The Cozy Mystery List Blog

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

Author Lynne Murray's Josephine Fuller Series…

Hmmm… I have enjoyed Josephine Fuller’s exploits for… I guess it would be fair to say… over a decade. The author of the Josephine Fuller Series is Lynne Murray, and I have to say, the first four books of the series have given me a lot of reading enjoyment. Josephine is quite different than most of the sleuths we, the cozy readers, are used to. You see, Josephine is a full-figured woman who is OK with her weight… In a world that (UNFORTUNATELY!!!) judges women by their size/shape, it’s refreshing to read a book where the heroine is full-figured and not ashamed of it….

I had read somewhere that Murray was going to be putting out the fifth book of the series (A King-Sized Coffin) a while ago. Her fourth Josephine Fuller novel (A Ton of Trouble) was published in 2002, so I have been waiting quite a while for the fifth book to hit the shelves.  After repeatedly seeking out third-party information about the whereabouts of her new novel, I finally went to her personal blog and asked when it was scheduled to be published.

You cannot imagine my surprise at finding out that the novel is not going to be published! I am so disappointed… and can imagine that all of you who enjoy her books as much as I do, are disappointed, too. But, just in case, I am leaving the title up on my Lynne Murray page… One can always hope!

We Seem to be Watching "All Things Britannia!"

It isn’t very often that my husband and I have both of our adult children at home at the same time. When they are both here, we enjoy getting out our favorite DVDs to watch as a family…. and, upon looking at our habits, I see that almost everything we watch as a family is British!

During their winter break this year, the four of us managed to watch some pretty phenomenal shows. (At least I think that they are of that quality!) We just finished watching Jeremy Brett (as Sherlock Holmes) roaming the moors in search of The Hound of the Baskervilles. A few days ago we were treated to Derek Jacobi (as Brother Cadfael) as his brother monks plowed up The Potter’s Field.

Unfortunately, our son has opted out of watching Jemma Redgrave (as Doctor Bramwell) trudge her way to and from The Thrift. But, the rest of us have been thoroughly enjoying the exploits of Dr. Bramwell, while my son is "out and about" with his friends.

Melissa Glazer, Cricket McRae, Kathryn R. Wall…. New Mystery Authors on the Site

 I am trying to get something done that I thought for sure that I would have done by the end of 2007. Several readers of the site have told me about authors I didn’t know about, who look like authors we (cozy mystery readers) might enjoy. Unfortunately, I still have fourteen authors on my "To Do Next" list, nine authors on my "To Do After To Do Next" list, and thirty eight "Other Authors" to do after I finish the previous two categories! Lots of authors!!!

Of course, the above lists don’t take into account the new authors who you all might recommend for the site at a later time… But, I today I was able to look up the following three authors who look like a lot of fun:

Melissa Glazer‘s Fire at Will pottery shop is the setting for her Clay & Crime Mystery Series. 

Cricket McRae‘s Homecrafting Mystery Series‘ main character is Sophie Mae Reynolds, who happens to be a soap-maker/sleuth.

 Kathryn R. Wall writes the Bay Tanner Mystery Series which is set in the Hilton Head Island area. Bay is a financial planner…

Isaac Asimov…. Author of Mystery Books (!?!?)

A reader of the Cozy Mystery site just wrote to me with a suggested author who I really hadn’t thought about adding to the site. Isaac Asimov is so well known for his science fiction books that whenever I see his name on a mystery book list of any sort, I am surprised.

I remember seeing many of the Asimov’s science fiction novels lying around the house throughout the years. My son has a particular interest in science fiction, and Asimov is one of the great SciFi authors of all time. Because I am used to seeing his science fiction novels, I am always surprised when reminded that he also wrote mysteries (among other book genres!)

When I was researching Asimov for the little blurp that I try to add on the alphabetized authors pages, I was not surprised to see that Asimov was a member of the Mensa International, along with being a biochemistry professor. I already knew that he was an exceptionally gifted man. But, while reading Charlotte MacLeod’s Misteltoe Mysteries this season, I was surprised to see Asimov’s "Ho! Ho! Ho!" listed as one of the stories included in the book… even though I have seen his name on the table of contents of several mystery anthologies. It’s funny how we are conditioned to expect (and accept) certain things…

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