The Cozy Mystery List Blog

So, for the second time, I’m writing about a Kate Collins’ series in my posts about the most popular and recommended Cozy Mystery series. Last time (five years ago — time flying is more than an old cliche!), I wrote about her Flower Shop Mystery Series, more specifically, the first book in that series, Mum’s the Word. You can read that post if you click here. As you might guess, I liked her earlier series quite a lot. Many other readers did too — enough that several books from that series were made into mystery movies shown on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries channel. (This was back when that channel showed a decent selection of original mystery movies.)

Anyway, enough about the past. This time I am writing about Kate Collins’ Goddess of Green St. Mysteries. The first book in the series is Statue of Limitations. Athena Spencer is the sleuth. She is a young(ish) single mother who has recently been divorced and has lost her job with a big city newspaper. So, she has returned to her small-town roots where her big Greek family runs both a diner and a garden center.

She works at the garden center but also spends a lot of time at the diner run by her grandparents in the town’s Little Greece section of the small town of Sequoia picturesquely set on Lake Michigan. She also writes, anonymously, a blog that features in a slightly veiled fashion her family.

The three blocks or so of Little Greece are threatened with destruction by the rich family in the town who presumably owns or controls that property. And, a statue that her grandfather bought from the rich family has brought an attractive, mysterious stranger to town searching for the authenticity and origin of the ancient statue. 

Before you know it, a murder has occurred. And the earlier death of the older member of the wealthy family is also considered suspicious. Of course, Athena is directly involved in trying to stop the demolition of Little Greece. She also gets involved in trying to solve the mystery of the two murders because the handsome stranger who Athena has just met (and seems more than a bit smitten by) is considered the prime suspect by the police.

Athena’s official boyfriend — formerly a lawyer, but now working as a law clerk for some reason — is also involved in the mystery — as are most of the people in the town it seems. This is truly a small tourist town setting, and it is quite worthy of being considered a Cozy Mystery.

Kate Collins’ is a fine writer who brings Athena and her big Greek family to life. This series already has three books, and I am looking forward to reading the other two. If you are looking for a Cozy series that has a lot of heart, look no further than the Goddess of Green St. Mysteries.

If you’re interested in seeing other most recommended or popular Cozy Mystery authors/series, please visit the Most Popular & Recommended Cozy Mystery Series page on my site.