The Cozy Mystery List Blog

Cozy Mystery (and Other Favorite) Books, Movies, and TV

Do You Remember All of Your New Favorite Series’ Characters’ Identities?

RememberThe other day, MJ posted a comment that caught my eye. She had attached it to the bottom of her monthly recommendations, but I thought it was such a good comment, that I wanted to be sure ALL of us would see it.

MJ:

We’ve had discussions on this blog about whether to read books in a series all at once, or space them out yearly, as they are published. I’ve noticed that when I start a new series, I lose track of the characters a whole year later when the second book is published.

So I’ve been contemplating waiting until the second book is released before starting to read the first one. Then if I read them a week or two (or even a month) apart, I’ll at least remember the characters and will be able to get into successive books much more quickly. Does anyone else have these same ‘memory’ problems when starting a new series, or is it just me?

MJ, rest assured, you are not alone! But, let’s see what other Cozy Mystery readers have to say.

How about you, do you have trouble keeping all your new Cozy characters straight? Does it help you to read the first two books in a series consecutively so that you can better remember the characters and settings? Please post a comment. Thanks!

Cozy Mystery with Huge Piano AND Cozy Mystery with Communion Wafer-Eating Cat…

Today I decided that since you all so quickly solve the mysteries that other Cozy Mystery readers ask about, I’d go ahead and ask for help in solving two Cozy Mystery readers’ questions.

catmKathy:

I am trying to remember which book has the cat the breaks into the communion supplies at the church and steals the communion wafers. I keep thinking it’s Pewter (one of Harry’s cats in the Mrs. Murphy series). The preacher has 2 cats and I think one of them helps but I’m just not sure. Do you know which book it is? It might not even be Mrs. Murphy books. Just can’t remember.
Thank you
Kathy

AND

pianoSusan:

…I read a book which as far as I can remember was about a young woman who inherits a relative’s place that is dominated by a huge piano. [The piano reveals something important when the relative’s murder is solved].

If you think you know the book Kathy is asking for about the cat or the book series/author Susan is asking for about the piano, please post a comment. Thank you!

Cozy Mystery Authors with No Profanity/Swearing, Please…

ReadingHere’s part of another letter that I received from a Cozy Mystery readers. Deborah asks:

… I wanted to know if you do, or if you could stipulate which novels are more appropriate for younger readers. I note that you mentioned on your blog that more and more, authors are using profanity, etc. I for one do not appreciate this, and my 12 year old daughter, who reads well beyond her grade level, loves mysteries, but not the vulgarities.

When I first read this letter, I thought immediately of these two theme entries and this Cozy Mystery series:

Mystery Books with No Profanity (Swearing) and/or Faith-Based Mystery Books

Mystery Books for Pre Teens…

Margaret Grace (aka Camille Minichino, Ada Madison, & Jean Flowers): Miniature Mystery Series (no profanity and the main character’s granddaughter and sidekick is a preteen)

I also thought about asking you ALL if you can think of one, two, or maybe three Cozy Mystery authors who you think would be great for Deborah to begin checking out for her daughter. If you can think of an author who you think qualifies for this question, please post a comment. Thank you!

Yikes! She’s Running Out of Lilian Jackson Braun’s The Cat Who Mystery Series!

I received a letter from Natalia asking for help finding a new Cozy Mystery series to read. She is a fan of Lilian Jackson Braun‘s The Cat Who Mystery Series, and would like something similar to those Cozies. Here is part of her letter:

I’m new to your website and also new to reading “cozy mysteries”. I was hoping you could help me decide where to start. I’m almost done reading through The Cat Who series by Lilian Jackson Braun. I’m originally from Russia so English is my second language. So I enjoyed the simplicity of Braun’s books. I love cats and anything to do with nature.
The first thing that came to my mind is the Authors Similar to Lilian Jackson Braun list of authors and series, which we compiled way back in 2010. I also thought about the Cat Theme Mysteries : Kittens, Cats, and Cozies entry we started putting together even farther back >>> in 2007. However, I wonder if you all have any other suggestions for Natalia. If you can think of another Cozy Mystery series which might be the perfect fit for Natalia, please post a comment. Thank you!
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