The Cozy Mystery List Blog

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

Win a (Free) Miniature Reading/Crime Scene!

I wrote about a new author (to me!) who I am now reading: Camille Minichino (who also writes under the pseudonym Margaret Grace) and was very surprised to get a “comment” reply offering a miniature reading/crime scene drawing for us to enter. For those of you who are already Minichino’s fans, you probably know that she makes miniatures as a hobby. So, not only is she a physicists with her Ph.D. from Fordham University, and a Cozy Mystery author, but she also is a miniaturist.

When you visit Minichino’s site, be sure you click on the “gallery” link at the bottom. You will be very impressed by her library of miniatures… I certainly am! They are truly wonderful, tiny/little scenes.

I just want to be sure that you all don’t miss out on this very generous offer… And, since I am never sure if people read all of the comments posted (I certainly do!), here is a portion of her comment:

“If it’s not too intrusive here, I’d like to offer a couple of presents to readers of this blog: a miniature reading/crime scene. Just use DANNA’S LIST as the subject if you’re interested, and send to camille@minichino.com by June 3. I’ll draw a name soon after. (If Danna is among the entries, I’ll send one to her separately!) I promise there will be NO other follow-up except notice of the next book if you choose.

For samples of scenes I’ve donated to auctions and shipped to other drawing winners, you can visit the gallery at dollhousemysteries.com. (This link no longer works.)

It’s always a great honor to hear from readers. Thanks for the chance to meet you this way.

Best, Camille/Margaret”

As a Cozy Mystery reader, I think that a miniature reading/crime scene would be a great addition to my home!  Good luck!

2008 Agatha Award Winners (OR Should That Be 2009 Agatha Awards ?)

Here are the 2008 Agatha Awards that were given out at the Malice Domestic convention this past weekend. I have gone ahead and included the list from 2007 also… ss a sort of reminder of all of the great Cozy Mystery authors who have recently been nominated. (Not to worry, though… I have the list of all of the winners and nominees from many years on the site!) All of the nominated authors are winners in my book!

BEST NOVEL

 2008: The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny (Winner)

Six Geese A-Slaying by Donna Andrews

A Royal Pain by Rhys Bowen

Buckingham Palace Gardens by Anne Perry

I Shall Not Want by Julia Spencer-Fleming

2007: A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny  (Winner)

The Penguin Who Knew Too Much by Donna Andrews

Her Royal Spyness by Rhys Bowen

Hard Row by Margaret Maron

Murder with Reservations by Elaine Viets

BEST FIRST NOVEL

2008: Death of a Cozy Writer by G.M. Malliet (Winner)

Through a Glass, Deadly by Sarah Atwell 

The Diva Runs Out of Thyme by Krista Davis

Pushing Up Daisies by Rosemary Harris

Paper, Scissors, Death by Joanna Campbell Slan

2007: Prime Time by Hank Phillipi Ryan (Winner)

A Beautiful Blue Death by Charles Finch

A Real Basket Case by Beth Groundwater

Silent In The Grave by Deanna Raybourn

BEST SHORT STORY

2008: The Night Things Changed by Dana Cameron (Winner) (from Wolfsbane and Mistletoe)

Killing Time by Jane Cleland

Dangerous Crossing by Carla Coupe

Skull & Cross-Examinations by Toni L.P. Kelner

A Nice Old Guy by Nancy Pickard

2007: A Rat’s Tale by Donna Andrews (Winner)

Please Watch Your Step by Rhys Bowen

Casino Gamble by Nan Higginson

Popping Round To The Post by Peter Lovesey

Death Will Clean Your Closet by Elizabeth Zelvin

BEST NON-FICTION

2008: How to Write Killer Historical Mysteries by Kathy Lynn Emerson  (Winner)

African American Mystery Writers: A Historical & Thematic Study by Frankie Y. Bailey

Anthony Boucher, A Bibliography by Jeff Marks

Edgar Allan Poe: An Illustrated Companion to His Tell-Tale Stories by Dr. Harry Lee Poe

The Suspicions of Mr. Whitcher, or The Murder at Road Hill House by Kate Summerscale

2007: Arthur Conan Doyle: A Life In Letters by Charles Foley, Jon Lellenberg, & Daniel Stashower  (Winner)

The Official Nancy Drew Handbook by Penny Warner

BEST CHILDREN/YOUNG ADULT

2008:  The Crossroads by Chris Grabenstein (Winner)

Into the Dark by Peter Abrahams

A Thief in the Theater (A Kit Mystery) by Sarah Masters Buckey

The Great Circus Train Robbery by Nancy Means Wright

2007: A Light in the Cellar by Sarah Masters Buckey (Winner)

Bravo Zulu, Samantha! by Kathleen Benner Duble

Cover-Up: Mystery at The Super Bowl by John Feinstein

The Falconer’s Knot by Mary Hoffman Bloomsbury

Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos by R. L. LaFevers

MALICE DOMESTIC AWARDS

2008: Lifetime Achievement: Anne Perry

♦For more Mystery Book Awards, see main page.♦

Camille Minichino / Margaret Grace … One & the Same!

Yes, that’s right… Camille Minichino (aka Margaret Grace) is my latest Cozy find… My friend (from my last blog entry) did not steer me wrong! (Thank you, Cora!)

I just finished Murder in Miniature (the first in Grace’s Miniature Mystery Series) and I am currently reading The Hydrogen Murder (the first in her Periodic Table Mystery Series), which gives me nine more cozies to look forward to reading. I love discovering new authors who I can play “catch-up” with, since that leaves me with a bounty of books to enjoy before having to wait (+/-) a year for her next mystery.

Camille Minichino writes the way I think… She has a logical sequence to her story lines. Just when I find myself wondering about something, so do her main characters! I love that! She doesn’t rely on what I call the “idiot plot” which has the main character finding out a bit of information and keeping it from the reader until the very last page of the book. (I hate that!) I love the fact that Minichino lets us play along with her main characters as they sleuth through the given mysteries.

I love the small town feeling in both of her cozy mystery series. (Of course, only having read the first in her Grace series and not being finished with the first in her Minichino series, I can’t vouch for the following books’ locations.) Everyone knows everyone, they have histories that have been shared at one point in their lives.

I love all of her characters so far. Love the fact that the author hasn’t had to “get my attention” with unnecessary swearing… Love the fact that the heroines/sleuths in both series know what they want out of life, and even though they are retired,they have very full lives, which don’t consist of only sleuthing.

As I said at the beginning of this entry… I am always excited about finding a new Cozy author to follow. I’m glad my friend told me about her, and I’m glad Minichino / Grace is writing such good Cozies!

A Favorite New Cozy Author for Me…

I have over a hundred books in my TBR book shelf. These are books I have acquired over several years – books that I am looking forward to reading. All of them are books by many of my favorite authors, so they are “tried and true” books for me. I know that none of them will disappointment.

So, what would compel me to go out and buy three more books? And then, upon finishing the first in this author’s series go out and get eight more books in her other cozy series?!?

I have written about a good friend of mine who shares my taste in Cozy Mysteries several times before. We met over ten years ago, when both of us belonged to two different online mystery book groups. She recently told me about a Cozy Mystery author she has been reading AND enjoying a lot. My taste in Cozies is so similar to hers that I quickly ordered the first book in this author’s new series. Well, I just finished the first book, and her recommendation is greatly appreciated! I am now reading a second book by that author.

When I first started the Cozy Mystery site I only posted authors who I had read. That was a few years ago, and although there were quite a few authors on the site back then, it has grown a lot. (Thanks to Cozy site readers who have recommended so many authors for me to add.) So, I already had this particular author on the site… She had been recommended by several people. I used to try to keep up with reading the recommended authors… but I found that I just couldn’t. So, I slowly try new authors who look particularly interesting to me. (This author is one of those writers who I put on my list of authors to definitely try… but it would have taken me a while to get to her, as that list is rather long.) I am currently reading the first cozy in her other series.

Now I have over a hundred, PLUS nine new books in my TBR book shelf!

PS>>> I’m writing my Monday’s blog right now, in which I talk about my new Cozy Author…

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