Who says only the young sleuths get results? Definitely not Dorothy Gilman! Gilman's Mrs. Pollifax Mystery Series takes you around the world with this mature, hat-wearing CIA sleuth. Dorothy Gilman's Mrs. Pollifax Mystery Series is a "gentle" type of mystery series… If you're looking for expletives, a lot of gore, and superfluous adult situations, Gilman is definitely not for you! But, if you have run out of Gilman's mysteries and are looking for a few authors who might be worthy substitutes, this list is for you!
Authors similar to Dorothy Gilman:
Nancy Atherton: Aunt Dimity Mystery Series…
Mignon F. Ballard: Augusta Goodnight Mystery Series…
Nancy Bell: Biggie Weatherford Mystery Series…
Rhys Bowen: Lady Georgiana Mystery Series…
Lilian Jackson Braun: The Cat Who… Mystery Series
Simon Brett: Fethering Mystery Series AND Melita Pargeter Mystery Series…
Emily Brightwell: Mra. Jeffries Victorian Mystery Series…
Heron Carvic: Miss Seeton Mystery Series…
Lori Copeland: Morning Shade Mystery Series…
Amanda Cross: Kate Fansler Mystery Series…
Carola Dunn: Daisy Dalrymple Mystery Series…
Monica Ferris: Needlecraft Mystery Series…
Carolyn Hart: Death on Demand Mystery Series AND Henrie O Mystery Series…
Sue Henry: Maxie & Stretch Mystery Series…
Jan Karon: Mitford Series… (Not mysteries!)
Jane Langton: Homer Kelly Mystery Series…
Ann B. Ross: Miss Julia Mystery Series…
Patricia (Houck) Sprinkle: Thoroughly Southern Mystery Series…
Rex Stout: Nero Wolfe Mystery Series…
Victoria Thompson: Gaslight Mystery Series…
Please post your recommendations of authors who are similar to Dorothy Gilman, and I will add them to the list.
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The best part of ‘cozy mysteries’ is the fact that there is no gore or expletives or sexual situations – just plain good fun. My twin sister recently gave me the entire series of Biggie Weatherford mysteries by Nancy Bell. What a great series and why she stopped writing the ‘Biggie’ ones, I’ll never know. They are a MUST for any cozy mystery lover.
Sue Henry has a “Maxie McNabb” series about a 60 year old widow who travels the US in her Winnebago with her miniature dachshund and solving various murders or mysteries along the way.
Thank you both, Petie & Pat, for suggesting Sue Henry and Nancy Bell. I have added both of them to the Authors Similar to Dorothy Gilman page. This is one of the best ways to find authors who are similar to other mystery authors… word of mouth from Cozy Mystery book readers!
We can’t forget Patricia (Houck) Sprinkle’s THOROUGHLY SOUTHERN series. MacLaren is no spring chicken. I enjoyed her as much as I did Mrs. Pollifax. I miss both of these two series – may have to read them again later. Thanks again for this site.
First off, I want to say I LOVE this site. Just became a Cozy fan this past April and thanks to the lists on this site, have read 65 cozies since then! Also LOVE the TV and movies page. My parents are huge British mystery fans and thanks to those lists, I can reserve tons of DVDs from the library for them.
Anywho…for this list, how about Lorena McCourtney’s Ivy Malone series? One of my favorite grandmother (who doesn’t act like one) cozies that’s hilarious to read as well
Thank you, Deborah, for the very kind words about the site. I’m glad you found it… and I suspect your parents are also glad>>> the public library is a great place to find a lot of British mystery DVDs, if you have a good library. And, it sounds like you do!
Thank you for recommending Lorena McCourtney‘s Ivy Malone series.
Lori Copeland. Her mystery solver is an 87 year old woman.
Thanks, Lynn, I am going to go add her right now…
Ann B. Ross – Miss Julia series. A widow who has a “friend” of her late husbands’ and their son. Miss Julia does not have children, but takes both in. It is a very funny book, a mystery, etc. all in one.
Thank you, Jackie, I will go add Miss Julia to the list of Authors Similar to Dorothy Gilman.
Richard Barth wrote some books featuring a group of older New York residents. Unfortuntely the names of the books escape me at the moment, although I suspect one was the Rag-Bag Clan.
Thanks, PaulD, for telling us about Richard Barth!
I listen to my favorite series over and over on audiobooks. A close favorite to Dorothy Gilman is Charlotte Macleod’s Sarah Kelling/ Max Bittersohn series. Lovely and fun.
Thanks, Frances. I will go see if audible.com has any of Charlotte MacLeod’s mysteries.
I just checked, and neither Charlotte MacLeod nor Alisa Craig are on their list of audible books. Too bad, as I follow all of those series…
For fans of Dorothy Gilman. She passed away at age 88 according to the New York Times article on February 3.
“The Mystery Writers of America named Mrs. Gilman its 2010 Grand Master. ”
I enjoyed all of her novels, especially the “Mrs. Pollifax” spy stories.
Thank you, Andie, for the information about Dorothy Gilman. She (and her terrific mysteries) will be missed.
I loved all of her Mrs. Pollifax mystery books. I recently watched the 1971 Mrs. Pollifax movie with Rosalind Russell and Darrin McGavin. Loved it!
I think Parnell Hall’s Puzzle Lady Series deserves to be on the list of authors similar to Dorothy Gilman. How about it?