{"id":16974,"date":"2014-04-26T10:01:06","date_gmt":"2014-04-26T15:01:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cozy-mystery.com\/blog\/?p=16974"},"modified":"2017-08-01T18:41:00","modified_gmt":"2017-08-01T23:41:00","slug":"mystery-book-recommendations-april-2014","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cozy-mystery.com\/blog\/mystery-book-recommendations-april-2014\/","title":{"rendered":"Mystery Book Recommendations \u2013 April 2014"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a>\"\"It’s time for our monthly Cozy Mystery book recommendations<\/strong>. If you are new to the Cozy Mystery site, this is the time when we (Cozy Mystery readers) tell each other about our very favorite of favorite Cozy Mystery books that we have read during the month.<\/p>\n

For those of you who visit the Cozy Mystery page on Facebook, you already know that I have been reading (listening to) the fourteenth book in Alexander McCall Smith<\/strong>‘s No.\u00a0<\/strong>1 Ladies’ Detective Agency<\/strong>, The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon<\/em>. I absolutely love this series. It is amongst the very gentlest of Cozy Mystery series. You won’t catch Precious Ramotswe (the main sleuth) walking into a dark, abandoned apartment building in the middle of the night, only to meet the killer, who has been waiting for her. Precious won’t be tailing a red herring character in her hot-rod car, nor will she running away from a knife-wielding crazed culprit.<\/span><\/p>\n

These mysteries by Alexander McCall Smith don’t involve murder. The mysteries are more “real life” type of mysteries: tracking down a loved-one, proving someone is not who he\/she claims to be, checking on beauty pageant contestants’ values; those type of “real life” mysteries.<\/p>\n

The series takes place in Botswana and is a delightful introduction to what life in its capital (Gaborone) is like. Mma Ramotswe opens the detective agency and bases all of her detecting techniques on a book written by Clovis Andersen: The Principals of Private Detection. This book explains all of the ins and outs that Mma Ramotswe and her very capable associate detective, Mma Makutsi, employ.<\/p>\n

The characters and relationships are the most integral part of these “mystery books.” The reader truly gets to know the people and the country, and Alexander McCall Smith is a tremendously gifted story-teller. So, I am going to start the April Mystery Book Recommendations List<\/strong> with him.<\/p>\n

[As usual, I ask that you don’t tell us about the mystery books you read that you didn’t like.]<\/p>\n

What Cozy Mystery book (or author) have you read during April 2014, and\u00a0why\u00a0did you enjoy it (or him\/her)?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here are the current recommended authors who some of you have read this past month:<\/p>\n

Isabella Alan<\/a><\/strong> (aka Amanda Flower): Amish Quilt Shop Mystery Series<\/strong><\/p>\n

Susan Wittig Albert<\/strong><\/a>: China Bayles Mystery Series<\/strong><\/p>\n

Beverly Allen<\/strong><\/a> (aka Barbara Early): Bridal Bouquet Shop Mystery Series<\/strong><\/p>\n

Donna Andrews<\/strong><\/a>: Meg Langslow Mystery Series<\/strong><\/p>\n

Nancy Atherton<\/strong><\/a>: Aunt Dimity Mystery Series<\/strong><\/p>\n

Donald Bain & “Jessica Fletcher”<\/strong><\/a>: Murder, She Wrote Mystery Series<\/strong><\/p>\n

JoAnn Bassett<\/strong>: Islands of Aloha Mystery Series<\/strong> (Livin\u2019 Lahainia Loca<\/em><\/a>, book #2)<\/p>\n

M.C. Beaton<\/strong><\/a> (aka Marion Chesney): Hamish Macbeth Mystery Series<\/strong><\/p>\n

Melissa Bourbon<\/strong><\/a> (aka Misa Ramirez): Magical Dressmaking Mystery Series<\/strong><\/p>\n

Emily Brightwell<\/strong><\/a>: Mrs. Jeffries Mystery Series<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lynn Cahoon<\/strong>:<\/span> Tourist Trap\u00a0Mystery\u00a0Series<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0(Guidebook to Murder<\/em><\/a>, book #1)<\/span><\/p>\n

Joelle Charbonneau<\/strong><\/a>: Glee Club Mystery Series<\/strong><\/p>\n

Laura Childs<\/strong><\/a>: Tea Shop Mystery Series<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mary Higgins Clark<\/strong><\/a>: I\u2019ve Got You Under My Skin<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Peg Cochran<\/strong><\/a> (aka Meg London): Lucille Mystery Series<\/strong><\/p>\n

Peter Conradi<\/strong>: Hot Dogs and Cocktails: When FDR Met King George VI at Hyde Park on Hudson<\/strong><\/em><\/a> (not a mystery)<\/p>\n

J.J. Cook<\/strong><\/a> (aka Joyce and Jim Lavene & Ellie Grant): Biscuit Bowl Food Truck Mystery Series<\/strong><\/p>\n

J.J. Cook<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0(aka Joyce and Jim Lavene & Ellie Grant:\u00a0Sweet Pepper Fire Brigade Mystery Series<\/strong><\/p>\n

Philip R. Craig<\/strong><\/a> & William G. Tapply<\/strong>: Brady Coyne & J.W. Jackson Mystery Series<\/strong> (not Cozy)<\/p>\n

Cheryl Crane<\/strong>: Nikki Harper Mystery Series<\/strong> (The Bad Always Die Twice<\/em><\/a>, book #1)<\/p>\n

Jessie Crockett<\/strong><\/a>: Sugar Grove Mystery Series<\/strong><\/p>\n

Mary Daheim<\/strong><\/a>: Emma Lord Alpine Mystery Series<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kathi Daley<\/strong><\/a>: T J Jensen Mystery Series<\/strong><\/p>\n

Diane Mott Davidson<\/strong><\/a>: Goldy Bear Mystery Series<\/strong><\/p>\n

Vicky Delany<\/strong>: Constable Molly Smith Mystery Series<\/strong>\u00a0(Under Cold Stone<\/em><\/a>, book #7)<\/p>\n

Nancy DeMarco<\/strong>: Saving Gracie<\/em><\/a> (not Cozy)<\/p>\n

Carola Dunn<\/strong><\/a>: Daisy Dalrymple Mystery Series<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dawn Eastman<\/strong><\/a>: Family Fortune Mystery Series<\/strong><\/p>\n

Monica Ferris<\/strong><\/a>: Needlecraft Mystery Series<\/strong><\/p>\n

Joanne Fluke<\/strong><\/a>: Hannah Swensen Cookie Jar Mystery Series<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ann Granger<\/strong><\/a>: Markby & Mitchell Village Whodunit Mystery Series<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ellie Grant<\/strong><\/a> (aka Joyce and Jim Lavene & J.J. Cook): Pie in the Sky Mystery Series<\/strong><\/p>\n

Joan Hadley<\/strong><\/a> (aka Joan Hess): Theo Bloomer Mystery Series<\/strong><\/p>\n

Parnell Hall<\/strong><\/a>: Puzzle Lady Mystery Series<\/strong><\/p>\n

Victoria Hamilton<\/strong><\/a> (aka Amanda Cooper): Merry Muffin Mystery Series<\/strong><\/p>\n

Julie Hyzy<\/strong><\/a>: White House Chef Mystery Series<\/strong><\/p>\n

Julie Hyzy<\/strong><\/a>: Manor House Mystery Series<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sharon Ricklin Jones<\/strong>: River of Time<\/a><\/em> (not Cozy)<\/p>\n

Shirley Kennedy<\/strong>: Looking for Lucky<\/em><\/a> (not Cozy)<\/p>\n

Sherry Lewis<\/strong><\/a>: Senior Sleuth Fred Vickery Mystery Series<\/strong><\/p>\n

Dixie Lyle<\/strong><\/a>: Whiskey, Tango, and Foxtrot Mystery Series<\/strong><\/p>\n

Charlotte MacLeod<\/strong><\/a> (aka Alisa Craig): Peter Shandy Mystery Series<\/strong><\/p>\n

Charlotte MacLeod<\/strong><\/a> (aka Alisa Craig): Sarah Kelling Mystery Series<\/strong><\/p>\n

Molly MacRae<\/strong><\/a>: Haunted Yarn Shop Mystery Series<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ngaio Marsh<\/strong><\/a>: Inspector Roderick Alleyn Mystery Series<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jenn McKinlay<\/strong><\/a> (aka Josie Belle & Lucy Lawrence): Cupcake Bakery Mystery Series<\/strong><\/p>\n

Camille Minichino<\/strong><\/a> (aka Margaret Grace & Ada Madison): Periodic Table Mystery Series<\/strong><\/p>\n

Gail Oust<\/strong><\/a>: Piper Prescott Mystery Series<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ann Purser<\/strong><\/a>: Ivy Beasley Mystery Series<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sara Rosett<\/strong><\/a>: On the Run Mystery Series<\/strong><\/p>\n

M.L. Rowland<\/strong>: Search and Rescue Mystery Series<\/strong> (Zero-Degree Murder<\/a>, book #1)<\/p>\n

Sofie Ryan<\/strong><\/a> (aka Sofie Kelly): Second Chance Cat Mystery Series<\/strong><\/p>\n

Susan Santangelo<\/strong><\/a>: Baby Boomer Mystery Series<\/strong><\/p>\n

Julia Spencer-Fleming<\/strong><\/a>: Adirondack Mystery Series<\/strong><\/p>\n

Alexander McCall Smith<\/strong><\/a>: The\u00a0No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kathy Hogan Trocheck<\/strong><\/a> (aka Mary Kay Andrews): Callahan Garrity Mystery Series<\/strong><\/p>\n

Christine Wenger<\/strong><\/a>: Comfort Food Mystery Series<\/strong><\/p>\n

[If you click on the author’s name (blue) link, it will take you to his\/her page on the\u00a0Cozy Mystery<\/a>\u00a0site. The pages have all of the authors’ books listed chronologically.]<\/p>\n

\u2666To\u00a0access more\u00a0Cozy Mystery Books Recommendations<\/a><\/strong>, click on this link\u2666<\/p>\n

P.S. While I try to respond to all of the comments that are made on the Cozy Mystery\u00a0blog, I generally don’t respond to the comments on these monthly recommendation entries. I do, however, list the recommended books!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It’s time for our monthly Cozy Mystery book recommendations. If you are new to the Cozy Mystery site, this is the time when we (Cozy Mystery readers) tell each other about our very favorite of favorite Cozy Mystery books that we have read during the month. For those of you who visit the Cozy Mystery […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[6,9,31],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-16974","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-authors","7":"category-books","8":"category-monthly-cozy-recommendations","9":"entry","10":"override"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pI0sr-4pM","jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cozy-mystery.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16974","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cozy-mystery.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cozy-mystery.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cozy-mystery.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cozy-mystery.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16974"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/cozy-mystery.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16974\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":33782,"href":"https:\/\/cozy-mystery.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16974\/revisions\/33782"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cozy-mystery.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16974"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cozy-mystery.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16974"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cozy-mystery.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16974"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}