The Cozy Mystery List Blog

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

Mystery Books that Take Place in California

Here are some Fun California Facts:

State Motto: “Eureka” which means: I have found it.
State Flower is the California Poppy.
Capital is Sacramento.
State Bird is the California Valley Quail.
State Nickname is “The Golden State.”
Spanish explorers thought that California was an island, and named it for a Spanish queen named Califia in a work of fiction written in 1510 by Garcia Ordonez de Montalvo.

Mystery authors who are found on the Cozy Mystery Site who feature California locations/settings in their books:

Sparkle Abbey: Pampered Pets Mystery Series

Steve Allen: Steve Allen Mystery Series

Jennifer Apodaca: Samantha Shaw Mystery Series

George Baxt: Celebrity Sleuths Mystery Series

Lillian Bell (aka Kristi Abbott, Eileen Rendahl, & Eileen Carr): Funeral Parlor Mystery Series

Joan Blacher: Ardis Jensen Mystery Series

Juliet Blackwell: Witchcraft Mystery Series

Juliet Blackwell: Sophie Tanner Haunted Home Repair Mystery Series

Kate Bryan: Maggie Maguire Mystery Series

Jan Burke: Irene Kelly Mystery Series

Lynn Cahoon: Tourist Trap Mystery Series

Stephen J. Cannell: Shane Scully Mystery Series

Taffy Cannon (aka Emily Toll): Nan Robertson Mystery Series

Taffy Cannon (aka Emily Toll): Roxanne Prescott Mystery Series

Gayle Carline: Peri Minneopa Mystery Series

Kate Carlisle: Bibliophile Mystery Series

Kate Carlisle: Fixer-Upper Mystery Series

Grace Carroll (aka Carol Culver): Accessories Mystery Series

Bailey Cattrell (aka Bailey Cates & Cricket McRae): Enchanted Garden Mystery Series

Sally Chapman (aka Annie Griffin): Silicon Valley Mystery Series

Margaret Chittenden: Charlie Plato Mystery Series

Carol Higgins Clark: Regan Reilly Mystery Series

Michael Connelly: Harry Bosch Mystery Series AND Mickey Haller Mystery Series AND Jack McEvoy Mystery Series AND Terry McCaleb Mystery Series

Hy Conrad: Mr. Monk Mystery Series

Bruce Cook (aka Bruce Alexander): Chico Cervantes Mystery Series

Marla Cooper: Destination Wedding Mystery Series

Laura Crum: Gail McCarthy Mystery Series

Carol Culver (aka Grace Carroll): Pie Shop Mystery Series

E.V. Cunningham: Masao Masuto Mystery Series

Claire Daniels (aka Jaqueline Girdner): Karma Crime Mystery Series

Eileen Davidson: Soap Opera Mystery Series

Dianne Day: Fremont Jones Mystery Series

Margaret Dumas: Charley & Jack Fairfax Mytery Series

Susan Dunlap: Jill Smith Mystery Series  AND Kiernan O’Shaughnessy Mystery Series AND Vejay Haskell Mystery Series AND Darcy Lott Mystery Series

Pamela DuMond: Annie Graceland Mystery Series

Lesley Egan (aka Elizabeth Linington & Dell Shannon): Jesse Falkenstein Mystery Series AND Vic Varallo Mystery Series

A. A. Fair (aka Erle Stanley Gardner): Cool Detective Agency Mystery Series

Jerrilyn Farmer: Madeline Bean Mystery Series AND Red Carpet Mystery Series (with Joan Rivers)

Mary Feliz: Maggie McDonald Mystery Series

Janet Finsilver: Redwood Cove Mystery Series

Elaine Flinn: Molly Doyle Mystery Series

Earlene Fowler: Benni Harper Mystery Series

Erle Stanley Gardner (aka A. A. Fair): Perry Mason Mystery Series AND Doug Selby Mystery Series

Kellye Garrett: Detective by Day Mystery Series

Daryl Wood Gerber (aka Avery Aames): French Bistro Mystery Series

Jaqueline Girdner (aka Claire Daniels): Kate Jasper Mystery Series

Lee Goldberg: Mr. Monk Mystery Series AND Diagnosis Murder Mystery Series

Nadia Gordon: Sunny McCoskey, Napa Valley Mystery Series

Ron Goulart: Groucho Marx Mystery Series

Margaret Grace (aka Camille Minichino): Miniature Mystery Series

Sue Grafton: Kinsey Millhone Mystery Series

Annie Griffin (aka Sally Chapman): Hannah Malloy & Kiki Goldstein Mystery Series

Terris McMahan Grimes: Theresa Galloway Mystery Series

Patricia Guiver: Pet Detective Mystery Series

Rebecca M. Hale: Cats and Curios Mystery Series

Gemma Halliday: High Heels Mystery Series AND Hollywood Headlines Mystery Series AND Anna Smith & Nick Dade Mystery Series AND Wine & Dine Mystery Series

Betty Hechtman: Crochet Mystery Series AND Yarn Retreat Mystery Series

Nancy Herriman: Mystery of Old San Francisco Mystery Series – 1860s San Francisco

Lee Hollis: Desert Flowers Mystery Series – Poppy Harmon is a widow who opens the Desert Flowers Detective Agency in Palm Springs.

Dorothy Howell: Haley Randolph Mystery Series

Jonnie Jacobs: Kali O’Brien Mystery Series AND Kate Austen Mystery Series

Sue Ann Jaffarian: Odelia Grey Mystery Series AND Fang-In-Cheek Mystery Series AND Ghost of Granny Apples Mystery Series

Nancy Lynn Jarvis: Regan McHenry Real Estate Mystery Series

Claire M. Johnson: Mary Ryan, Pastry Chef Mystery Series

Linda O. Johnston: Kendra Ballantyne, Pet-Sitter Mystery Series AND Pet Rescue Mystery Series

Stuart M. Kaminisky: Toby Peters Mystery Series

Susan Kandel: Cece Caruso Mystery Series

Leslie Karst: Sally Solari Mystery Series

Faye Kellerman: Decker & Lazarus Mystery Series

Jonathan Kellerman: Alex Delaware Mystery Series AND Petra Connor Mystery Series

Karen Kijewski: Kat Colorado Mystery Series

Laurie R. King: Martinelli & Hawkin Mystery Series

Harley Jane Kozak: Wollie Shelley Mystery Series

Rochelle Krich: Molly Blume Mystery Series AND Jessie Drake Mystery Series

Joyce Krieg: Talk Radio Mystery Series

Martha C. Lawrence: Elizabeth Chase Mystery Series

Laura Levine: Jaine Austen Mystery Series

Hailey Lind: Art Lover’s Mystery Series

Elizabeth Linington (aka Leslie Egan & Dell Shannon): Ivor Maddox Mystery Series

M. Louisa Locke: Victorian San Francisco Mystery Series

T.C. LoTempio: Nick and Nora Mystery Series

Sheila Lowe: Forensic Handwriting Mystery Series

Lisa Lutz: Izzy Spellman Mystery Series

Lindsay Maracotta: Lucy Freers Mystery Series

Mary Marks: Martha Rose Quilting Mystery Series

G. A. McKevett: Savannah Reid Mystery Series

Staci McLaughlin: Blossom Valley Mystery Series

Mary Miley writes the Roaring Twenties Mystery Series which features an ex-Vaudeville/silent films actress in Hollywood during the 1920s.

Marlys Millhiser: Charlie Greene Mystery Series

Camille Minichino (aka Margaret Grace): Periodic Table Mystery Series (Most of the books are set in Massassachusetts, some in California.)

Marcia Muller: Sharon McCone Mystery Series AND Rho Swift Mystery Series (as of Aug. ’10 only one mystery) AND Elena Oliverez Mystery Series AND Joanna Stark Mystery Series

Marcia Muller & Bill Pronzini: The Carpenter & Quincannon,Professional Detective Services Mystery Series features an ex-Pinkerton operative & an ex-Secret Service agent in 1890s San Francisco.

Shirley Rousseau Murphy: Joe Grey Cat Mystery Series

Sister Carol Anne O’Marie: Sister Mary Helen Mystery Series

Carlene O’Neil: Cypress Cove Mystery Series

Diana Orgain: Maternal Instincts Mystery Series

Joyce Oroz: Josephine Stuart Mystery Series

Denise Osborne: Queenie Davilov Mystery Series AND Feng Shui Mystery Series

Nancy J. Parra (aka Nancy Coco & Nell Hampton): Wine Country Mystery Series

James Patterson: Women’s Murder Club Mystery Series

Joanne Pence: Angie Amalfi Mystery Series

Gillian Roberts: Howe & August Mystery Series

Lora Roberts: Liz Sullivan Mystery Series AND Bridget Montrose Mystery Series

Cindy Sample: Laurel McKay Mystery Series

Corinne Holt Sawyer: Benbow & Wingate Mystery Series

Michele Scott: Wine Lover’s Mystery Series AND Horse Lover’s Mystery Series

Dell Shannon (aka Elizabeth Linington & Leslie Egan): Luis Mendoza Mystery Series

Patricia Smiley: Tucker Sinclair Mystery Series

Julie Smith: Rebecca Schwartz Mystery Series AND Paul McDonald Mystery Series

Shirley Tallman (aka Erin Ross): Sarah Woolson Mystery Series

Elizabeth Atwood Taylor: Maggie Elliott Mystery Series

Terri Thayer: Quilting Mystery Series

Diane Vallere: Material Witness Mystery Series

Ayelet Waldman: Mommy Track Mystery Series

Joseph Wambaugh: Hollywood Station Mystery Series

Penny Warner: Party Planning Mytery Series AND Connor Westphal Mystery Series

Betty Webb: Gunn Zoo Mystery Series

Kirsten Weiss: Pie Town Mystery Series, Perfectly Proper Paranormal Museum Mystery Series, Doyle Mystery Series, Witches of Doyle Mystery Series, AND Riga Hayworth Mystery Series

Melinda Wells (Linda Palmer): Della Cooks Mystery Series

Don Yarber: Kip Yardley Mystery Series

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.♦

Yikes! They Did It Again!!!

Ditto what the title of this entry says, only DOUBLE YIKES!!!

First, let me say that I really am enjoying the Friday night television show Blue Bloods. I think that the producers were particularly clever in getting both Tom Selleck and Donnie Wahlberg to star in the series… Both of them are actors who appeal to the two demographic age slots that control the television remotes. (Anyway, that’s what I am thinking… 40+year olds probably remember Selleck from all of his roles, and 40- year olds probably identify with Wahlberg. So, touché, job well done to the casting department!)

I don’t want to complain (AGAIN!!!) about this one detail in “cop shows” that really grinds at me… but…. last night’s episode of Blue Bloods showed yet another television scene of what a SWAT team and two detectives looks like. (Actually, I hope that’s not what it looks like!!!)

If any of you watched the show and were not bothered by the SWAT team scene>>> Please stop reading this entry! I don’t want to put this little kernel into your  thoughts when seeing a SWAT team scene in the future!

Yes, there we have it>>>> The SWAT team with all of their protective gear on, helmets, heavy body armor, all parts of their body covered with some type of protective gear… except for their faces, so that they could actually see what they were doing.  And, here come the stars of the show…with their tight-fitting, little body “bib” gear on… and of course, the female main character has her long hair flowing in the breeze… No helmets for these two detectives, as they join in the gun firing.

You may wonder about someone (me!) who is so “annoyed” by this type of UNreality on a cop show. I have to admit, I also wonder why something so small (like the two stars’ lack of helmets and protective gear) but this type of thing gets me wondering about the little “glitch”… while I should just be enjoying the show. I mean, I know it’s not a true life event, but really, can’t the producers/directors of these shows at least try to seem a little more real?

Or, is it in the “stars” contracts that at no time should their heads not be visible?

Kate Grilley, Kate Borden, and Sharon Kahn… "Mysteries" Regarding These Cozy Mystery Authors

I have two new questions that were recently posted as comments. I wonder if any of you can help us with these mysteries:

Virgie wrote:

“I’ve read Kate Grilley Mysteries and the Kate Borden mysteries but cannot find any of the books she wrote about buying a house in England. Anyone know which ones I’m looking for?”

Sorry, Virgie, I cannot find anything about Kate Grilley (aka Kate Borden) writing another series, but hopefully a Cozy Mystery site reader knows something…

Susan wrote:

“Does anyone know what happened to author Sharon Kahn? She was writing a delightful series, started with Fax Me A Bagel, about Ruby, the Rabbi’s wife. Haven’t heard about anything from her in ages.”

I tried to do a Google search for Sharon Kahn, and came up empty on this question, also. I visited Sharon Kahn’s website, and I don’t think that it has been updated since 2002. I could not find the last two books in her series (Which Big Giver Stole the Chopped Liver?    ’04 and Out of the Frying Pan, into the Choir    ’06) on her site, and some books are referred to as “New” in 2002.

Please post a comment if you have some information for Virgie or Susan. Thanks!

Playing Catch-Up with Camille Minichino… aka Gearing Up for My Holiday Cozy Mystery Reading…

“I am currently reading Joanne Fluke’s Apple Turnover Murder (re-reading it to get my gear up for her next Christmas themed murder book.)”

Anita posted this comment on September 26, 2010. Well, Anita, I am doing the very same thing. I am gearing up for my holiday theme mysteries, and in doing so, I am finally reading some of the books that I have been “saving” for just this time of year. And by this I don’t mean that I am actually reading holiday-theme Cozies, but rather, I am reading the books that come before them… in preparation for the actual holiday Cozies.

As some of you may know, I am a huge fan of Camille Minichino‘s Periodic Table Mystery Series. The thing that first piqued my interest for this series is that it has a really strong, VERY smart woman as the main sleuth.

Gloria Lamerino (the sleuth) is a physicist who returns to her home town near Boston. Gloria, a consultant, works closely (yes, by this I mean she is employed… and also develops a romantic relationship) with one of the police detectives. Gloria’s main purpose is to explain the scientific data that the police need to know when some of their cases involve >>> scientific data. Of course, since Gloria is wonderful example of a Cozy Mystery sleuth… she doesn’t stop at just helping the police with the scientific details!

The Helium Murder (the second book in the series) is set during the Christmas season, as is The Oxygen Murder (the last book in the series.) But, since I only read Christmas themed books during the holiday season, I knew that I wouldn’t be reading this particular Cozy Mystery until December. And, since I was just about “caught-up” with Gloria’s exploits, and didn’t want that much time to lapse between the books in the series, I decided I wouldn’t read the preceding book in the series (The Nitrogen Murder) until now.

Long story, made even longer than I could have imagined: I am currently beginning The Nitrogen Murder so that I will “be ready” for The Oxygen Murder‘s Christmas themed setting. And, I am truly looking forward to both Cozies!

Anita, I know exactly what you mean!

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