The Cozy Mystery List Blog

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

Cozy Mystery Books: Social Problems Tackled?

I have a question that has been in the back of my mind for quite a while. I guess that I should preface this entry by saying that I have noticed that there are quite a few Cozy Mystery authors today who feel they “owe it” (my term, not theirs!) to their readers to tackle social problems/topics/questions.

I just wondered about you all… Do you seek out Cozy Mysteries that deal with today’s “hot topics”  or do you believe that your Cozy Mysteries should offer you an escape from topics that are better left to  local and national news shows?

January 2011 Mystery Book New Releases

The following mystery books will be released in January 2011:

Madelyn Alt: Home for a Spell (This will be the 7th in the Bewitching Mystery Series…)

Jennie Bentley: Mortar and Murder (This will be the 4th in the Do It Yourself Mystery Series…)

Blaize Clement: Cat Sitter among the Pigeons (This will be the 6th in the Dixie Hemingway Mystery Series…)

Susan Rogers Cooper: Full Circle (This will be the 9th in the E. J. Pugh Mystery Series…)

Hannah Dennison: Thieves! (This will be the 4th in the Vicky Hill Mystery Series…)

P. L. Gaus: A Prayer for the Night (This will be the 7th in the Ohio Amish Country Mystery Series…)

Lee Goldberg: Mr. Monk on the Road (This will be the 11th in the Mr. Monk Mystery Series…)

Parnell Hall: The KenKen Killings (This will be the 12th in the Puzzle Lady Mystery Series…)

Julie Hyzy: Buffalo West Wing (This will be the in the 4th White House Chef Mystery Series…)

Mary Kennedy: Stay Tuned for Murder (This will be the 3rd in the Talk Radio Mystery Series…)

Laura Lippman: The Girl in the Green Raincoat (This will be the 11th in the Tess Monaghan Mystery Series…)

Nancy Martin: Foxy Roxy (This will be the 1st in the Roxy Abruzzo Mystery Series. It is not a new book. It was previously released as Our Lady of Immaculate Deception…)

G. A. McKevett: A Decadent Way to Die (This will be the 16th in the Savannah Reid Mystery Series…)

Jenn McKinlay (aka Lucy Lawrence) : Buttercream Bump Off (This will be the 2nd in the Cupcake Bakery Mystery Series)

Amy Myers: Murder on the Old Road (This will be the 7th in the Marsh and Daughter Mystery Series…)

Tamar Myers: The Glass is Always Greener (This will be the 16th in the Den of Antiquity Mystery Series…)

Joyce Carol Oates: Give Me Your Heart: Tales of Mystery and Suspense (This will be a Stand Alone…)

James Patterson & Michael Ledwidge: Tick Tock (This will be the 4th in the Michael Bennett Mystery Series…)

James Patterson: Fang (This will be the 6th in his Teen/Young Adult Maximum Ride Series…)

Charles Todd: A Lonely Death (This will be the 13th in the Inspector Ian Rutledge Mystery Series…)

Jill Paton Walsh: The Attenbury Emeralds (This will be the 3rd in the New Lord Peter Wimsey/Harriet Vane Mystery Series…)

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

The Closer (TNT's Terrific Police Procedural Show) Is Closer than You Think…

I forgot to mention this earlier… For those of you who are fans of TNT’s The Closer, the winter season’s shows start tonight! Set up your various types of taping devices, or plan to be seated in front of your television set. (And, if you’re not  a fan of The Closer, then I have to say, you are missing a really neat show!)

I have written about The Closer before (yep, that’s the link to my previous entry about this terrific show) so I won’t say too much about it today, OTHER than to remind all of you about tonight. [Of course, not being a person who can limit her talking… I will (again!) say that I absolutely LOVE this ensemble show!] 

So, don’t forget… tonight is the new winter season’s debut!

Don't Turn on the Light… Sprite Doesn't Like It…

I know that I have been remiss in writing… BUT >>>

Sprite (our soon-to-be-sixteen year old “puppy”) has been having a bad patch of health the last few weeks. (I am pretty sure it’s 16 she’s going on, this whole change of the century makes me have to revert to my elementary school math to calculate everyone’s age!)

Actually, Sprite has been having problems for over a month. I think I have mentioned before that her metabolism forms crystals in her bladder, which of course means a lot of trips to the veterinarian, which means special diets and care.

And, as she gets older, she becomes more and more stubborn and obstinate. (I have to admit that is happening to me, also!) It seems like I am the only one in the family who Sprite wants to spend time with >>> when she’s awake! Poor little Sprite!

Unfortunately for me, when I wake up in the middle of the night, I am no longer “allowed” to use my flashlight to read. You would think that it would be my husband not wanting the light on… Nope, the light doesn’t bother him, however, not so Sprite. Her bouts with these crystals have even cut down on the reading I can do! If she happens to open one of her eyes in the middle of the night and see that the flashlight is on, she wakes up and wants to go outside… As much as I enjoy my Cozy Mystery reading, I just don’t like the hassle of carrying her down the stairs, having to go outside and watch as she sniffs around the yard trying to find out where the squirrels have been, carrying her back upstairs, ETC.

But, as my daughter keeps saying: “She’s worth it!” She has been a loved and valued member of our family for the past sixteen years -or is it 17?!?

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