…)

Lesley Cookman: Murder to Music (This will be the 8th in the Libby Sarjeant Mystery Series…)

E. J. Copperman (aka Jeffrey Cohen): An Uninvited Ghost (This will be the 2nd in the Haunted Guesthouse Mystery Series…)

Jeanne M. Dams: A Dark and Stormy Night (This will be the 10th in the Dorothy Martin Mystery Series…)

Casey Daniels: A Hard Day’s Fright (This will be the 7th in the Pepper Martin Mystery Series…)

Diane Mott Davidson: Crunch Time (This will be the 16th in the Goldy Bear Mystery Series…)

Vicki Doudera: Killer Listing (This will be the 2nd in the Darby Farr Mystery Series…)

“Jessica Fletcher” & Donald Bain: Skating on Thin Ice (This will be the 35th in the Murder, She Wrote Mystery Series…)

Sarah Graves: Knockdown (This will be the 14th in the Home Repair Is Homicide Mystery Series…)

Rosemary Harris: Slugfest (This will be the 4th in the Dirty Business Mystery Series…)

Iris Johansen: Eve (This will be the 11th in the Eve Duncan Mystery Series…)

Virginia Lowell: Cookie Dough or Die (This will be the 1st in the NEW Cookie Cutter Shop Mystery Series…)

Lisa Lutz & David Hayard: Heads You Lose (This will be a Stand Alone…)

Mary Jane Maffini: The Busy Woman’s Guide to Murder (This will be the 5th in the Charlotte Adams Mystery Series…)

Katherine Hall Page: The Body in the Gazebo (This will be 19th the in the Faith Fairchild Mystery Series…)

Anne Perry: Treason at Lisson Grove (This will be the 26th in the Charlotte & Thomas Pitt Mystery Series…)

R. T. Raichev: Murder at the Villa Constantine (This will be the 6th in the Antonia Darcy & Major Payne Country House Mystery Series…)

T. Dawn Richard: Par for the Corpse (This will be the in the May List Mystery Series…)

Cynthia Riggs: The Bee Balm Murders (This will be the 10th in the Martha’s Vineyard Mystery Series…)

Ann B. Ross: Miss Julia Rocks the Cradle (This will be the 12th in the Miss Julia Mystery Series…)

Betty Rowlands: Miss Minchin Dies (This will be the 11th in the Sukey Reynolds Mystery Series…)

Lisa Scottoline: Save Me (This will be a Stand Alone…)

Clea Simon: Dogs Don’t Lie (This will be the 1st in the NEW Pru Marlowe, Pet Noir Mystery Series…)

Clea Simon: Grey Zone (This will be the 3rd in the Dulcie Schwartz Mystery Series…)

Julia Spencer-Fleming: One Was a Soldier (This will be the 7th in the Clare Fergusson and Russ Van Alstyne Mysteries Series…)

Leann Sweeney: The Cat, the Lady and the Liar (This will be the 3rd in the Cats in Trouble Mystery Series…)

Maggie Toussaint: On the Nickel (This will be the 2nd in the Cleopatra Jones Mystery Series…)

Lea Wait: Shadows of a Down East Summer (This will be the 5th in the Antique Print Mystery Series…)

Kathryn R. Wall: Jericho Cay (This will be the 11th in the Bay Tanner Mystery Series…)

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

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