Teachers as the Main Sleuths in Mystery Books…

March 27, 2010

I decided to make the Teachers as Sleuths theme a while ago, during the beginning of the school year. But, I got side-tracked (again!) This theme includes the mystery authors who are included on the Cozy Mystery Site… (Obviously, this theme entry does not include all of the mystery books which have teachers as the primary sleuths.)

Teachers as the Primary Sleuths from Mystery Books found on the site:

Donald Bain (& "Jessica Fletcher"): Murder She Wrote Mystery Series… Retired English teacher

Mignon F. Ballard: Miss Dimple Mystery Series… 1st Grade Teacher

Jo Bannister: Brodie Farrell Mystery Series… Math Teacher

Maggie Barbieri: Murder 101 Mystery Series… English Professor

Laurien Berenson: Melanie Travis Mystery Series… Special Education Teacher

Joan Blacher: Ardis Jensen Mystery Series… Ex University Counselor

J.S. Borthwick: Deane & McKenzie Mystery Series… English Professor

Gail Bowen: Joanne Kilbourn Mystery Series… Poly-Sci Professor

Heron Carvic: Miss Seeton Mystery Series… Retired Art Teacher

Sarah Caudwell: Hilary Tamar Mystery Series… Law Professor

Hampton Charles: Miss Seeton Mystery Series… Retired Art Teacher

Anna Clarke: Paula Glenning  & James Goff Mystery Series… Professors

Melissa Cleary: Dog Lover's Mystery Series… Film Studies Professor

V. C. Clinton-Baddeley: Cambridge Crime Mystery Series… Retired Professor

Elizabeth Spann Craig (aka Riley Adams): Myrtle Clover Mystery Series… Retired Octogenarian

Hamilton Crane (aka Sarah J. Mason): Miss Seeton Mystery Series… Retired Art Teacher

Bill Crider: Sally Good Mystery Series… English Professor AND Carl Burns Mystery Series… English Professor

Edmund Crispin: Gervase Fen Mystery Series… English Professor

Amanda Cross: Kate Fansler Mystery Series… English Professor

Jeanne M. Dams: Dorothy Martin Mystery Series… Retired Teacher

Joanne Dobson: Karen Pelletier Mystery Series… English Professor

Jan Dunlap: Bob White Birder Murder Mystery Series… High School Counselor

Anthony Eglin: English Garden Mystery Series… Retired Botany Professor

Aaron Elkins: Gideon Oliver Mystery Series… Anthropology Professor

Honora Finkelstein & Susan Smily: Ariel Quigley Mystery Series… English Teacher

"Jessica Fletcher" & Donald Bain: Murder She Wrote Mystery Series… Retired English Teacher

Linda French: Professor Teodora Morelli Mystery Series… History Professor

P. L. Gaus: Ohio Amish Mystery Series… History Professor

Anne George: Southern Sisters Mystery Series… Retired English Teacher

Paula Gosling: Stryker & Trevorne Mystery Series… English Professor

Margaret Grace: Miniature Mystery Series… Retired English Teacher

Janice Hamrick: Jocelyn Shore Mystery Series… High School

Maria Hudgins: Dotsy Lamb Travel Mystery Series… Retired History Professor

Mary Ellen Hughes: Maggie Olenski Mystery Series… Math Teacher

Jane Isenberg: Bel Barrett Mystery Series… English Professor

Diana Killian: Poetic Death Mystery Series… Teacher

Jim Lacey: Ryan/Lehrer Mystery Series…

Jane Langton: Homer Kelly Mystery Series… History Professor

Charlotte MacLeod (aka Alisa Craig): Peter Shandy Mystery Series… Botany Professor

Ada Madison (aka Camille Minichino & Margaret Grace): Sophie Knowles Mystery Series… Math Professor

Sarah J. Mason (as Hamilton Crane): Miss Seeton Mystery Series… Retired Art Teacher

Sujata Massey: Rei Shimura Mystery Series… English Teacher

Ralph M. McInerny (aka Monica Quill): Notre Dame Mystery Series… Philosophy Professor

Stuart Palmer: Hildegarde Withers Mystery Series… Retired Teacher

Gillian Roberts: Amanda Pepper Mystery Series: English Teacher

Sarah R. Shaber: Professor Simon Shaw Mystery Series… History Professor

Catherine Shaw: Vanessa Duncan Cambridge Mystery Series… Teacher

Susan Smily & Honora Finkelstein: Ariel Quigley Mystery Series… English Teacher

Robert Spiller: Bonnie Pinkwater Mystery Series… High School Math Teacher

Sarah Stewart Taylor: Sweeney St. George Mystery Series… History Professor

Margaret Truman: Smith & Reed Mystery Series… Law Professor

Ann Waldron: Princeton Murders Mystery Series… Writing Professor

Jill Paton Walsh: Imogen Quy Mystery Series… College Nurse

Margaret Yorke: Dr. Patrick Grant Mystery Series… Professor

♦To access more Cozy Mysteries by Theme, click on this link.♦

18 comments - click here to see the comments or to add yours

{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }

Judith March 30, 2010 at 1:23 pm

Patricia Wentworth’s Miss Silver is a former governess.

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Anne May 21, 2010 at 11:19 am

I just finished the first of Maggie Barbieri Murder 101 series. I was very impressed with it. One of the best series I have started in a long time. Can’t wait to get the rest of the series. My summer is set! I might be the last one on the planet to have started this series but wanted to share with those who have not had the pleasure. Well written, smart and fun.

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Karen Russell June 2, 2010 at 10:22 am

Margot Kinberg and William Urban both write about professors, too.

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Danna - cozy mystery list June 2, 2010 at 10:36 am

Thanks, Karen, for telling us about them!

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Patricia Rockwell December 3, 2010 at 10:31 am

My amateur sleuth Pamela Barnes is a Psychology professor and acoustics expert. She uses her knowledge of sound to solve the strangulation death of a colleague in “Sounds of Murder.”

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Danna - cozy mystery list December 4, 2010 at 2:55 pm

Patricia, thanks for telling us about your teacher/sleuth in Sounds of Murder.

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Nicole January 17, 2011 at 4:05 am

Imogen Quy is a college nurse in Cambridge – 4 books by Jill Paton Walsh

(BTW, I absolutely LOVE your site. It’s just what I’ve been looking for! Thank you!)

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Danna - cozy mystery list January 18, 2011 at 2:28 pm

Thanks, Nicole!

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Lou June 28, 2011 at 6:57 pm

A friend just directed me to this site. Very nice!
May I add Simon Nash’s Adam Ludlow books, and Leo Bruce’s Carolus Deene ones.

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Danna - cozy mystery list July 2, 2011 at 12:19 pm

Thank you, Lou, for telling us about Simon Nash’s Adam Ludlow and Leo Bruce’s Carolus Deene.

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Tessa July 29, 2011 at 4:39 pm

I am looking for the name of an author in order to see if she has added anymore titles to a series. The first book was set at a boarding school for young ladies. The first
murder was of one of the teachers, who returns as a ghost. Another teacher is the “detector”. It was definitely set in England, though I can’t recall the area.

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Danna - cozy mystery list July 31, 2011 at 11:31 am

Tessa, I’ll add this to my list of entries to post. Hopefully someone can come up with the book for you…

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linda September 27, 2011 at 11:44 am

I have loved Anne George’s “Southern Sisters” series. There hasn’t been anything close to that series since! I have 2 sisters and this series reminded me of our relationships!!

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davidandersonauthor October 18, 2011 at 6:48 am

I am a new author (An Indecent Death, A Striking Death) whose books feature Detective Sergeant Nicholas Drumm, a Canadian detective and former teacher. Does he qualify in this section? Been following your blog for some time – thanks for all your good work!

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Danna - cozy mystery list October 18, 2011 at 2:13 pm

Thank you, David Anderson, for telling us about your Detective Sergeant Nicholas Drumm mystery series!

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Cindy H. January 12, 2012 at 12:35 am

I read a new mystery author recently, and enjoyed her first book very much. I haven’t seen her listed on the site anywhere, so I’d like to bring her to peoples’ attention.

The author is Janice Hamrick. She started her “Jocelyn Shore” mystery series with the book “Death on Tour”. Jocelyn is a high school teacher in Texas, who goes with her cousin on a package tour in Egypt. She ends up in the middle of a murder mystery, where she could be the next victim! Jocelyn is very funny and spunky. The book gives great detail about the Egyptian tour, and there is a fun romance added as well. Her second book in the series is set to come out in July 2012, “Death Makes the Cut”. Worth reading!

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Danna - cozy mystery list January 13, 2012 at 1:22 pm

Thank you, Cindy H., for telling us about Janice Hamrick. She is actually on my list of authors to post to the site.

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Cindy H. January 14, 2012 at 12:50 am

I am glad you are adding her. I was drawn to it by the Egyptian setting, and was very happy with the book overall.

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