As you have probably noticed, there are many non-cozy mystery authors included in these alphabetized author lists. In all of the mystery reading groups I have belonged to, whether the group was touted as a cozy mystery reading group or not, it seemed  like we would always include books in the different mystery genres. There are cozies, of course, police procedurals, thrillers, hard-boiled, true crime, gritty/realistic/graphic mysteries, mysteries with amateur sleuths even mysteries featuring mystery-solving talking animal sleuths (a la Rita Mae Brown!).

There are mystery authors with all types of educational and professional backgrounds.... teachers, librarians, journalists, even district attorneys!  And, of course, there are mystery series that are theme-based.... herbal, historical, crossword puzzles, bed and breakfasts, book store owners.... these are just a few of the many themes that cozy mystery authors have used.

An example of a theme-based series is the Needlecraft Mystery Series which is written by Monica Ferris. It features Betsy Devonshire, the owner of a needlepoint shop, which is where a lot of the mystery-solving takes place. A theme sometimes is what brings a new reader to a series, but, if the author "can't deliver the goods," the series won't thrive.

Linda Fairstein   Not Cozy... Fairstein served as Manhattan's Sex Crimes Prosecution Chief for many years, and now has a bestselling series of books featuring an assistant D.A., who specializes in sex crimes.

Ann C. Fallon   Solicitor in Ireland series....

Jerrilyn Farmer    Culinary series...

Howard Fast   aka E. V. Cunningham... I have enjoyed his Masao Masuto series very much...

Monica Ferris  aka Mary Monica Pulver & half of the duo who wrote as Margaret Frazer for the first of the Sister Frevisse novels.  For all of the cozy mystery fans who also enjoy needlework... a needlecraft mystery series... I happen to be one of those needle working-cozy reading people!

Sharon Fiffer   Fiffer writes non-fiction with (and without) her husband, Steve, but her Jane Wheel mystery series is solely her own gem. She has also taught writing at the college level.

Honora Finkelstein    Finkelstein writes the Ariel Quigley mystery series with Susan Smily. Finkelstein has a Ph. D. in English and has had several different careers, working as an intelligence officer with the Navy, a professor, and a newspaper editor (among her other jobs.) The Finkelstein/Smily series is unusual in that each mystery novel has a recipe book that features the recipes described/used in the novel.

Judy Fitzwater   Her first series (the "Dying to ...") is a cozy, while her new series is described as a thriller, with plenty of action  and adventure.

Jessica Fletcher  of Murder, She Wrote...  Donald Bain has ghost-written many books other than the Jessica's. I don't know why some bookstores insist on putting his "Murder, She Wrote" books in the "F" (as in Fletcher) section... Well, I just added it to the F section of this site, since I am finding more and more places that place it here instead of under the Bs....

Elaine Flinn   Flinn was an antique dealer before writing her Molly Doyle mystery series.

Joanne Fluke   Cookie Jar series, by an author who should know..... she has worked as a caterer and cook, as well as taught school, and held several other jobs... including working as a private detective's assistant!

Rae Foley   aka Elinor Denniston, Dennis Allan, & Helen K. Maxwell.... perhaps best described as cozies with romance....  

G. M. Ford  Not cozy.... described as thrillers...

Chris Forman    An English and Social Studies teacher, Forman now pens the Maria Hart Mystery series that is about a Chicago insurance investigator. I have not read any of the novels... yet... but they are on my ever-growing list of books to read in the near future!

Christopher Fowler   I have not read any of his books.... yet. In the research I did, I found that he is able to interweave life in London in the 1940s with today's life in London.

Earlene Fowler    The Benni Harper series features a quilter/cowgirl sleuth...

Anthea Fraser  Both of her series are set in England... Detective Chief Inspector David Webb and biographer Rona Parish.

Antonia Fraser    Lady Antonia Fraser is Oxford-educated, and is best known for the historical biographies she writes. Her mystery novels feature Jemima Shore, a television investigative reporter.

Margaret Frazer  aka Monica Ferris & Mary Monica Pulver... This is confusing, but I will try to explain: Margaret Frazer was the collaboration of two women: Mary Monica Pulver and Gail Frazer. They split their writing duo after the sixth Sister Frevisse Medieval Mystery Series novel.. Gail Frazer is now Margaret Frazer...

Mary Freeman   Gardening mystery series......

Shelley Freydont    Freydont is a retired dancer with both her BFA and MFA from the University of  Utah, who writes the Lindy Haggerty series. Lindy happens to be a retired dancer, also. And, as of 2007 Freydont now writes a Sudoku mystery series for all of you Sudoku fans!

Kinky Friedman  Not cozy....  Kinky Friedman, who along with writing a mystery series that features a country western singer/sleuth, may also be famous for running for governor of Texas in 2006.

Susan Froetschel With her M.P.A. from the JFK School of Government at Harvard, Froetschel is now a faculty member in the Journalism Department at Southern Connecticut State University. She has penned two Alaskan mysteries, as well as worked as a reporter.

Sara Hoskinson Frommer     Frommer has her degree in German, is a quilter and charter member of a symphony's viola section. Her heroine Joan Spencer also plays the viola while sleuthing.

Frances Fyfield   aka Frances Hegarty...  Two British series from which to pick.....

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