Cozy Mystery Recs

[blondemomma007]

Hi! I'm an (embarrassingly) long time lurker and have been following suggestions you ladies post. I'm hitting a dry spell. Can you recommend some good Cozy Mystery series? So far I've read:

- Royal Spyness series, Rhys Bowen (this is my absolute fav!)
- Molly Murphy series, Rhys Bowen
- Gaslight Mysteries, Victoria Thompson
- Maggie Hope Series

I just started Maisie Dobbs but I'm not a huge fan. It's not good or bad, it's just hard for me to get into for some reason.

Any other good series I should check out?

[charlatti]

I like the Lady Emily series by Tasha Alexander and the Chet and Bernie mysteries by Spencer Quinn (Chet is a dog and narrates the stories). Julie Hyzy's books are fun -- White House chef and manor house series.

Louise Penny's Chief Inspector Gamache series isn't a cozy but it's my very favorite mystery series.

[dorothyinAus]

I read mainly cozy mysteries. I agree with you on Maisie Dobbs, I had a hard time picking it up and getting into them, so I just gave up.

Beyond the series you listed, which I also read, these are the series that I read as soon as new books come out:
China Bayles by Susan Wittig Albert (Modern)
Charles Lennox by Charles Finch (Victorian)
Captain Gabriel Lacey by Ashley Gardner (Regency)
Daisy Dalrymple by Carola Dunn (Edwardian)
Monsieur Pamplemousse by Michael Bond (Modern)
Mrs. Murphy by Rita Mae and Sneaky Pie Brown (Modern)
Phryne Fisher by Kerry Greenwood (1920's Melbourne)

Most of the other series I read are out of print or hard to find, but I'm happy to give recommendations for those if you're interested.

I'd also recommend Rex Stout's Nero Wolfe series. It's an older series, but truly fantastic -- Stout has such a way with words -- and definitely stand the test of time. I don't particularly like Wolfe as a character, but the supporting cast more than makes up for him.

[Wallflower]

I really enjoy Donna Andrews' Meg Langslow series. The books all have a bird title and some tie-in, but I find them less "cute" than a lot of the cozy mysteries; light, fun, but not silly, as some of the books in this category can be (IMHO). And I love Ellis Peters' Cadfael series (12th century former-soldier-turned-monk).

And they're not cozy mysteries, but I always recommend Louise Penny's Gamache books. They are fantastic!

[packfan20]

Joanne Fluke's Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder series. Some are better than others but they are mindless and cute (and they have yummy recipes!)

[Deleted]

The Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich. It's very light and fluffy.

[willyh19]

The mom zone mystery series by Sara Rosett is fun and light: www.goodreads.com/series/59490-a-mom-zone-mystery

[ufcasey]

What exactly is a cozy mystery?

[dorothyinAus]

Jul 6, 2016 20:22:21 GMT -5 ufcasey said:

What exactly is a cozy mystery?

The definition varies, but generally they are mysteries where the violence takes place "off-screen" so to speak, with no graphic descriptions.  And the investigator is usually an amateur, though sometimes there are police or private detectives as the investigator.  There may be a lighter feel to the narrative, as opposed to thrillers or police procedurals.

Agatha Christie's mysteries are cozy mysteries, as are almost all the ones in the shops with puns in the title.

Like many genres it's hard to get a complete and accurate definition as there is much cross-over and disagreement.

[Deleted]

I love The No. 1 Ladies' Detective series by Alexander McCall Smith