The Cozy Mystery List Blog

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

Re-Trying an Old Favorite Author Who You Discarded…

negative nellieSo, a few months ago Angela gave me this great idea for an entry. I’m going to post her comment, and then my comment back. BUT I’d love to know what you ALL think.

Angela:

With current series, I have found that I have burned out on the series after a few books and I do wonder if I had spaced them out more if I would have been more tolerant of all the things that bugged me so much I decided to stop reading the series. But ultimately I figure there are so many books out there to discover and by dropping one series I just made room for another one that I will potentially enjoy so much more than the one I just dropped so either way I win. To take the question further, how many of us go back to a dropped series years later and find that we do like it?

My Answer:

Angela, I have a good friend who shares a lot of my favorite authors. She has persuaded me twice to go back to an author who I finally decided to drop. Both times, she was absolutely sure I was going to add these authors right back to my favorite authors lists. Nope! The same things that caused me to drop the authors kept me from enjoying them.

Good grief, now that I just re-read that answer of mine, I know I look like a “Negative Nellie” (I think that’s the expression, although I could be wrong…) When I wrote that answer, I had forgotten that one of my current favorite Cozy Mystery authors is someone who I tried reading way back in the early 2000s >>> who I put my “*****YUCK” next to. Now I read one of her Cozy Mystery books whenever I’m looking for a really good, light Cozy Mystery. She simply writes what I think of as a good, light, and enjoyable Cozy Mystery.

When I try to re-read an author who I previously enjoyed, and then moved to my “*****YUCK” list, I try to remain positive >>> since I know there were things I loved about this author before. However, that doesn’t always work! (Actually, it barely ever works for me!)

How about you? Do you ever re-try an author who you absolutely knew you didn’t like, and then find that you enjoy him/her? Or, once you put an author on your personal “*****YUCK” list, does he/she remain there forever? Do you even re-try him/her once you have sent him/her to your “don’t-want-to-see-you-again”list?

(Since I’m asking about authors who you don’t like, or at least didn’t like in the past, please do not name specific authors!)

Comments

  1. An interesting idea! I did read book one of a series early in the summer. I finished it, labeled it in my ” notes” as not interesting and then cancelled book two. I found the setting unpleasant and I didn’t care for the characters. Maybe in another time I will go back and read the second in the series to see if the series is appealing to me the second time around. Thanks for all you do Danna, your lists of authors and mysteries are fabulous.
    I am currently into Laura Childs Tea Shop mysteries, LOVE THEM!

    Reply

    • Paula, sounds like you made the right choice about cancelling book 2. I don’t think I’d try the second book either, or should I say ever! The setting is a big factor in my reading choices.

      (P.S. You’re welcome, and I’m glad you enjoy them!)

      Reply

      • When I find a new series, I figure the first book might be a bit as it might be the authors first book, so I will give the second a try to see if the writing gets better. There was one series…I fell in love with both the character and writing…on to the second book. A great read, so on to the third, made it through the 4th with difficulty. I cringe thinking about reading any more! 😀

        Reply

      • These books I guess aren’t really ‘discarded’ but only considered when favorites don’t have a new one out. Sometimes, just barely often enough to keep them in mind, I’ve bought another of them and been pleased with it, glad I bought it. Sometimes, it’s the setting that I like and influences me to get it. I particularly like New Orleans for a setting for instance. Hope this helps.
        BTW, one of my favorite authors writes another genre too so I keep an eye on that. (but having tried them I don’t buy them).

        Reply

    • Thank you Paula! I particularly like the cast in these books except for
      Delaine. She makes a luscious-easy to hate, Diva that is spoiled, selfish and a brat! But what is a mystery book without Angst? Delaine ramps up the Angst factor but has the wonderful other characters to make up for her! I hope you enjoy all the Tea Shop clan! I like Drayton, Timothy Neville and Burt Tidwell. Keep reading, Paula. I’ve been reading and enjoying Laura’s books for years and always get the new one!

      How did you like Sweet Tea Revenge?

      Rob

      Reply

      • Rob, I am only half way through of the series. Also reading Cackleberry series and have started the Scrapbook series. Ms Childs is a great writer. She is so on point with her characters. I do love the tea shop characters and admit Delaine is a “pip” as we would say. I personally would not be able to have her as a friend, too much drama, but she is perfect for the series. It is fun to discover new series which is why I am addicted to this site!

        Reply

        • How are you liking the Cackleberry series? I love both the Teashop & Scrapbook series, but both of those series characters seem much more sophisticated than what I’d imagine the Cackleberry characters to be, so somehow I never picked up that series but I’m thinking I really should. Do you find this series in any way similar to the other two or is it a totally different feeling?

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          • So i think i have to give the tea shop series another try. I have one book in german and that was not good. But could be it is a very bad translation. I will buy a english version. So much people here said its so good and i like tea and the setting. There have to be something in it 🙂

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          • I like the Tea Shop and the Cackleberry series better than the Scrapbook series. And then I like the Doll House series, but not the Element one. Yes, I know totally different author whose name temporarily escapes me.

            Reply

  2. I have a couple authors that I love, but have to take breaks from. I love the stories and the characters, but little irks build up. When I go back in a year or so, it’s fine. There are those, however, that I simply can’t go back and try again, mostly due to too much: romance, violence, language. This is not why I read my cozies.

    Reply

    • Jenny, it seems to me that recently, a lot of Cozy Mystery authors are trying to “push the envelope” >>> which is when I start thinking about some of the classic Cozy Mystery authors like Agatha Christie and Ngaio Marsh, and wonder if they would have ever included some of the “romance, violence, language” you mentioned in your comment. (NO, they wouldn’t have!)

      Reply

      • Agreed!

        They wrote ‘Mysteries’. Not Crime*, not Romance. (Well, Christie did, as Mary Westmacott, but she had the good sense / good taste to keep them seperate! Lol!)
        There may have been a relationship / courtship in the series (Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane, anyone?) but the focus was always on the puzzle.

        *Yes, imho, at least, there ‘is’ a difference between ‘mystery’ and ‘crime’ these days. The latter is the more violent / gory stuff rather than the cozies we all love. 🙂

        Reply

        • Gayle, if you go down to Ann Summerville‘s comment (dated August 9, 2014 at 8:41 am) she talks about this. (Ann is the author of the Lowenna Mystery Series as well as the Pecan Valley Mystery Series.) Since I’m not an author, I don’t know about this, although I do have an idea that this is what is going on…

          Reply

    • Jenny: I agree that certain facets shouldn’t be in a cozy, and according to the definition, are best not including them. But I agree about putting a book down, picking it up later and liking it! I know we aren’t supposed to list authors we don’t like and I won’t but I see others writing about authors we recommend trying. I love Krista Davis, and Roberta Isleib, Maggie Sefton. None of them have ever written a book I didn’t like and want to read others by them.

      See what you think of those authors. Avery Aames and Ellery Adams are great and they, (like Maggie, and Roberta) include recipes that I’ve not only tried but liked and shared.

      Rob

      Reply

  3. Oh, such a good question! After I read it, I looked through my author/book binder. I guess I’ll have to join your “Negative Nellie” group because I just can’t bring myself to go back to a series that for whatever reason turned me off. Ex: I followed one series that I absolutely loved–a definite auto-buy for me. Then the author (who truly writes a really good mystery) took the series in another direction–the author added a paranormal twist that was so not necessary. Now, it isn’t that I don’t like a little paranormal–Some examples: I enjoy the Pepper Martin series by Casey Daniels; I love everything Heather Webber/Heather Blake writes; I like the Haunted Home Renovation series by Juliet Blackwell. However, I think changing the premise of a series so drastically is what turns me off. Another favorite author did the same thing. He/she changed the personalities of the lead characters over the course of a couple of books (and not in a good, let’s grow kind of way) and that was it for me. So…I guess this is my long-winded way of saying that up to this point, once an author makes my YUCK list, he/she stays there. BUT…is it OK if I add “Never say never”?

    Reply

    • I agree, LInda! I am the same way with the Cozies that I can’t return to and I keep a file. You gals and guys are spot on with keeping track of books and authors that turned me off and I do that now! Great way to keep track of and recommend great authors and series as well.

      Rob

      Reply

      • Rob, I think it’s a great idea, too. For years I just annotated that I didn’t like the author, but didn’t say if it was the characters, setting, mystery, or the actual writing. I’m sorry I didn’t start marking down why a whole lot sooner!

        Reply

    • Linda: of course! That’s the best part of being a woman. We are allowed (permitted, encouraged, supported) to change our minds!

      It’s practically an Amendment ( I don’t know what Bill it would fall under-unless it is the First)!

      Have a great weekend.
      Rob

      Reply

        • Linda: It’s almost over and then Monday descends and we are about the craziness once again. Good things we have books to keep us relatively sane, (or insane-if we’re b-ing about them)!

          Have you tried Ellery Adams or Avery Aames? I can recommend both.
          They are foodie girls and include recipes that are wonderful (I’ve tried some) as well as getting a smattering of an education of cheeses, wines and pastries (which isn’t a bad thing unless you have no discipline like me and blow up like a balloon in a Macy’s parade!

          Maggie Sefton also includes a recipe and a knitting pattern and Laura Childs has recipes at the end of all of her books! Enjoy!

          Rob
          It’s the First Amendment!

          Reply

  4. I found that the reason I don’t like a book (not necessarily the author) is that the people don’t seem to have a personality or come to life. If I can’t picture in my mind what that person looks like to me just by reading a few chapters then forget it. I sometimes go back and try to reread but very seldom do I continue. I have found that books where the plot was boring I never pick up again and go on my “What were he or she thinking?

    Reply

    • Suzanne M, setting (as I just mentioned in another comment) and character development are almost as important as the mystery to most of us Cozy Mystery readers.

      Sounds like your “What were he or she thinking?” list is what I call my “*****YUCK” list, only you sound a lot nicer!

      Reply

  5. With me this is ‘taking a break’ LOL. I have so many favorites, sometimes money (make that lack of money!) or too many of my favorites come out at the same time. Reading is just like life – has it’s ups, downs, and limitations. All that’s ongoing is my gratitude for all these talented writers whose work I am enjoying (and this wonderfully, informative, friendly blog is a big help too. Thanks, Danna.
    Right now I’m having some computer troubles so may miss a few days but I really do enjoy the blog.

    Reply

    • Jackie: I can relate completely. Sure shuts us down on the stuff we like about blogging each other. This site is so fun, friendly and helpful.

      My brother, who is a techie whiz and teaches students (6-17) and
      adults is the first one to say, unplug and reboot before you call a
      tech support person. Good luck getting your bugs worked out and
      back to the “Fun”.

      Rob

      Reply

  6. Sometimes I will start to read a book and I am not in the right frame of mind. I will put the book aside and read several other books and then come back to the book and find it was better than I thought. I think you have to be in the “mood” for some books.

    Reply

    • Karen L, you’re probably right about that. I spend a lot of my reading time trying out new-to-me authors and I sometimes think that perhaps I don’t like some of them because I actually want to be reading one of my favorite authors right then. I think that when I’m in the mood for one of my favorites, I tend to be a little judgmental (in a negative way) about the new-to-me author’s work.

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  7. No, I’m pretty sure that once I don’t like a book, I drop the series and don’t look back. I agree with Linda MH that is often because the series took a drastic turn that wasn’t believable. (I love the China Bayles character and have stuck with her through several lifestyle changes because they seem credible.) Otherwise, I can’t think of a single exception so I must be an unforgiving reader!

    Reply

    • Kalena, if you’re “an unforgiving reader” I hate to think what I am. It sounds like you at least go past my “50-page rule” that I give a book I am not enjoying. There are just too many Cozy Mysteries out there these days.

      Reply

    • Dear Kalena and Danna: I agree with you both. There are so many good books to read, life is too short to read books you don’t like!

      Ladies, I don’t think you are unforgiving readers as much as discerning! There is nothing wrong with that!

      Rob

      Reply

    • I have no problem with characters taking off in different directions, if they’re credible given the character & who & where they are in life. Consider Tommy & Tuppence! People are young, get married, have children, grow old. This is the normal course of life & feels more “real” than the characters that are stuck in a time warp. We loved Tommy & Tuppence as much old & gray as we did young & charming & first falling in love! We would not, however, have liked it if Tommy had dumped Tuppence with the kids & run off in middle age to “find himself” or some such — that would not have been credible based on the characters that we already knew.

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  8. What I discovered is that if I listen to an entire series by one author, then start listening to another author, I subconciously compare the two writing styles. This causes me to dislike the writing by author #2, thereby discarding a new series that I might otherwise have enjoyed.

    Reply

  9. In a new series i will (almost) always try the second book, may be i will look more in the comments at amazon. For that i have two series i cant stand, dont like the characters and the comments didnt do good for it.

    In a series i read long time i am very loyal. But it could be that i put a long wished new book back in the to-read-shelf and wait for the next, to read them both in a row (a try to feel more back the series). Today there is no “old” series i break but i have two series where it is a big could be. In the first the author dont find a way for more development of the characters lovelife. And in the second the author makes a too big development in the lovelife and the whole book was… sad. Yes, thats it. While i am reading i am getting sad. Sometimes i am wondering if there is something in the real life of the authors that found a way in the book (mean only feelings).

    I have two series more that are on hold because of the “make sad” feeling. But i will go back when i have more time to read these books in one or two days. Because going to work and then reading a book that makes me sad for two weeks (only couple of pages in bed sometimes) dont work for me. And the setting and characters are good so there is no “i dont read that anymore”.

    For me the development of the characters is very important. I can look over a “not so good mystery” but not over stupid or boring characters for more books i a row.

    Reply

    • Nicole, it’s interesting that both of the books you mention had (what sounds like) exactly the opposite problem: no lovelife development vs. too much lovelife development.

      Did the book that made you sad have something to do with children? Sometimes, when an author uses child abuse, I stop reading the book and series. Since the mystery genre has so much death in it, I think we are sensitized for that. But, when the mystery deals with children being abused, I just am not sensitized, and find that downright sad. I stop reading immediately.

      P.S. Your English is terrific!!!

      Reply

  10. Well to be sure I’ve hardly ever met a cozy I didn’t like LOL! But there have been a few — a very few… There was one series where I read the first book many years ago and for some reason didn’t like it & didn’t pick up any more of them. Then last year I saw the current one in the library, it was already up to #13 of the series and the cover looked tempting (to me cover art is a big part of what draws me to a series initially!) — and I read the intro & it sounded like an interesting story — so I read it — and I LOVED it! And for the life of me couldn’t remember why I didn’t like the first one all those years ago — so I rounded up & read all of the first 12 (including the first one over again) — and loved them all and still don’t know why I didn’t like it back then!

    There was another popular series that I read the first one when it came out — 15 years ago — and the cover looked like I’d really like it — but for some reason I didn’t… so I never read any more of them — now she’s up to #14 — I still like the covers LOL — maybe I’ll retry that one?

    However there have been some that I didn’t like because I didn’t like the setting or the main character(s) — even if I’ve loved other series by the same author — that I tried but couldn’t like, so just skip that series now & have no intention of retrying.

    There have also been a couple of series that I tried — because the premise sounded good — and found them to be “copycat” series, copying the theme/premise of already successful (and beloved) series — in one case the “copycat” even unmasked her killer in the same time/place/event and wearing the same disguise as the original author had! I truly despise these. I know that imitation is said to be the sincerest form of flattery but not when you’re straddling the line of plagiarism!

    Then unfortunately there are those series that I’ve loved since the beginning — and after 15 – 16 good books — they take a sharp downturn — I don’t know if the author got burnt out or what (some times people speculate on whether the author was physically/mentally unable to continue writing & the publisher farmed out the remaining contracted titles to any old staff writer just to get them out — don’t know — as good a theory as any) — but its very upsetting when this happens. I feel as if someone took my dear old friends (the series characters I’ve been following for 15 – 20 years) & kidnapped & tortured them…

    I read one of these last weekend — I was soooooo upset — the book was nothing but excess verbiage (it seemed like the writer would use 75 words when 5 would do — needing to meet a prespecified word count maybe?) — and nothing else — the murder didn’t even occur “on screen” — rather the book starts after the fact with the (non)police chief telling the sleuth — here — we had a murder — I have no idea — please take the police cruiser & solve the mystery & let me know what happens — and the sleuth spends the next several hundred pages driving around & talking everyone to death — no forensics — no clues — no detecting– no new characters — nothing — just talking.. and talking… and talking…. {sigh}}}}}}}}}}}}}} I was very traumatized by the way this book destroyed finally & irredeemably any last vestige of this old beloved series — can you tell????

    So you know how when you’ve gone through a traumatic experience you need to submerge yourself in comfort — say chocolate or your favorite comfort food? Well since I read that book last Saturday, I’ve spent the week rereading some old favorites — I’m working through Dorothy Gilman’s Mrs. Pollifax series & Charlotte McLeod’s Sarah Kelling/Max Bittersohn series (as well as catching up on the last few titles of Jeanne M. Dams’ Dorothy Martin series that I missed — for some reason even new, they feel “old” — in the “good & cozy” sense, if ykwim?) — all on my Kindle cuz this was what my public library had available for instant download & I need some comfort FAST!!!!! (as opposed to the 50+ unread current library books I have sitting in the armoire — but I needed OLD comforting books to read LOL)

    Reply

    • Stash Empress, somehow I can believe you have very rarely met a Cozy you didn’t like!

      I also had a problem trying to remember why I didn’t like the *****YUCK series that is now on my favorites list. I have started writing the reasons down. I have a lot of series on that *****YUCK list, and find that I get them mixed up when I try to remember what it was I didn’t like about each one. (However, I am not going to waste my time re-reading them to find out!)

      I hate “excess verbiage” which I think has a lot to do with why I don’t see the necessity of a Cozy Mystery with close to (or over!) 300 pages. I mean, 300 pages?!? How many mysteries are going to be solved – that it takes 300 pages! It’s sort of like comparing the movies that are being made today (usually running over 2 hours) with the old, black and white movies from the ’40s – where they were able to do the same thing in an hour and a half.

      As for needing a comfy Cozy >>> I guess that’s probably what we all do. It’s interesting that when you mentioned the authors you rely on for that “good & Cozy” sense, they are all authors who started their series years ago: 1966, 1979, and 1996. Hmmm…. I wonder what they says….

      Reply

      • Danna, you have mentioned your aversion to an over ‘300 page’ book before. So now, ironically when I pick up a book and it’s 328 pages (or whatever), I think, “Danna wouldn’t like this”! I also don’t like the excess verbiage which is trivial just to make a longer story (stated this in a previous post a week or two ago). However, many times an author will have interesting subplots that may extend the story. If I am enjoying the story(s), I don’t mind (in fact, I rather enjoy) the extra pages in the book.

        But, I do have a question because you read ebooks. Are the total pages the same as in a regular book? I know the total pages in a hard cover vs paper back books may be different.

        Reply

        • MJ, I know that’s weird about my “aversion to an over ‘300 page’ book”. If it’s that long, it had better be that great!

          It’s difficult for me to gauge the pages when I’m reading my Kindle books. The only thing I have to go on is the % of the book I have read, or how long it will take me to read a chapter, based on how long it has been taking me to read. I miss having the page numbers, but when I buy the books, I’m able to see how long they are. In case I forget how long the book is, I’m able to access the book online and check it out.

          Since I have my 50 page rule, I feel like if I have made it through 25% of the book, I’ve reached that point. However, there have been several (recently) where I’m not able to make it to the 25% mark.

          Reply

        • I don’t know how to compare page count on Kindle books vs regular paperback or hardcover books since I’m not usually seeing page numbers, just “14%” or “location 375 of 9843” or something like that — and I never really know WHERE I am — and I totally HATE that!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I’m one of those control freaks who NEEDS to know what page I’m up to, so I can figure how much I have left & how much time that will take. (Should I give up now & go to bed or read straight on through?) I know the percentages are supposed to tell you that, but in my mind I just need to know I have 50 pages left — that tells me abt 1/2 – 3/4 hour to go — while percents tell me nothing! So now what I do is “assume” a book is 300 pages & then if I’m at 80%, for example, tell myself I have 60 pages to go. Not very accurate, of course, since not all books are the same length, but this old brain needs SOMETHING normal & familiar to anchor itself to LOL!

          Btw — I have compared some older paperbacks I have (circa 1970’s) with some newly published — and the older ones (that were approx 200 pages) are printed in a much smaller/denser font — so maybe not really shorter than the newer 300 page books? I hate to say it, but my older favorites are getting really hard on the eyes! (Even with reading glasses!) — The newer ones, even if 300 pages, are much easier to read.

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      • Well it doesn’t say I’m as old as that would imply LOL! When Mrs. Pollifax first took off for Mexico in 1966, I was only 6yrs old LOL! However these series (at least the Pollifax & Kelling) are books I read in the 1980’s, when I was in my 20’s — maybe we find comfort in what we loved best in our youth? Or, maybe more likely, I can reread & enjoy all over again books I first read 20 -30 years ago — because I’ve forgotten them enough by now that I can enjoy them all over again — whereas books I’ve read more recently are still too fresh & not that much fun to reread when you still remember everything that’s going to happen. Note that the Dorothy Martins are not re-reads – rather catching up on the past 4 that I wasn’t able to get my hands on. I think next on my re-read list will be the Ellie Haskell series — the first one of those I ever read was “How to Murder Your Mother-In-Law” — who could resist a book with a title like that???? 😉

        Reply

        • Stash Empress, yikes! When I asked what it means for you to re-read mysteries from years ago, the point I was trying to make was that there is just something about the Cozy Mysteries they wrote years ago. There’s a reason we are still reading those authors >>> they’re good!

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          • Oh THAT’s what you were getting at LOL! Well this is maybe true too — but I’d say the most “comfy cozy” series of all is the Aunt Dimity series (stuffed animals & all!) & that series began in 1992 (ok… yeah … that’s over 20 yrs ago LOL) –but not all the earlier series were of the “comfy cozy” type — in my teens I read & enjoyed the entire Perry Mason series by Erle Stanley Gardner — which series was first written in 1933 — but that’s not a “comfy cozy” series & as much as I enjoyed it back when I was in my teens & 20’s, have no particular desire to reread now for comfort. Same with the Ellery Queen series, another one which was begun in 1929 & which I read (at least as many as I could get my hands on) in the ’70’s & ’80’s — but not “comfy cozy” reading.

            Interesting about the Dorothy Martin series — she has such an “old” feel (in the sense of old book, not old sleuth LOL) — but yet everyone is ringing everyone else on their mobiles & when she needs info, she settles down to Google (and note that she & her husband each have their own computer! I don’t even have my own –I have to share with the family!) — but yet that aspect doesn’t seem to intrude on the story as it does with many new series — you could almost think she’s back in Miss Marple’s day…

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              • I usually recommend the Aunt Dimity series when asked about any good books to read and also, Martha Grimes’s Richard Jury books. I’m so glad somebody, perhaps you, reminded me of the authors of the Inspector Bone series, S. Stacey. I enjoyed re-reading them

                But you know, what I dislike is when the series just ends. You think did the author die, did their contract run out and wasn’t renewed, did they get bored with their main character, what happened here?

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                • What to pick to write about-you all say it so well! And what a treat to get on to a blog and read what I am thinking! I recently had a talk with my brother (who has completely different tastes than I do) and he said “dump the guilt and read what YOU want to, When you want to”. You don’t owe anyone anything! Life is too short to read a book you don’t like” etc. He is a bit more brutal than I am too as you’ve probably guessed-he doesn’t suffer fools very well. I’m surprised that we’re related! But in a sense, he is right. We just need to have the courage to be honest enough with ourselves that giving an author another try isn’t getting us anywhere, where as,if another person will enjoy what we don’t isn’t cheating the author or reader by our honesty. Am I making any sense? I stopped reading an author’s work that I don’t like and gave their work to the library. I’ve noticed that they can’t keep his/her work in and it’s flying off the shelves. So, I’ve done those readers a favor. I continue to do so and yet I’ll keep work that I like that I think I’ll get back to but what a joy to give to others if I can’t afford to buy books, to give back to my library for others to enjoy!

                  I’m with the folks here that are disappointed when an author stops a series in midstride and doesn’t continue anymore when I like both characters and plot! I feel like I’ve lost a friend somehow.

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                  • Is it odd to feel that you’ve lost a friend when the series just stops? I’m not crazy about short stories either/they end to soon. And Rob thanks for the well written response.

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                    • You’re welcome. I thought it might help those of us that struggle with guilt when we “drop an author” or series. I know it did for me.

                      In response to writing a review that may help others find their ways to an author or series that I enjoyed-Julie Hyzy’s Grace Against the Clock- I’m not even done with yet and I love it! I love all her Grace books
                      and also Ellery Adams writes not just great “Pie” and Cooking books but the newest Murder In the Mystery Suite-her first in that series.
                      Excellent and the characters are Fun and Very likeable! If you want a cozy that is true to the genre and easy to pick up but impossible to put down, try these two talented authors! I’ll add one more to the list for you-Avery Aames Cheese Shop books. Just finished Days of Wine and Roquefort and Clobbered by Camambert! Another well crafted “family” of characters-fun to follow and laugh and cry with. I think most of you would enjoy this talented trio of literary ladies! I did and do every time I read one of their creations.

                    • Thank you Billie and Danna for your comments. I am really enjoying this blog site and feel that I’ve made new friends! So I am happy to add to and help others as much as I’ve been helped by all of you!

                      Off and running to the library again…a new one just came in and I can hardly wait to pick it up.

                      Take it easy, all and have a great weekend!
                      Rob

                • Billie, that is irritating, isn’t it? Now that authors are able to self-publish, I hope to see that less and less. Just a few years ago, if the publisher dropped the author, that was it. I always wondered why the publishers couldn’t let the authors know they had only one more book left to write >>> before they gave them the boot. That way the author could wrap up the story line.

                  Reply

  11. For me, spacing the novels in a series, even one I love love LOVE, is a must! I have, maybe, 8 or 10 series going at a time (plus stand alones) and that seems to be enough of a timespan to keep me from becoming “binged-out”. If I don’t do this I find myself becoming very critical and not very tolerant of an author’s choices. I have dropped some series, though, even after several books. I find that happens when the author makes a choice I don’t like. Say, changing the point of view from the main character to that of a supporting character, or if the sleuth becomes a victim who chooses to wallow in her victimhood. I have to like the sleuth or it’s no cigar. And spacing helps keep me from becoming bored and frustrated.

    Reply

    • Susy, i can follow that. Sometimes when i found a new series i like and what have 5 books or more out i am very enthusiastic and want to read all of them immediately. But after 3 books i am getting.. fretful (hopefully this is a right word for that). And thats sad because i like the series.
      But i think its like chocolate… too much in short time and its not so good anymore.

      So spacing sounds very good to me!

      Reply

      • Fretful is the right word for me, and too much chocolate is a good analogy. (or is that simile?) However I have a much higher tolerance for too much Lindt or See’s or Hershey’s than I do for too much Agatha or Hamish or Sarah Booth! lol.

        Reply

      • Another way that I avoid binging, is I switch genres every once in awhile. I can read an assortment of twenty cozies and then I toss in John Sandford or Ian Rankin or Lee Child. Maybe even Amanda Quick or LKH. Those are all so different, it seems to make my cozies fresher and softer and cozier! I enjoy them more.

        Reply

        • Suzy, That is a great idea! All of you that have recommend series “spacing” have a great idea and I’ve been guilty of “binging” so will try what you suggest. I go to non-fiction crime or “forensic files”, ID channel or Dateline NBC to get a “crime fix” of real life cases and then go back to a Cozy! And you are right about the Cozies being softer and cozier after the crime binge!

          Rob

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          • Oh absolutely spacing! When I read a large number of one author at a time — I space out with two other books in between each of the series. Otherwise you just go into sensory overload, as it were, & it gets too much. When I first picked up Anne Perry’s Thomas & Charlotte Pitt series, the first one I read was #27. I wanted to read all 26 preceeding books (in order!) but knew that would be too much at once, so I spread them out over 4 months or so!

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            • Dear Stash: I am glad to hear that someone enjoys the Pitt/Monk series too. Have you tried the first Thomas/Charlotte book yet: The Cater Street Hangman. That started my love affair with Perry’s series. And Monk is a good foil for Pitt. They are very much alike but I’m like you. I have to space out a writer’s work to keep from getting overloaded. I like the way Perry writes the courtroom drama.

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              • Oh Yes, after I read #27, I went back & started with the first one (The Cater Street Hangman) and read all the rest in order (spaced out over about 3-4 mos).

                I have not read the Monk series yet, I did put that on my TBR list but have not got there yet.

                SO MANY BOOKS, SO LITTLE TIME lol!

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                • Dear Stash: I think you’ll enjoy the Monk series but like a lot of readers, sometimes we like one series by an author better than the other but still are fiercely loyal to that author. I also wish to recommend the Christmas series that Anne Perry writes where she’ll select a character from her books and have them “on their own” to solve a murder out of the normal context you’d find them in. Also an excellent series as well. Thomas and Charlotte’s newest adventure, Death at Blackheath is excellent as well.

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                • Amen to that, Stash Empress! I just read more (in the bathtub no less), I’ve yet to drop one-thank goodness it wasn’t a library book!
                  The newest by Ellery Adams called Murder in the Mystery Suite. When I get that one finished, I’ll review it but am halfway through and enjoy it completely! Also, if you like cooking or baking mysteries, or cheese mysteries, Avery Aames Cheese shop mysteries are excellent as well.
                  Aames recommended Adams to me and when I tried one, I wanted to read others by this talented author! Fear not-she also writes Books by the Bay (Adams) so I’ll keep busy till the new one comes out!

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                  • Rob, thank you for the hint. I am on the newest Paige Shelton and wondering what to read next of my “you cant image the little shelf with high to ten books stacked in 2×3 rows/columns (?) for the to be read books” (dont ask, i find so much books here ;))

                    So it is Ellery Adams. Like the Bay books a lot. One of the series where the second book gives the go because the first was a little bit cold. So there it is: give the second always a try 🙂

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  12. I found that I kept reading one series because of the lead character. She was probably my favorite cozy character. The first books of the series brought me so much pleasure and reading enjoyment. Oh, how I chuckled when I read the books.

    Then the later books in the series seemed to just be written to be written. The quality wasn’t as good for me. Yet, I kept reading them due to love of the character. I decided that if I was not satisfied anymore, it was my fault. I didn’t have to keep reading them. So I stopped.

    Now I think I am having character withdrawal.:-) I am now several books behind in the series. I found myself thinking the other day that perhaps I should check the next book out at the library to see what the character is up to now. I know I will not like the book as I did the first books. I think this is the only character that I feel this way about. The character is selling the books and not the plot for me. I guess that is really liking a character! I haven’t gone to the library yet for the next book though. That is probably why this series remains so popular. I think others feel the same way. It is a hard series to leave.

    Otherwise no, I usually don’t retry series.

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    • Lynn T, quite a while ago I wrote about the dilemma I was having about dropping one of my favorite authors >>> or should I say one of my previously favorite authors! I went ahead and dropped her, but it was a difficult process. I kept thinking about going back to the series, but I knew I wanted to go back to the series as it had been in the beginning, not what it had become.

      I am probably totally off the mark, but I think I know the author you are talking about. I stuck with her (if I’m right in my guess) series for a while, I then quit, but my friend urged me to give her another try, saying she thought she “was back” to normal. I tried the author again, and just didn’t like her. However, she is still wildly popular, so I know other people are still enjoying her. I’m like you: I have wondered if they are just staying with her because of loyalty.

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  13. I have what seems to be the opposite problem. I sometimes stop reading an author for a while (we’re talking years) and when I go pick up later books in the series, I find I’ve missed too much. It’s almost as if the characters are telling in-jokes that I don’t get. I know I could go back and read the intervening books but it annoys me that the author doesn’t “invite” me (or any new reader) into the world they’ve created. At that point, I guess, they are just writing for loyal readers and don’t need new ones.

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  14. Well thank you so much for the compliment – i appreciate that a lot!!

    No the book is not with children abuse (uhm, have to say, i break reading after a quarter of the book and only read last pages.. So could be, but dont think so). A children is the reason why they break up the relationship. But i dont think that it is – the whole book is …well, like someone with depressive thoughts wrote it. And the series is funny most of the time.

    But i know what you mean. After my short turn to “It” from Stephen King (1st half very good, fun and joy, 2nd half very unsettling – lot of abuse, looks like the 50. was not a good time for childhood, uhm; but still what a good writing, i have to say) – i love my cozys. I dont have to wonder if there will be so much horror on the next site i cant stand. I got very disgusted if there is a pet involved too. Years ago i read a (german) cozy and out of the blue someone killed the dog. There was no reason, there was nothing before that one can think that will happen. It was like a slap in the face. I hated the author for that. And the next books from the author are still on the to read shelf because if that. Dont trust her to read without wondering if there is something like that again.

    Reply

    • Nicole, probably the problem with that book is that Stephen King is one of the most masterful writers today, and since the plot of the book is the terrorizing of these children, Stephen King can make you feel like it’s really happening.

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  15. I always try and take a break or I do get burned out. Lately I am getting burned out on the newer cozies. It seems like lately the authors are writing too fast and they are getting lazy. I just recently read two new releases where I loved the first books but these second books seemed like a rehash of the first and the mystery was not very good. So it is back to some old favorites. One I recently read I realized how good a writer she was and it was like a breath of fresh air.
    I also break up the type of cozies I read. I try and not read all culinary ones or biblio ones etc or I will burn out.

    Reply

    • Good idea, Bookwoman! I vary the scenes or themes too. I know what you mean about getting burned out! Have you tried Victoria Hamilton, Anne Perry or Robin Paige? They are very good as well and write in a Period format! I’ve been loyal to those authors but I make sure I don’t read several by the same author in a row.

      All of you have been sharing right up my alley. I thought I was unique in thinking that way and it turns out, lots of people do! That is refreshing for me.

      Thanks for the great ideas!
      I knew I’d like this blog site
      Rob

      Reply

  16. What a fantastic topic with so many thought provoking comments – most of which I agree with. I stopped reading two books released within the last 4 months in series I had been following because I didn’t like the premise. Most likely I’ll read the ‘next installment’ because the premise will probably be different. I, too, have also stopped reading some series when the author(s) have taken it way too far into the paranormal (actually changing direction or intensifying it from previous books).

    However the series I stopped reading (and probably won’t go back to) was when the author wrote a dozen plus books developing a ‘beloved’ character. BUT THEN killed him off. I vowed I wouldn’t read another book in that series. Obviously, others didn’t feel the same way because the author continues to write several books in this series, which is often recommended on this site.

    Also, I have stopped reading a book I thought was too edgy when I was in the mood for light/witty and vice versa. But I have later picked them up again and enjoyed them.

    And, I’ve griped about this before with other authors……….but it happened AGAIN this week! Currently I’m reading a just released book in a series I normally enjoy. However there are some MAJOR snafus (story conflicts) which bother me. I don’t understand how an author does this, but more importantly how does it get by the editor and others who have pre-read it before it’s published? It’s my guess the author was in a hurry, pushing a deadline. But it doesn’t excuse the editor. It’s ‘sloppy’ at best! However, I will finish the book and most likely continue with the series.

    Of course, there are the many favorite series an author has stopped writing because the publisher has pulled the plug. UGH! Those books we all wish we could continue reading, reading, and reading…………

    Reply

    • MJ, this is yet another great topic that one of you ALL suggested. (Thank you, Angela!) I, too, love the comments.

      You make a good point about how some of us may get turned off to an author, yet the author still has a great following. I guess we all have different tastes in our reading.

      It sounds like one of the particular authors you are talking about comes from a publishing house. You sure expect for the publishing house (editors) to catch “MAJOR snafus”! I’m not as forgiving as you are. If something bothers me in a book, it’s likely I won’t be revisiting that author’s books any time soon! I mean, imagine a student not proof-reading a term paper!

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  17. I’m usually willing to give an author a second chance. A lot of reasons.
    Sometimes I don’t really like something / just can’t get into it, but if I come back later, I’ll really enjoy it. As some people have said, if you just didn’t happen to be in the mood for that particular one, first time around: that can make a big difference.
    Some authors, the first book can be not as good as later ones in the series – it can take time to get into their stride.
    Also, there are some authors with whom I can’t stand one series that they write, but I love another.

    Everybody’s different, that’s just me.

    Reply

    • Susan: You are spot on- I read an author’s work that has 3 series out and love two of them! I continue to read those two series and not the other one for some reason, couldn’t get into it but every time the author comes out with a new one in my fav series, I get it and love it.

      I don’t know why that is but it was great to read your comment and see that someone else felt the same way.

      Rob

      Reply

    • Susan*, that’s the one thing I think about a lot when I’m trying a new-to-me author and decide to not continue with him/her. You are so right about the first book maybe not being a reliable example of their writing. I just feel like I have so many favorite authors who I would rather be reading, that I drop them. (I wish I could give them another chance, though!)

      Reply

    • No, Susan. I think you are spot on with that observation and it isn’t just you. I feel the same way but you expressed it better. Please keep up the good work. I love your comments and agree completely.

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  18. I’ve stopped reading quite a number of series I enjoyed to begin with because they had become formulaic. I also stopped reading a much loved author after his writing took a nasty turn – sexual humliation and violence.
    I used to feel guilty about not finishing a book but now I think life’s too short to plough on with something you’re not enjoying. Sometimes, if I am too tired to concentrate, I listen to an unabridged audio book instead. I find these are good for introducing an author you wouldn’t have got off the shelf. They are also good for getting you through the boredom of ironing etc; and they are great for insomnia!

    Reply

    • Anne, yikes! An author moving into “sexual humiliation and violence” would certainly be a shock! I also love listening to audio books, however, if I listen to them at night, I wake up the next morning and have to search for the spot in which I fell asleep…

      Reply

  19. It’s more like dropping the series and it’s when the storyline hasn’t moved forward or the character became stupid or the author changed the direction. In most cases, I don’t go back to the series.

    Reply

    • Dru, one of my favorite authors is starting to get on my nerves. (Well, not actually the author, but her sleuth.) I am so behind in the series that when I read comments here from other Cozy Mystery readers who read her (and are current with the books) I am quite surprised that the same plot device that I am reading about in her early books continues, and then continues some more. I’m not sure if I’m up for it, since it’s already grating on me… When you mentioned “stupid” I immediately thought of this sleuth!

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  20. My experience (with all books, not just mysteries) is that if the main character is someone I dislike or find highly irritating, I really have trouble enjoying the book. I might appreciate how it’s written otherwise, in an analytic way, but I don’t like the book. To me, if you can enter into the world of the book, a character you dislike means you are spending some number of hours with someone you dislike. & if you are not studying literature, why would you do that with your spare time?
    So if I give up on a series because I find a principal, repeating character irritating, then I don’t see the point in going back. Over time, authors are more likely to almost stereotype their main characters — to rely more & more on almost exaggerated characteristics, so what I disliked (but others might find endearing) is only going to be present in spades in subsequent books. If I stop reading a series merely because plot elements seem redundant, I’m happy to go back later.
    But I do wonder whether authors ought to have more faith in their own ability & stop any series after a certain point — 10 or 12 or something — & start something new. There are some authors who write a number of different series & even if you miss the series because it stopped, don’t you salute the author for trying to keep the quality up? (Note: Of course, I have read & enjoyed many series longer than 10 — The Cat Who…, for example. But I think there are more authors who try to pull off long series than can pull off long series). Alternatively, the author might try to have the main character grow or change (think of Peter Wimsey/Harriet Vane).

    Reply

    • Cejaxon, you’re right about spending time with someone you don’t like. The Cozy Mystery series that go on and on are the ones that are the most difficult for me to drop. After years and years of reading an author’s series, it’s really difficult to finally pull the plug. It would be so much easier if the author simply wrapped it up for us. However, I have left many long-going series that other Cozy Mystery readers continue to enjoy

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  21. I do agree that I like a series better when it’s spaced out and rarely change my mind once I “drop” a series. The trouble is, authors are pushed by publishers to get books out and often creativity is lost when it’s a demand rather than a love of writing. Other times publishers drop a series that I think is great – I just discovered Gertie Johnson series and love it but was surprised that she had to buy back her rights because they were no longer being published.
    Ann

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    • Ann, I sort of thought that might be the problem. Thanks for filling those of us who aren’t authors in, Ann. (It’s unfortunate that publishers make authors buy their rights back rather than continue publishing the books.)

      Reply

  22. In one of my favorite mystery series, the author just got lazy and formulaic after the first ten books so I stopped buying them. But they are still a fun read if I pick them up from a library, and if I pick up up less often than the once a year that I used to enjoy.

    In another of my favorite series, I think the author ran out of ideas and switched the behavior and setting that made me like his main character. I didn’t like that at all. He has since switched back and I love him again. But he also tried a second main series too similar to the first, but with a different main character, and I think it flopped completely.

    With yet another author, I will read anything from her first series, but nothing more from her second.

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  23. p.s. Danna, I think your expression “Negative Nellie” is very polite – in Britain we say “Wet Nellie.” If some-one is pulling a miserable face as well as being negative we might say s/he’s “got a face like a wet weekend in Wales” (or a wet Sunday in Blackpool.) (You have to know these places to appreciate the description.)
    You’ve certainly got a stimulating discussion going.
    cheers, Anne

    Reply

    • Thats nice. In german we say “du guckst wie 7 tage regenwetter” (you look like 7 days of rain). What is that with the weather 😉

      Reply

    • Anne, I like “Wet Nellie”! I guess that with all of the rain you get, wet weekends (or wet Sundays) are seen a whole lot differently than we would see them. Down here in San Antonio we are usually in some stage of drought, so a “wet Sunday” or a “wet weekend” would probably be considered good!

      Reply

  24. Sometimes i think its more and more about money and less creativity because of the pushing and the timing like others wrote above. It seems the author cant get into the character and cant feel the characters life anymore. Sounds little bit crazy i know. The thought came to me when i read a aknowledgment where the author thanks the editor or her agent for the new setting idea and the researches for recipes – and i thought by myself, what? You are the author i thought its all yours and you are the one who can bake or cook or whatever and not only the one who writes the ideas and recipes from other persons. No misunderstanding and its a little bit silly but a author have to have the creativity, the writing and the ideas. Nothing against somebody brings up a new “what if” in the setting but not the whole thing. I was very dissapointed about that aknowledgment i have to say. And i thought thats the point why the author dont feel the character and cant develop it, its not from the gut and the heart, more from the head. And it seems thats not enough sometimes.

    Reply

  26. There have been a few instances of my going back to a series after having found the author had developed a propensity for what I would call “formulaic” writing, where a certain distance into the story the protagonist would have a “premonition” that something was going to happen and few pages on, there it was.
    The ones I particularly found annoying were those with psychic phenomena or “ghostly characters” who seemed to be repeating the same phrases every other book or so – in fact in one series I pulled out a couple of earlier titles and found identical phrases and in one case an entire paragraph had been repeated.
    Frankly I felt a bit cheated to think the author was recycling old stuff to fill in the word count on a new one.
    In some cases I have had a sense of deja vu because the scenes and actions were so very similar to earlier stories and I would check the copyright date. There are sometimes books reissued with new titles but in these cases these were purportedly new stories but with much of the earlier setting and similar characters, though with different names but performing similar acts.
    It is possible to write entirely new stories, using the same basic characters, with the addition of new ones, without resorting to recycling old stuff.
    Hazel Holt carries this off beautifully in the Mrs. Malory series and so does Ann Purser with the Lois Meade mysteries, both of which hold my interest from page one and I usually have to read them in one sitting because I simply can’t put them down.

    Reply

    • Andie, YIKES! Oh my gosh! How could that happen? To repeat phrases is bad, but there is absolutely no excuse for entire paragraphs! I am guessing that reissuing books with new titles is due to a contract the author had with a previous publisher.

      Reading a mystery in one sitting surely is the best sign of a well-loved book. (Also, it shows that you read a whole lot faster than I do!)

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  27. I love cozy mysteries because I don’t have to skip over explicit areas. I have my favorite authors and I reread them again a few years and re-enjoy them all over again. Because I have so many books at home I go to the library now. I can test out new authors to me.
    I read a few pages in several places in the book and if I don’t enjoy them I don’t check them out. If I find later I don’t like it I just return it to the library. If it is one I truly enjoy I wait until it comes out in paperback. I do try certain authors again and find again I don’t enjoy the storyline. I really enjoy your blog! thank you

    Reply

    • Linda, well, hopefully you don’t have to skip over explicit areas. There are a few current Cozy Mystery authors who push the envelope a little too far every once in a while! I have a list of my favorite authors who I know won’t try to slip anything in on me that I don’t want. And, if one of them does, then I simply remove them from my favorites list.

      Reply

      • Danna, i dont understand this one, envelope is in german something to send a letter. Is there an other translation?

        “There are a few current Cozy Mystery authors who push the envelope a little too far every once in a while!”

        Reply

          • Danna, thank you a lot! Something like slang is very difficult to translate for me. I have lot of apps but they dont cover that. And i soooo like the slangs and “sayings” (?) – makes the language near 🙂

            (Last days i searched for “there is that!” as an answer on the end of a talk. Dont find it but i think i know what it mean – but i cant explain that in english).

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              • Nicole and Billie, I don’t know the context but where I live the phrase is used when one person has given another a reason for doing/thinking some-thing and the 2nd person acknowledges that reason e.g. “X wouldn’t have done that because (Y)” and the 2nd person says “yes, there is that!”
                Whew! That’s why we have slang!

                Reply

  28. There are authors/books that I really enjoyed and others books that have disappointed me. What is amazing is that some of the books I don’t like other readers have enjoyed. To each their own taste. Will I give those authors/books another try in the future … maybe.

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    • Sheila, me, too! I guess we all are looking for something a little different from what others are looking for in their Cozy Mysteries. I have a good friend with whom I share a very, very similar Cozy Mystery taste. Every once in a while, though, she will tell me about a series she knows I will love, which I haven’t ended up liking at all.

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  29. I stopped reading one series that I really enjoyed (and I know others continued to enjoy) because I got mad at the main character. It is a testament to the author that over the course of the series, I came to know and care about the character enough to get mad when he destroyed some family documents because he didn’t like what was in them. I had a great-aunt who decided no one would want family pictures and she destroyed them, so this was a sensitive area for me. It just illustrates that, for me, what is important is the characters. I frequently think that I should go back and finish reading that series (because I did enjoy it), but then I remember what he did in the last book I read and get mad all over again!

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  30. Wow, apparently this is a hot topic! Was that my comment? I don’t actually remember making it but it does sound like something I would say! lol You all have made so many good points I don’t have much to add, there are so many reasons to not like a book and I have learned not to try to make it fit in the “like” category as I used to. There are so many other good series out there to be discovered that forcing myself to like one I am really not doesn’t make sense. I do question my decisions when I find so many other people enjoying one of my Yuck series and I wonder if I was too hasty or maybe in a bad mood when I read it. In those cases I sometimes convince myself to try again or if that author has multiple series I will try one of those instead. I have developed the habit of reading other people’s reviews if I am not enjoying a book (I generally avoid reviews because I don’t want to influence myself). I start to wonder if it is just me feeling the way I do. Often times I find it’s not just me and that makes me feel a little better about giving up. Thanks for posting my comment for discussion Danna…if it was mine! lol

    Reply

  31. I find that I don’t worry too much if a “cozy” has “uncozy” elements because I read all kinds of mysteries. If I start reading a book and have a problem with it, I start reading something else. I do go back to those books that I’ve put aside; usually, I find that I like them fine later. Then there are other books that I begin reading and know without qualification that I’m not going to like it. I put it aside to resell or delete from my Kindle. I decided when i semi-retired that life was too short for me to spend time reading a book that I abhor.

    Reply

    • Yvonna, I do the same thing you do. I occasionally also read true crime, which is as far from Cozy as you can get. Right now I am a little over half-way through with a mystery by one of my favorite authors, which I am having a difficult time reading. I have a feeling that tonight I am going to just get to the “too many Cozy Mysteries I’d rather be reading” point and give up on this author. Yow! I hate having to pull the plug on a favorite!

      Reply

  32. Thanks. I’ll try the Stanley, Arlington series too. Didn’t know that. I love this blog site. I learn so much from all of you that is thought provoking and worth while.

    Reply

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