Cozy Mystery Corner discussion

I'm going to try and get through the alphabet using mystery and cozy mystery authors.

A-Z Author Challenge
1/1/13 - 12/31/13
21/26

A - Lucy Arlington, Buried in a Book 3/14/13
B - Lorna Barrett, Murder is Binding 1/21/13
C - JoAnna Carl, The Chocolate Moose Motive 4/21/13
D - Duffy Brown, Iced Chiffon 5/3/13
E - Erika Chase, A Killer Read 7/16/13
F - Shelley Freydont, Foul Play at the Fair 11/23/13
G - Sue Grafton, V is for Vengeance 1/28/13
H - Carolyn Haines, Smarty Bones: A Sarah Booth Delaney Mystery 8/22/13
I -
J - Sue Ann Jaffarian, Too Big to Miss 3/24/13
K - Karen Cantwell, Take the Monkeys and Run 1/25/13
L - Lisa Lutz, Trail of the Spellmans 3/29/13
M - Marcia Muller, The Bughouse Affair 3/29/13
N - Nancy Atherton, Aunt Dimity's Death 4/6/13
O -
P - Andrea Penrose, The Cocoa Conspiracy 6/9/13
Q - Spencer Quinn, The Dog Who Knew Too Much 1/4/13
R - David Rosenfelt, Heart of a Killer 5/3/13
S - Melissa Senate, Love You to Death 2/15/13
T - Josephine Tey, The Daughter of Time 10/15/13
U -
V - Victoria Hamilton, A Deadly Grind 2/2/13
W -
X - C.J. Box, Force Of Nature 3/13/13
Y -
Z - Blaize Clement, The Cat Sitter's Cradle 9/2/13

I'll be watching your thread with great interest :) I could probably do this with *titles, but I'm not sure about authors!

*whispers quietly in Barb's ear, Titles coming later. shhhh*

LOL I made the mistake of going to fictfact.com and printing a list of all of my "next in series" books. Except for a couple of letters, I could do an entire A-Z title challenge -- at least once, possibly TWICE -- using ONLY these 'next' books!!

I think that's why I haven't visited fictfact in a while. Maybe I should go see how behind I am. **shudders at the thought of all the new series I haven't entered yet**

Just think of all the series you'd be caught up on :)

Finished and really enjoyed it!

jaxnsmom wrote: "I think that's why I haven't visited fictfact in a while. Maybe I should go see how behind I am. **shudders at the thought of all the new series I haven't entered yet**

Just think of all the series you'd be caught up on :) "

Oh, it will take YEARS to get caught up on all of them LOL My goal for this year is to finish the series that are nearly done -- or nearly caught up on. If I can cross some series off my list, I would consider that a real accomplishment :)

Although most of Melissa Senate's books aren't cozies, qualifies. This was a fun, quick read, and I hope there's another one.

jaxnsmom wrote: "Although most of Melissa Senate's books aren't cozies, qualifies. This was a fun, quick read, and I hope there's another one."

This sounds like a cute book! thanks for the note about it. =)

I read by Lucy Arlington. There were some holes in the story, and things that didn't make sense, but I enjoyed the writing and the characters. It was a fun read and I plan on reading the next one.

That's one of the many first-in-a-new-series books I have on my list. I'm trying to get caught up in some of the other series, though, before I start (more) new ones!

Beware! Do you have series that even while you're going "What?! No way!" you're thinking that it's a fun read? This is one of those for me. There is something so appealing that I can ignore/forgive things that would otherwise make me dislike the book.

Oh yeah, I've read a few series like that LOL Thanks for the warning :)

I'll just throw in that I found the second book in the Novel Idea series to be disappointing - worse than the first one. I love so much about the premise of these books, I'll try the third and hope the kinks get worked out.

Uh oh. I'll keep that in mind Jennifer. Thanks for the heads up.

Read . I have mixed feelings, but if I ever find time, I'll probably read the next one.

Because of this sight I went to the fictfact site and spent three hours putting in the series I am currently reading and the ones I started years ago . I kept finding new ones I forgot I had started. Now I feel so organized........and so far behind.

I spent some time on fictfact, but I think it scared me more than anything :) I kept finding series I had read years ago, and had to see if there was anything new. And all the books that looked interesting - I started getting dizzy and ran!

Yeah, I had that problem too. I tried to be firm with myself and not look at the bit at the bottom of each series page that says "If you like this series, try these..." but I wasn't very successful *sigh*

I get caught on a book's GR page checking out all the books in the "Readers Also Enjoyed Similar Books" section - I've added a lot through that dangerous place.

LOL So far, I've been pretty good about avoiding that :)

Oh, to have such control ☺

LOL Sometimes ... only sometimes :)

I've added one of our monthly reads, Aunt Dimity's Death, and a book from one of my favorite series, The Chocolate Moose Motive. JoAnna Carl did not disappoint, Lee's an intelligent woman and the suspects were all believable.

I don't believe I've ever read JoAnna Carl but I think I may find one of her books to fit the Title Challenge. Is there one you would reccommend above another?

Not really. Because I like to read series in order, I'd recommend the first book, The Chocolate Cat Caper. You also get most of the background info here, and don't get any relationship spoilers.

My list is updated and I'm halfway through. Yay!

Yay indeed :)

Impressive! I started out great but have sort of fizzled in the last few weeks. Darn life keeps getting in the way of my reading :(

Darn these books where the author's last name starts with a letter I've already read!

I'm having the same problem LOL

I actually own many of JoAnna Carl's books and haven't read any of them yet. Yikes! I may be becoming a cozy hoarder!!!! Definitely will start that series next, after I finish at least one of the five books I'm reading now.

That's a good series to own :) I've enjoyed all of them.

Sigh, that's always the problem - we always have at least ten books we want to read next!

I swear, of the cozies I've read in the last three months, I can't use any of them here! I may have to start choosing which one to read next based on the alphabet :)

I'm getting to the point too, with several different challenges!

I was finall able to add two more, F and T. One of this month's authors, Shelley Freydont, and Josephine Tey's The Daughter of Time.

Since I only have five left, I'm going to finish this one, and then start fresh for 2014.

If you're looking for suggestions for some of your blank spots, try Jane Isenberg, Heather Webber, Livia J. Washburn or Jacqueline Winspear.

I haven't read anything by these authors, but they fit your blanks: Clare O'Donohue, Charles O'Brien, Christine Wenger, Suzanne Young and Ovidia Yu.

Sorry, I don't have any U cozy authors!

Most of those are on my list of possibilities! Thanks for the other options. I had a U somewhere, just have to find that scrap of paper. I think my whole life is on scraps of paper :)

I work at our local public library, and I know that if I don't write down titles/authors when I see them, I'll forget by the time I get home. So I jot them on scraps of paper, tuck them in my pocket, then empty said pocket when I get home. The scraps all go into one pile, to sort through "later when I have time." I'm sure you can imagine the size of the pile by now LOL

If you find the right scrap of paper, I'd love to know who you found :)

There are two. Nicola Upson, who I see you've read; and Roberta Updegraff, who writes the Church Choir Mysteries. I haven't read either one, but you know we'll do whatever it takes to complete a challenge :D

I read one of Upson's books, and I wasn't overly impressed. It wasn't terrible, but I didn't necessarily want to pick up the next in the series right away either. I think I'm in the minority, though, as I'd read posts from others who have really enjoyed the books.

I just checked out the church choir series. Wow, there are a LOT of them! But oh, they're all by different authors :( I thought we'd have it made with U authors for awhile LOL

I didn't realize there were different authors. I think I focused on the name, and then one of the titles started with U :)

Updegraff wrote a handful of the books, so if I can deal with reading out of order, I could still use those books for some of the Us I need ... just not 20+ of them like I'd initially hoped LOL

jaxnsmom wrote: "I think that's why I haven't visited fictfact in a while. Maybe I should go see how behind I am. **shudders at the thought of all the new series I haven't entered yet**"

So funny... I haven't been to FanFict in quite a while. When I entered my series, I only entered my favorite series rather than ALL (would have taken forever!). However, I, too, got behind in keeping that list current. I barely keep my Excel lists current (and, yes, currently even they need updating!).

To fill in your authors, visit Stop You're Killing Me. They have authors in all your missing letters (and Zs, if you want an author that begins with Z).

Me... I'm sticking with series I've started (library) and my TR box (boxes!), which I'm determined to get through...at some point anyway. I finished the three Vintage Magic Mysteries (Annette Blair) I had and started Deb Baker's Dolls to Die For Mysteries. Really enjoyed the Vintage Magic books; so far so good with the Dolls (I've only read one and a fourth).

Good luck with your challenge!!

Thanks! I have 5 to go to finish 2013, and then on to 2014. I'm glad you mentioned SYKM - I'd forgotten that website.