I just finished my most recent Halloween mystery book by a rather new author (to me, that is!) >>> I read Death of a Trickster and must say that it is definitely a Halloween Cozy… small New England town, amateur sleuth, everybody-knows-everybody feeling, eccentric personalities with hidden personal secrets, and to top it off, the most wonderful feeling of autumn/fall that you could possibly find in a book… I felt like autumn was actually one of the characters during the first half (or so) of the book…
As I read Death of a Trickster (which is written by Kate Borden – aka Kate Grilley) I was struck by Borden's similarity with two other Cozy mystery book authors who I follow… Leslie Meier and Jill Churchill. All three of them have strong, female main characters who have children… These children are actually written into their plots. The children aren't just backdrops in their novels, they are woven into the novels' story lines. There are times when the main characters/sleuths have to find someone to watch their offspring, times when their offspring disappoint them, times when their offspring are actually like >>> children!
For some reason, Jill Churchill's Jane Jeffrey mystery series, Leslie Meier's Lucy Stone series, and Kate Borden's Peggy Jean Turner mystery series just seem to have the same Cozy feeling strewn throughout the book. I don't know how else to describe it.
Leslie Meier's Lucy Stone series is set during major holidays of the year, while Jill Churchill really doesn't "focus" on holidays… although she has several Cozies that are set during Christmas. Borden, I'm not quite sure of… She has only written three Cozies in this particular series, two of which are holiday-themed… Death of a Trickster and Death of a Turkey (Thanksgiving theme cozy mystery.) I guess we will find out if Borden will become an exclusively holiday-themed mystery author when her next Peggy Jean Turner mystery is published!
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Danna: It's already on your Christmas cozy list, but I just finished Emilie Richards, "Let There Be Suspects" and really enjoyed it. I have to read my Christmas books now, because I usually don't have time when the holidays roll around!
I feel the same way about Valerie Wolzien's Susan Henshaw cozies. But looks like she isn't writing any more. Do you know?
No, Anne, I don't know. Perhaps she is only taking a little more time between books….
Does anyone else know?
I think I might be in cozy mode this month. It can get so hectic during these upcoming months, I need something mellow to chill out with. I like the holiday themed ones, thanks for the cranium's up of these authors.
Hi Vickie,
With the snowfall you recently got out there in Colorado, I can imagine that you would feel like "taking it cozy" this month!