The Cozy Mystery List Blog

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

Is it Me, or Are Cozy Mystery Authors Leaving Their Established Series?

I was doing some research yesterday to update some of the authors on the site, when I came across this news:

Hailey Lind is leaving her established Art Lover’s Mystery Series behind, and will be writing a new series that features a “paranormal theme.” Apparently, the fact that the first novel (Feint of Art) in the Art Lover’s Mystery Series was a finalist for the Best First Novel of the prestigious Malice Domestic Agatha Award in 2006 was not enough to “maintain” (my word!) the series. And, this does NOT appear to be her (as in “their” since Hailey Lind is a pseudonym for a sisters writing duo) choice. She (as in “they”) had the fourth novel almost ready to go…. But, thanks to the publisher$, that will not be “a go”…..

In doing this Cozy Mystery Site, I have noticed that I have been changing more and more authors’ main mystery series. I wonder if that is because the authors make the choice of starting a fresh series, or if publishers force them to change to a new series. Are there themes that seem to be more popular these days?

Two of my very favorite authors seem to have dropped their established mystery series recently…

Charlaine Harris: Lily Bard Shakespeare Mystery Series (last mystery dated 2001) and Aurora Teagarden Mystery Series (last mystery dated 2003)… New Series: Southern Vampire Mystery Series (started 2001) and Harper Connelly (started 2005)

Kathy Hogan Trochek: Julia Callahan Garrity Mystery Series (last mystery dated 2000)… new series (written as Mary Kay Andrews): Weezie and Bebe Mystery Series (started 2003)

And, now we can add Hailey Lind!

There is some good news for Hailey Lind fans out there. Half of the Hailey Lind duo will be writing under a new pseudonym: Juliet Blackwell. She will be writing two new series: Secondhand Spirits and If Walls Could Talk.

Secondhand Spirits will be a paranormal mystery series which features a witch who lives in San Francisco and manages a vintage clothing shop. If Walls Could Talk features a woman who used to be an anthropologist, but who switches her career field to general contractor of historic houses in the San Francisco area.

Don’t get me wrong… I’m all for authors who decide that they should finish up a series if it is no longer fresh. If an author feels like he/she is simply “calling it in” while writing their series, I say: Quit churning them out, start something new. (More on that in my next blog…)

Maggie Barbieri, Georgette Heyer, M. M. Kaye, & Margaret Yorke : Four Newly Recommended Authors to the Cozy Site…

I’ll bet that the people who recommended the following four mystery authors wondered what was taking me so long to get them posted! They are actually the four last authors who I have prepared, but I have a long list of other authors to do. I try to post the authors as I get them. (I also try to get several done so that I have a fountain to draw from, but this is it!)

Maggie Barbieri: Murder 101 Mystery Series… Stars Alison Bergeron, a  divorced professor who sleuths around with a New York City homicide detective.

Georgette Heyer: Superintendent Hannasyde Mystery Series… These books from Great Britain were written by Heyer in the 1930s through 1950s.

M. M. Kaye  (Mary Margaret Kaye): Death in ***** Mystery Series… The books in this series take place in far away places. (She also wrote The Far Pavilions.)

Margaret Yorke: Dr. Patrick Grant Mystery Series… This doctor is a professor at Oxford.

Twist, Turns, Red Herrings, and… New Clues?!?

So, you say you’re a cozy mystery reader. As someone who enjoys cozy mysteries, then I take it for granted that you enjoy the twist and turns that most cozy mystery authors provide in their mysteries. And, I also assume that you enjoy making your way through all of the red herrings, discarding those you don’t need and keeping only the important facts. Let’s face it, that’s part of the fun!

BUT>>> Do you enjoy getting important facts that help solve the mystery at the very end of the novel, when the culprit is being announced?!? I don’t! And, when that happens while I am reading a mystery, I quickly discard that particular author from my personal list of favorites. I simply find that a cheap shot, and I don’t care for it!

I hate it when I am reading a cozy mystery and two or more of the characters go off to discuss something that is really important to them, without letting me know about the facts. This is usually accomplished with such dialogue as:

“Miffy told Biffy about what she had seen, and they decided they couldn’t tell anyone about ‘IT’ since they would be in grave danger.”

OR>>> “Ziffy and Jiffy went into the kitchen and could not believe it when they compared notes and found that the murderer had left the glasses (with fingerprints) by the victim.”

OR>>> “Diffy could simply not believe her ears when she accidentally picked up the phone to hear the speaker acknowledge being at the dock.”

I don’t know why this irritates me so much. I guess it’s because I like to solve the mystery along with the sleuth, and don’t like to have important clues (that the sleuth is aware of) kept from me.

Unfortunately, I have found that this happens a lot more often than I would have guessed. I don’t mind if two characters go off and discuss all of the details that have been presented to the readers. I truly don’t need for the author to have to itemize all of the facts. Just don’t spring any new ones on me at the very end of the novel!

Cozy Mystery House Keepers, Cleaners, Maid Services, Laundromats…

OK, I know that most of us don’t like this particular subject matter… Who likes to clean? Isn’t it nice that it is possible to pay someone to do the cleaning for you? Not everyone has a cleaning service, but I am guessing that all of us would like one. (I know that I would love to have someone who came in and did all of the chores I don’t particularly like doing… We can all dream, though, can’t we?!?)

Here is a list of sleuths who work in the cleaning arena:

Christy Barritt: Squeaky Clean Mystery Series… Gabby St. Claire has almost completed her college degree in forensic science. Since she is the owner of a crime scene cleaning service, she has opportunities to look at the evidence first-hand.

C.C. Benison: Her Majesty Investigates Mystery Series… Jane Bee is a Canadian housemaid who works at Buckingham Palace in London, and sleuths with Her Majesty.

Emily Brightwell: Mrs. Jeffries Mystery Series… Mrs. Jeffries works as the housekeeper for Inspector Witherspoon in Victorian London.

Barry S. Brown: Mrs. Hudson of Baker Street Mystery Series… Yes, the housekeeper of Sherlock Holmes!

Fiona Buckley: Ursula Blanchard Mystery Series… In this historical mystery series, Ursula happens to be a Lady-in-Waiting for Queen Elizabeth I.

Susanna Calkins: Lucy Campion Mystery Series… Lucy is a chambermaid in 17th century London.

Dorothy Cannell: Florence Norris Mystery Series… Florence is the housekeeper of the Stodmarch family in their country house during the 1930s.

Barbara Colley: Charlotte LaRue Mystery Series… Charlotte runs a maid service in New Orleans and is kept busy cleaning and solving.

Jeanne M. Dams: Hilda Johansson Mystery Series… In this historical mystery series, Hilda moves from Sweden and becomes a maid in Indiana during the early 1900s.

Celina Grace: Miss Hart and Miss Hunter Investigate Mystery Series  – Set in the 1930s and features the head kitchen maid and the lady’s maid at an estate.

Charlaine Harris: Lily Bard Mystery Series… Lily is a house cleaner who works in different houses while sleuthing in Shakespeare, Arkansas.

Susan S. James: Solace Glen Mystery Series… Flip (Felicity Ann) Paxton is a cleaning lady in Maryland who sleuths while cleaning.

Dolores Johnson: Mandy Dyer Mystery Series… Mandy owns a dry cleaning business in Denver.

Kate Kingsbury: WW II Manor House Mystery Series… Lady Elizabeth Compton owns the manor and is in charge of making sure that all of the housekeeping is done, while she solves mysteries.

Barbara Neely: Blanche White Mystery Series: Blanche is a housekeeper in North Carolina.

Suzanne Price: Grime Solvers Mystery Series… Sky Taylor is the cleaning lady to book if you have a mystery that needs to be solved.

Ann Purser: Days of the Week Mystery Series… Lois Meade cleans houses in her English village every day of the week.

Ann Purser: Lois Meade Mystery Series… Lois owns a cleaning service and solves mysteries in her English Village.

Cyndy Salzman: Friday Afternoon Club Mystery Series… a group of stay-at-home mothers who are good friends ar also great sleuths! (Salzmann bases her novels on her Christian faith.)

Sharon Short: Stain-Busting Mystery Series… Josie Toadfern owns a laundromat in Ohio and sleuths between the cycles.

Kathy Hogan Trocheck: Julia Callahan Garrity Mystery Series… Julia owns the House Mouse cleaning service in Atlanta, and she does a great job ferreting out solutions to mysteries.

If there are any other Cozy Mystery Authors from the site who you think belong on this list, please let me know.

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