
There are so many cozy mystery book authors
who can be found in the "M" list. I discovered
Charlotte MacLeod
(aka
Alisa Craig)
years ago, and I have remained a loyal reader of hers through the years. I am an
avid fan of seasonal books, and the first mystery in her Peter Shandy series
"Rest You Merry" is a wonderful cozy Christmas mystery book.
The Roderick Alleyn series written by the very
famous
Ngaio Marsh is
a classic cozy mystery series. If you get a chance to see the BBC
"Inspector Alleyn Mysteries" shows (with Patrick Malahide).... ENJOY! The cozy
mystery book translates exceptionally well to the television and/or movie
screen.
Jill McGown
writes a "very British" mystery book series that is really enjoyable
reading. When a reader devotes hours to reading a book, it's always a treat
to find a really good author who is able to deliver "good reads" every time.
Karen MacInerney
MacInerney writes two series: the Gray Whale Inn Mystery series (for which
she was nominated for an Agatha Best First Novel Award) and she will be
releasing the first book in her Tales of an Urban Werewolf series in 2008. (MacInerney
finished the second Barbara Burnett
Smith's Beading mystery series.)
Jeanne Mackin aka Anna
Maclean... As Mackin, she writes historical novels. As Maclean,
she pens a cozy mystery series that features Louisa May Alcott, before she
became a novelist.
Anna Maclean
aka
Jeanne Mackin... Maclean pens a cozy
mystery series that features Louisa May Alcott, before she became a
novelist. As Mackin, she writes historical novels.
Charlotte MacLeod
aka Alisa
Craig Several
good cozy series to
pick from... She is one of the main reasons I am such a devoted cozy mystery
fan.
Debbie Macomber
Macomber has been recommended to me by several different site readers. Not
all of her series are mysteries, although one site reader has told me that
her Cedar Cove Series does indeed fall into the mystery category. Her
Blossom Street Series is a knitting series, and she also has a number of
Holiday Theme books. Her Angelic Intervention series features three angels
who are sent to earth to help people...
Rett MacPherson
MacPherson lists genealogy as one of her passions, so it shouldn't surprise
you that her series has a genealogist as it's main character.
Mary Jane Maffini
Maffini, a librarian by trade, also (co-)owned a mystery book shop
before becoming a full-time cozy author. She has three series featuring
unusual sleuths... one is a failed romance writer and another is a
professional organizer.
Paul Magrs Magrs is a British professor of Creative Writing who writes the
Brenda & Effie Mystery Series which is set in the UK, and features two best
friends who involve themselves in supernatural investigations. He has also
written several Doctor Who novels, as well as (+/-) dozen Stand Alones.
G. M. Malliet
Malliet is a Malice Domestic Grant Winner, as well as a copywriter and
journalist. She pens the St. Just Mystery
Series...
Valerie S. Malmont
What better occupation for your cozy mystery book's main character/sleuth to
be than an author.... of horror.....
Peg Marberg
Marberg writes the Interior Design Mystery Series...
Margaret Maron
A North Carolina judge rules her Deborah Knott series, and her
Sigrid Harald series features a New York City police lieutenant.
Ngaio Marsh
Very British cozy... Her Inspector Alleyn series was the basis of
several made for TV British productions. As a baronet's son, Roderick Alleyn had
to make a career for himself, since he wasn't the first son. Who would have
known he would become such an accomplished detective?!
Evan Marshall
Marshall (president of his literary management firm) was previously a book
editor, who happens to be married to a literary agent. It's no small wonder
that his amateur sleuth (Jane Stuart) happens to be... a literary agent. A
site reader recommended that his books be added to both the site and the cat
theme category. He is also beginning the new Hidden Manhattan Mystery
Series...
Edward Marston
aka Keith Miles and
Conrad Allen....
Several series to pick from. An Agatha Award Winner....
Allana Martin
Martin writes the Death of a ***** Mystery Series which features Texana
Jones, the owner of a trading post and her husband Clay (a veterinarian) in
a Texan border town (bordering Mexico)...
J. Wallis Martin
I absolutely loved both of Martin's first two mystery novels, and (luckily)
just found out about the next two.... I will be reading them very soon....
A Likeness in Stone and The Bird Yard are very well-written
psychological mysteries, with three-dimensional characters. I only wish she
would write more great novels!
Lee Martin aka
Anne Wingate &
Martha G. Webb....
"All three" write a series that is set in Texas, Wingate's has a police chief,
Martin's series features a police detective and Webb writes about a police on
the narcotics squad.
Nancy Martin
Martin's Blackbird Sisters series features three privileged sisters
who, because of a bad turn of events, have to go find jobs for the first time in
their lives.
Rosemary Martin
aka Rosemary Stevens.... As Martin, the
author writes the Murder A-Go-Go mystery series which is set during the
1960s in New York. Her Stevens' series is quite different, set during the
Regency period (1790-1820) in London.
Sarah J. Mason See
Miss Seeton
books, alphabetized under “Miss Emily Seeton”.....This is the
third "part" of the three-author series involving Miss Seeton. Mason uses
the pseudonym Hamilton Crane when writing the Miss Seeton books. She also has a
series that is set in a British village, featuring two detectives.
Sujata Massey
Massey is an ex-newspaper journalis, with a degree from John Hopkin's.
Several of her works appear on the Agatha Awards pages!
Amanda Matetsky
Main character's name is "Paige Turner!"
Francine Mathews
aka Stephanie Barron…. Mathews writes
two series, one about a police detective in Massachusetts, and the other
about a CIA analyst.
Stefanie Matteson Matteson's mystery series features
an aging star who enjoys a good mystery.
Alex Matthews
Matthews, a psychotherapist, was previously an English teacher, then
journalist. Matthews sets her series in Oak Park, Illinois... very dear to
me since my sister and her family have lived there for many years.
Christine Matthews Imagine collaborating with
Robert J. Randisi! That is exactly what Christine Matthews does while
writing her popular Gil & Claire Hunt Mystery Series...
Archer Mayor Mayor, a confirmed New Englander, writes the Joe Gunther
Mystery Series, which is a police procedural. Along with being the author of
the very popular Joe Gunther Series, he is also a deputy for the county
sheriff's department and a death investigator for the Vermont's Chief
Medical Examiner. He has spent 25 years as a volunteer EMT and
firefighter.
Susan
McBride McBride is a journalist whose websites
says she "always dreamed of making up stories rather than reporting them."
She is the author of the Debutante Dropout Mystery series which features a
woman who fled her own debutante season, much to the chagrin of her socially
up-there mother.
Barbara Taylor McCafferty
aka Taylor McCafferty & Tierney McClellan... McCafferty teams up with
her twin Beverly Taylor Herald when
writing the Tatum Twin mystery series.
Alexander McCall Smith
Alexander McCall Smith is a professor of medical law,
with a passion for music. I am a fan of both of his "mystery" series: the
Number One Ladies' Detective Agency and the Isabel Dalhousie (Sunday
Philosophy Club) series. He is also the author of the Professor Doctor
Moritz-Maria Von Igelfeld trilogy, as well as the author of the the 44
Scotland Street goings-on.... both of which I am a fan.
His Number One Ladies' Detective Agency
series is the closest to being a mystery series, although I'm not sure if it
would truly qualify as that... To me, it is more like a delightful work of
fiction which happens to take place in a detective agency. (I have Alexander
McCall Smith under both the "M" and "S" pages, since a viewer of this site
thought he should be on the "M" page...)
Lorena McCourtney
McCourtney, armed with a college degree in agriculture, is listed under
"Christian Mysteries" on her site... She writes several mystery series, some
of which feature senior citizen sleuths, and she even has a birdwatching
mystery series...
Judi McCoy
McCoy writes the Dog Walker Mystery Series which features Rudy and Ellie,
Yorkie and faithful owner, who happens to be able to communicate
telepathically with her charges...
Sharyn McCrumb
McCrumb is probably most recognized as the author of the very
successful Appalachian series. She has several other series from which to
pick.
Michael McGarrity
Armed with a masters in clinical social
work, McGarrity has held several very interesting jobs... including deputy
sheriff in Santa Fe county, college instructor, and even investigator for
the Public Defenders Office. His series features a retired police chief, in
where else, but beautiful Santa Fe.
Neil
McGaughey
McGaughey's Stokes Moran series is about a mystery book reviewer....
Jill McGown
aka Elizabeth Chaplin..... Very British police procedural...
Chief Inspector Lloyd and Sergeant Judy Hill are some of my all time
favorite mystery characters.
Ralph McInerny
aka
Monica Quill....
As McInerny, he writes the Father Dowling series, the (lawyer) Andrew Broom
series, and a Notre Dame series...
Hope McIntyre
(aka Caroline Upcher) McIntyre (the pseudonym for her crime
fiction) writes about something she knows first-hand... ghostwriting. Having
been a ghostwriter (as well as several other professions---including editor)
she now writes the Lee Bartholomew Mystery Series featuring a ghostwriter...
G. A.
McKevett The Savannah Reid series.....
Jenn McKinlay (aka
Lucy Lawrence) McKinlay
writes the Cupcake Bakery Mystery Series and as Lawrence she writes the
Decoupage Mystery Series...
Ann McMillan
McMillan writes the Civil War Mystery Series, set (quite obviously) during
the Civil War... in Virginia. It features an herbalist...
Cricket McRae
McRae used to have a soap making company, in which she performed pretty much
all of the duties (from manufacturing to marketing.) With this knowledge
under her belt, it is no small wonder that the first book in her Home
Crafting Cozy Mystery Series is called "Lye in Wait."
Amy Patricia Meade
Meade writes the Marjorie McClelland Mystery Series which is set during the
1930s in Connecticut and features a mystery author...
Leslie Meier Meier writes the Lucy Stone
Mystery Series,
which is a fun, Cozy Mystery holiday-themed series of novels...
D. R. Meredith
Meredith's most current series involves a librarian/sleuth who
believes that every librarian should be a mystery reading group member...
Barbara Mertz
aka Elizabeth
Peters &
Barbara Michaels.....
The Amelia Peabody series is probably her most popular series. Amelia is a
British Egyptologist, as is Mertz.
Annette Meyers (aka
1/2 of Maan Meyers)
Meyers writes a series about Wall Street headhunters, and is very
familiar with that world. She worked in the "brokerage industry," so she
knows how far people are willing to go for money... and for the things money
can buy! She also writes with her husband Martin, using the name "Maan
Meyers."
Maan Meyers
Martin & Annette Meyers are a husband &
wife writing duo who write the Dutchman Historical Mystery Series which has
a very interesting plot time line: Each novel centers around a different
generation of the same family as they make their way from New Amsterdam to
New York.
Barbara Michaels
aka
Elizabeth Peters
&
Barbara Mertz....
Michaels has her doctorate in Egyptology, and her series reflects her
interest in all things archaeological...
Kasey Michaels Michaels writes the Maggie Kelly Mystery
Series as well as historical romances. She is a New York Times and USA Today
bestselling author...
Keith Miles
aka
Edward Marston &
Conrad Allen.....
See Marston above....
Margaret Miles
Miles writes the Bracebridge Mystery Series which is set in a little
village in Massachusetts during the colonial years...
Rosalind Miles
Historical Fiction.....
Margaret Millar
I have to be honest and say that I have never read a Millar novel, although
I plan to…. A very good friend of mine suggested Millar’s name when I
told her I was going through a phase of wanting to read more novels by
“classic” mystery authors. While researching for some information about
Millar I read that she is known for her surprise endings…. which I happen to
enjoy a lot!
Marlys Millhiser
Millhiser holds her Masters in history and taught high school before
deciding to devote her time to writing novels. She writes a series about a
(female) literary agent in Los Angeles.
Camille Minichino
(aka Margaret Grace) Minichino
is a true-life physicist, so who better to write a series about a
physicist/sleuth? As Grace, she is beginning a new series set amidst
dollhouses and miniature settings. Minichino and her niece have been
building dollhouses and furnishing them, and then donating them to school
fundraisers (to give as raffle prizes.)
Miss Emily D. Seeton
Miss Seeton is a retired British teacher who "sleuths" whenever there is a
need....... of which there are many! This series of books has been written
by three different authors since Heron Carvic began the series in 1968.
Hampton Charles and then Sarah J. Mason
were the next two authors. (Mason uses the pseudonym
Hamilton Crane.)
Gladys
Mitchell (aka Malcolm Torrie)
The wonderful Dame Diana Rigg played British Mrs. Bradley in the PBS shows.
I haven't read any of the Mitchell novels yet..... but am planning to do so
soon.
Miriam Grace Monfredo
The Seneca Falls Historical series and the Cain Trilogy.....
Yvonne Montgomery Montgomery writes the Finny Aletter Mystery Series which
features a stockbroker as its sleuth.
Deborah Morgan
Morgan writes a series about an ex-FBI agent who solves
mysteries while buying and then reselling antiques.
Kaye Morgan
Morgan writes the Sudoku Mystery series which features an ex-Hollywood
resident who now creates the Sudoku puzzles for her (current Oregon)
newspaper.
John Mortimer
Rumpole of the Bailey series.....
Fiona Mountain
Mountain received the 2007 Mary Higgins Clark Award for the second novel in
her Natasha Blake Ancestor Detective Mystery Series, which is about a
genealogist sleuth who lives in the Cotswolds.
Patricia Moyes
Very British..... with Scotland
Yard Inspector Henry Tibbett.... very Cozy!
Marcia Muller
Muller has a masters in journalism and has written several
California cozy series. Her San Francisco P. I. Sharon McCone is
probably the most recognizable to cozy readers. She has co-authored several
books with her husband, mystery writer, Bill Pronzini.
Katy Munger aka
Gallagher Gray...
Munger's series is based in North Carolina with an unlicensed private
investigator in her 30s, while Gray's series is about a retired personnel
manager who "sleuths" with his octogenarian aunt, living in New York.
Shirley Rousseau
Murphy As a devoted lover of cats, Murphy writes the Joe Grey
Cat Mysteries. I have not read any of the books (yet!), but I am impressed
by how much some of the members of a book forum I belong to absolutely love
the series. Murphy has also written books for children, as well as fantasy
novels for both adults and young adults.
Donna Huston Murray The Ginger Barnes Mystery
series set in Philadelphia......
Lynne
Murray
Murray writes a series with Josephine Fuller as the full-figured sleuth. I
like her books a lot.
Amy Myers
Historical series set in the 1800s, with a master chef
sleuth.....
Beverle Graves Myers
Myers, a psychiatrist with a love for opera and a background in History, has
been able to combine all three of these fields to pen her mystery series
featuring a (Castrati) opera singer/sleuth...
Tamar Myers
Magdalena Yoder is the owner of a Mennonite Inn in a Pennsylvania-Dutch
locale, and Abigail Timberlake owns the Den of Antiquity antique shop in
North Carolina. Both series are very popular with the cozy crowd.
Tim Myers
(aka
Elizabeth Bright, Melissa Glazer, &
Chris Cavender)
So far, Myers has three series:
Soapmaking, Candlemaking, and Lighthouse Inns are the themes. As Elizabeth Bright, he writes a card-making series,
as Chris Cavender, he has the Pizza Mystery Series. As Glazer, he
writes the Clay & Crime Cozy Mystery Series...
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