If I have missed any Summer Cozy Mystery theme books, please post a comment. Thank you!
SUMMER COZY MYSTERY Theme:
Donald Bain…. Murder on Parade (Fourth of July)
Lorraine Bartlett….. One Hot Murder
Laurien Berenson….. A Pedigree to Die For
Laurien Berenson….. Hair of the Dog (Fourth of July)
Rhys Bowen….. Royal Flush
Lilian Jackson Braun….. The Cat Who Went Underground (Fourth of July)
Mollie Cox Bryan….. Scrappy Summer (novella)
JoAnna Carl….. The Chocolate Frog Frame-Up (Fourth of July)
Jill Churchill….. Someone to Watch Over Me (Fourth of July)
Carol Higgins Clark…..Twanged (Fourth of July)
Nancy Coco….. To Fudge or Not to Fudge
Christine E. Collier…. A Holiday Sampler (Father’s Day)
Cleo Coyle….. Murder Most Frothy (Fourth of July)
Isis Crawford….. A Catered Fourth of July (Fourth of July)
Bill Crider….. Red, White, and Blue Murder (Fourth of July)
Mary Daheim….. The Alpine Recluse
Kathi Daley….. Bikinis in Paradise
Kathi Daley….. Beach Blanket Barbie
Jeffery Deaver (editor of anthology)….. A Century of Great Suspense Stories (includes Fourth of July Picnic by Rex Stout) (Fourth of July)
Christy Fifield: Murder Sends a Postcard
“Jessica Fletcher”….. Murder on Parade (Fourth of July)
Joanne Fluke….. Lemon Meringue Pie Murder (Fourth of July)
Joanne Fluke….. Red Velvet Cupcake Murder
Shelley Freydont ….. Independence Slay (Fourth of July)
Sally Goldenbaum….. Angora Alibi
Sarah Graves….. Knockdown (Fourth of July)
Jane Haddam….. Act of Darkness (Fourth of July)
Jane Haddam….. Dear Old Dead (Father’s Day)
Victoria Hamilton….. Bowled Over (Fourth of July)
Susannah Hardy….. Feta Attraction
Lee Harris….. The Father’s Day Murder (Father’s Day)
Carolyn G. Hart….. Yankee Doodle Dead (Fourth of July)
Carolyn Hart….. Dead, White, and Blue (Fourth of July)
Carolyn Hart….. Dead Days of Summer
B.B. Haywood….. Town in a Strawberry Swirl
Betty Hechtman….. A Stitch in Crime
Ellen Elizabeth Hunter….. Murder at Wrightsville Beach
Sue Ann Jaffarian ….. Rockets’ Red Glare (Short Story) (Fourth of July)
Sue Ann Jaffarian….. Where’s Your Daddy? (Short Story) (Father’s Day)
Joyce and Jim Lavene….. A Timely Vision (Fourth of July)
Amanda Lee (aka Gayle Trent)….. Thread End
Kylie Logan….. A Tale of Two Biddies
Jess Lourey….. Knee High by the Fourth of July (Fourth of July)
Jess Lourey….. June Bug
Jess Lourey….. August Moon
Karen MacInerney….. Death Runs Adrift
Judy McCoy….. Till Death Do Us Bark
Donna McLean….. A Sparrow Falls Fourth of July (story) (Fourth of July)
Donna McLean….. A Sparrow Falls Holiday (Includes 4 stories: Christmas, Halloween, Valentine’s Day, & the above Fourth of July) (Fourth of July)
Leslie Meier….. Tippy Toe Murder
Leslie Meier….. Star Spangled Murder (Fourth of July)
Leslie Meier….. Father’s Day Murder (Father’s Day)
Katherine Hall Page….. The Body in the Lighthouse
James Patterson & Maxine Paetro….. 4th of July (Not Cozy) (Fourth of July)
Cathy Pickens….. Can’t Never Tell (Fourth of July)
Larissa Reinhart….. Still Life in Brunswick Stew
Barbara Ross….. Clammed Up
Barbara Ross….. Boiled Over
Sara Rossett….. Mint Juleps, Mayhem, and Murder
Maggie Sefton….. Yarn Over Murder
Sharon Short….. Death by Deep Dish Pie (Fourth of July)
Earl H. Smith….. The Dam Committee (Fourth of July)
Rex Stout….. Fourth of July Picnic (found in And Four to Go) (Fourth of July)
Rebecca Tope….. Deception in the Cotswold
Kari Lee Townsend….. Trouble in the Tarot
Teresa Trent….. Doggone Dead (Fourth of July)
Teresa Trent….. Murder for a Rainy Day
Elaine Viets….. Board Stiff
Lea Wait….. Shadows of a Down East Summer
Valerie Wolzien….. A Star-Spangled Murder (Fourth of July)
Valerie Wolzien….. Death in a Beach Chair
Sue Owens Wright….. Embarking on Murder (Fourth of July)
♦ To access more Cozy Mysteries by Theme click on this link ♦
Lee Ann says
Valerie Wolzien Death in a Beach Chair
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Lee Ann, thank you! I’m going to go add it right now…
Marga says
Sounds great!
Stash Empress says
So many books, so little time… 😉
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Stash Empress, I don’t know if it was this comment of yours or not, but yesterday, I decided you are so right, and decided to spend the day reading!
Stash Empress says
LOL! So did I! Started & finished Beewitched by Hannah Reed (Queen Bee series), Dead Between the Lines by Denise Swanson (Devereaux’s Dime Store Mystery) and then last night when my son’s nurse never showed up & I pulled an all-nighter, I read & finished Miss Julia’s Marvelous Makeover by Ann B. Ross (Miss Julia series)
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Stash Empress, three books in one day! That’s got to be a record of some kind.
(I’m sorry to hear your son’s nurse didn’t ever show up. I guess they never stop to consider how their inconsiderate actions affect you…)
Tessa~ says
THANK YOU!!!!!!
got out of the “cozy” mode. but you make me want to dip back in. :-))))
tessa~
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Tessa, do you recognize the man behind Eliza? He’s no other than the absolutely BEST Sherlock Holmes ever: Jeremy Brett!
MJ says
This may not qualify for this particular theme. But I thought it ironic that I’m currently reading ‘Fleur de Lies’ by Maddy Hunter. One of the settings is Omaha Beach in Normandy with a lot of discussion about WWII.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
MJ, are they touring Normandy in June – on the anniversary of D-Day?
MJ says
You get a ‘feel’ it might be summertime, but a season isn’t specified. You do know it’s not winter. She describes many, many blooming flowers in the Giverny Gardens. Also, in one outdoor setting, one young female character is wearing a halter top and another is wearing a strapless sundress. This is probably too little to go on to classify it as a ‘summer’ read. But, their tour also includes some nights on a boat cruising down the Seine River.
In the acknowledgements, Hunter explains she is a WWII buff, thus the main thread of the story. Nothing is said about the tour group being at this location on a D Day anniversary. Three WWII vets are featured characters.
I just mentioned it because of the irony of reading this book last week when there was so much emphasis in the media about Normandy and our WWII vets. I felt ‘in sync’ with the story.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
MJ, it’s really interesting to see that Maddy Hunter is a WWII buff. Sort of serendipitous to be reading it now…
Susan* says
Just thinking… Tennis is a summer game. Are there any / many tennis, or even Wimbledon themed cozies?
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Susan*, good idea.
Susan* says
Another thing, Danna. You mention barbecues. I’m not American, but are barbecue contests / competitions held in summer or all year round?
There’s a rather good series by Lou Jane Temple about a group called ‘The Barbecue Queens’.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Susan*, I don’t know when Lou Jane Temple’s Revenge of the Barbecue Queens takes place… Down here in San Antonio, we use the barbecue all year round… even to heat up our turkey for November Thanksgiving!
Sheila says
Even in Connecticut there are devoted people who “BQ” in the winter (there are some in my family/friends). They just put on their winter jackets and gloves and do their thing. Brrrrr; but the food tastes delicious. So I guess BQ’ing is a year-round thing to some.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Sheila, I doubt my husband would be willing to brave the Connecticut winters. You’d really have to be a loyal BQ fan!
reginav says
Danna My husband barbecues steaks and lamb chops all winter outside in CT. It does not matter to him. I also read Maddy Hunter’s book and found it most appropriate.I was watching a video of Queen Elizabeth at the D Day ceremony. She got out of the limo with ease and up the stairs without help. You have to admire her stamina. I am younger and I cannot do that.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Regina, I don’t know if I mentioned this before, but my family lived in Connecticut for a year. I cannot imagine my dad out there grilling during a Connecticut winter! (We named our Cocker Spaniel “Nutmeg” for the nutmeg state.)
MJ says
I’m currently reading, ‘Thread End’ by Amanda Lee. On page three she says it’s the second week of June (set in Oregon). The story takes place over a couple of weeks. There are a some picnics on the beach, with miniature golf mentioned as another activity. Also talked about is some of the clothing attire – burmuda shorts and sundresses. Often discussed is how hot (too hot to let the dog outside for very long) it is during the day and cool at night. This book probably qualifies for the ‘summer’ theme.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
MJ, thank you for telling us about Amanda Lee’s Thread End. I have just added it to our Summer Mystery book theme.
Karen says
My books revolve around a group of retirees who camp together and they take place in the summer. The first two, “Bats and Bones” and “The Blue Coyote” are IndieBRAG medallion honorees. “The Blue Coyote” and the the third, “Peete and Repeat” were finalists in the Chanticleer CLUE awards. The next one will be out by July 1, “The Lady of the Lake.” And I have one in the works, “Grilling the Suspect,” about BBQ contests.
I would also like to recommend the Jolie Gentile books by Elaine Orr which take place in a New Jersey beach town. Two especially are summer focused, “When the Carny Comes to Town” and “Any Port in a Storm.” Great stories and very well written.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Karen Musser Nortman, thank you for telling us about your Frannie Shoemaker Campground Mystery Series:
1. Bats and Bones
2. The Blue Coyote
3. The Lady of the Lake
Sharon says
Thank you for this list! I just ordered “Clammed Up” by Barbara Ross and “Yankee Doodle Dead” by Carolyn G. Hart from the library. They are new authors for me, and I am really looking forward to reading them. I’ve been craving books with a beach/summer theme. They sound so good, the series sound good too.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Sharon, those two should get you in the summer time fun mood!
Ellen says
Hi–such fun books! Just want to mention that my Jazz Age mystery series takes place in Galveston, TX during the Summer of 1927 and includes several beach scenes (the fourth title is set in November):
FLAPPERS, FLASKS AND FOUL PLAY
BATHING BEAUTIES, BOOZE AND BULLETS
GOLD DIGGERS, GAMBLERS AND GUNS
(VAMPS, VILLAINS AND VAUDEVILLE)