The Cozy Mystery List Blog

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

Updating Author Lists, Authors by Profession

I have been trying to update my authors’ chronological lists these past few days, and I am also currently trying to sort "my authors" by their main character’s professions. I know that there are already many different sites that have the professions of the main characters already sorted out, but I just decided that I wanted to see what I came up with.  So far, I have a whole lot of professions… there are a lot of characters who are librarians, culinary specialists such as chefs, restaurant owners, caterers, and bakery owners. There are journalist, housewives, and teachers.

But, there are also some very nontraditional professions…  It seems like crafts of all sorts are starting to become very popular in cozy mysteries …  We have knitters, cardmakers, gourd artists, needlecrafters, quilters, soapmakers, candlemakers, beaders, and even milliners!

And, if you are trying to find a way to combine your love for gardening and cozies… you are in luck! We have herbalists, horticulturist, and gardeners of all types! If you love the sight of green grass… but not to tend/nurture it… rather to play on it…. we even have golfing cozies….

If you’re thinking of getting your hair cut…. but not quite sure what book to take with you to the salon…. well, there are even cozies that involve hair stylist with a penchant for solving crimes.

Are you working on your family tree, but want to take a break and read a cozy or two? Well, we have genealogy cozies that will take your mind off of your family searches…

Who doesn’t enjoy a seasonal cozy mystery… October is almost here, and that marks the starting time for Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, followed of course, by Valentine’s…. right through to Easter…. I’m sure that by now you are aware of the holiday theme mysteries…

Now that I am finishing up on this task, I will start blogging about some of the cozy professions that "my authors" have… I know that I blogged on the Cat Mysteries and the Dog Mysteries not too long ago… but did you know that there are also at least two birdwatcher series? Some of the main mystery characters’ professions might not surprise you, but there are a few that just might! 

Anne George – Southern Sisters Cozy Mystery Series

I posed a question to myself the other day… If I was to try to convince a non-cozy "addict" (I’m afraid that the word "addict" does indeed describe some of us!) that the cozy mystery genre is worth pursuing, what would I do? Hmmm… I could give the person the definition of a cozy mystery novel and then try to convince the person that everyone who tries one goes back for another… sort of like potato chips. OR, I could try to liken cozy mystery books to books that the person had more than likely read. OR, I could pay the person a large amount of money to make it worth his/her while to read a cozy mystery novel, knowing that, again, the analogy with the potato chips. OR, I could give the person the first novel from Anne George‘s Southern Sisters cozy mystery series.

Now, I know that a lot of people prefer the ve-dy British types of cozy mystery series, and a lot of people prefer the cozy mystery series that feature… oh, say an older spinster aunt-type, or an unmarried, cerebral bachelor-type. But, if you haven’t yet tried "Murder on a Girls’ Night Out" (#1 in the series) then you should reserve your comments!

I read the first of the eight books of Anne George’s series as a monthly pick for one of my reading groups… I think it was the (now defunct) Mystery in the Morning… It was the chosen book of the month for all of us to read.

I might have "gone into" the book thinking… hmmm… another southern cozy… just what I need! Well, let me tell you, it was just what I needed! I cannot say enough good things about the Southern Sisters series of books.

The books feature Patricia Anne "Mouse" Hollowell, and Mary Alice "Sister" Crane. You can probably tell which one of the sisters is the ex-teacher and which one is the country western tavern owner…by their nicknames… If you guessed that "Mouse" didn’t own the tavern, you are right!

These two sisters actually talk and act like sisters. There is nothing false about their relationship… and, as a sister to my sister, I can vouch for that! Anne George based Mary Alice’s character on her cousin, and Anne shared the fact that she had been a school teacher with Patricia’s character… Hmmm….

The mysteries the two sisters solve involve a whole lot of fun for the reader, and the characters really are three dimensional, not flat cardboard personalities that lay flat on the paper. 

The next book in the series, Murder on a Bad Hair Day ( #2) continues with the fun… as do the rest of the books:
Murder Runs in the Family (#3)
Murder Makes Waves (#4)
Murder Gets a Life (#5)
Murder Murder Shoots the Bull (#6)
Murder Carries a Torch (#7)
Murder Boogies with Elvis (#8)

As I sit here typing this blog, I am smiling to myself as I remember how much enjoyment I got when I read these books. Also, I am thinking about a very good friend of mine who absolutely loves Anne George’s books. This particular friend found out that Anne George had been nominated for a Pulitzer for one of her poetry books. My friend wrote to Anne George and asked her where the book was available to buy. The very gracious Ms. George lost no time in sending my friend a signed copy of the particular poetry book. So, my friend and I found out that "Mouse" and Ms. George had more than just being school teachers in common… they were both very caring and generous.

Sudoku Mystery Series…

My daughter and I recently took a bus tour trip throughout the northeastern part of the US into Canada. We decided that neither of us wanted to drive so we would let the bus driver do the driving for us, while we enjoyed the beautiful views. (And, let the tour director worry about all of the details that one encounters on the trip… although, at the time we booked, we didn’t know that the tour director was going to be one of those annoying “encounters on the trip!”)

Anyway… back to the purpose of this blog…

I thought that I had packed absolutely everything I needed for the trip… until I noticed a fellow tour passenger enjoying his Sudoku puzzles. Drat! I had all of my books… both my audio and my “real” …. but I hadn’t packed my Sudoko books. I tried (unsuccessfully) to find one that I could actually see without having to put on my reading glasses so that I could still enjoy the scenery, without having to take off/put on those pesky reading lenses. I failed in my quest. (You probably can tell that I am a Sudoku fan, but not an avid Sudoku champ… since I lacked the foresight to bring along one of my two copies with extra large print.)

Imagine my (very pleasant) surprise this past weekend while I was trying to update my site’s authors’ lists…  There are now two Sudoku mystery series for the Sudoku enthusiasts amongst us…and I consider myself one of those… although not at the champ level!

Fans of Shelley Freydont’s Lindy Haggerty series will be delighted to know that she is now writing a second series… featuring Katie McDonald, a Sudoku champ…. The Sudoku Murder is the first book in this mystery series with a Sudoku theme.

Kaye Morgan writes the Sudoku Mystery Series which features Liza Kelly, the Sudoku creator for her Oregon newspaper. Death by Sudoku is the first in the series, and Murder by Numbers (the second book in the series) is scheduled to come out in ’08

Just in case you don’t know what Sudoku is, here is a Sudoku website that I enjoy using from time to time… It’s called websudoku.com, and it has different  levels. I actually started playing Sudoku on this site.

***To access more Cozy Mysteries by Theme click on this link.***

Holiday Theme Mysteries… Some Christmas Theme Mysteries & a Halloween Theme Mystery

I went to my veterinarian’s office the other day to pick up some antibiotics for our dog (again!), and I was a little startled to see their Halloween decorations already up on the shelves intermixed with various types of pet shampoos and flea/tick tablets. Although I really liked their new decorations, I wondered what the heck they were doing already displayed…. in August.

Some of you might wonder why the heck I’m already talking about Halloween and Christmas mysteries. (I haven’t yet found any Thanksgiving mysteries… or Easter, which of course is less than a year away!) But the bird who gets the worm usually is an early one….

You cannot imagine how excited (and yes, that is the correct adjective for it!) I was to find some of my very own favorite mystery authors putting out new holiday books. So far, these are the ones I have found  and added to my holiday mystery lists… only one in the Halloween Mystery list, but several in the Christmas Mystery book list.)

I am going to do this alphabetically…. and since C (as in Christmas) comes before H (you know the drill!)… here goes:

New Christmas Mystery Books:
Kissing Christmas Goodbye by M. C. Beaton (an Agatha Raisin novel)

A Carol for a Corpse by Claudia Bishop (an/a Hemlock Falls novel)

Mrs. Jeffries and the Feast of Stephen by Emily Brightwell (a Mrs. Jeffries novel)

Peppermint Twisted by Sammi Carter (a Candy Shop Mystery novel)

Sweet Revenge by Diane Mott Davidson (a Goldy Bear Catering novel)

Candy Cane Murders by Joanne Fluke (A Hannah Swensen Cookie Jar novella), Leslie Meier (a Lucy Stone novella), & Laura Levine (a Jaine Austen novella)

Shrouds of Holly by Kate Kingsbury (a Pennyfoot Hotel novel)

New Halloween Mystery Book:
Murder by the Slice by Livia J. Washburn (a Fresh-Baked Mystery novel)

I hope you are as excited by some of these holiday mystery books as I am!

***To access more Cozy Mysteries by Theme click on this link.***

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