Cozy Mysteries discussion

Has anyone listened to any/many cozy mysteries on audio? I listen to a lot of audiobooks as I'm on the move a lot (and travel frequently). I'm having a hard time finding many available as audiobooks. I've tried to find many from my library but the selection is pretty poor.

What does anyone think about audio cozy mysteries? Or know where I can find some (that I don't have to pay an arm and a leg for).

Hi Rebecca,

Both my cozy series are on audible.com I am a huge audio book fan myself and I find buying credits on the site really brings the cost down. But, if you buy the kindle version of some titles, you can sometimes get the audio book for free--so you can switch back and forth, depending on your reading needs. Since my first series (Yellow Rose Mysteries) was from Recorded Books, I know there are audio versions (CDs) out there that are discounted--like on Amazon Marketplace--and I think they are on itunes as well. And Recorded Books did have a way to download from the library when these books were originally recorded. But the second series, Cats in Trouble is only available as MP3 downloads. I think you will be seeing more and more cozy series on audible.com and they do run specials at times.

I hope this helps!
Leann Sweeney

My library has a decent selection (not great) of audio books on CD. I've enjoyed a lot of Agatha Christie's books in audio particularly the ones read by Hugh Frasier (Captain Hastings to David Suchet's Poirot). Since they're older recordings, you may have luck finding them at the library or through inter-library loan.

I get most of my cozies on audio from the library as well (or interlibrary loan). I love The Quiche of Death Catering to Nobody on audio

I enjoy listening to cozies on audio. =)
Have you seen the "playaways"? They are like little "books/mp3 players" that have a plug in for headphones..my library has some of these, including romance and cozy books.

Rebecca wrote: "Has anyone listened to any/many cozy mysteries on audio? I listen to a lot of audiobooks as I'm on the move a lot (and travel frequently). I'm having a hard time finding many available as audiobo..."

I haven't gotten a lot of cozies on audiobook but have listened to several as radio dramas on BBC Radio 4X (for example, Agatha Christie's Poirot, Doyle's Sherlock Holmes, Lindsey Davis' Falco, and am currently listening to a Dick Francis Straight). These aren't true audiobooks but are still fun to listen to.

The Janet Evanovich Stephanie Plum series is pretty good on audio - I've listened to a few of them.

I'm on my second Elizabeth Peters Amelia Peabody book on audio and they're o.k. (I'm not a fan of the Peabody series in general) - there are at least two narrators involved in this series though, and I like one more than the other, though they both do a very good job.

I *love* Kate Carlisle's Bibliophile series, but I can NOT recommend it on audio at all - the narrator makes Derek sound like a smarmy prig and Brooklyn's best friend like a valley girl.

I'll post again if I can think of any others.

I loved the audiobooks done by Xe Sands... she did Juliet Blackwell's witchcraft mystery series and I adore her voice!

I thought the narrator for The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie was great! She really brought Flavia to life.

@Melissa - I've seen the playaway's, but I've never tried them. Maybe I'll browse through them next time I'm at the library.

Thanks everyone I'll check some of these books out and see if my Library has them.

@Sanda - I love The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, maybe I'll have to do a re-read with the audiobook.

My hands down favourite cozy series on audio is "The Spellmans" narrated by Christina Moore. She also narrated "Aunt Dimity's death" and "Aunt Dimity beats the devil" which I like very much. I also enjoy Diane Davidson and Joanne Fluke on audio.

I absolutely love the Her Royal Spyness series. Katherine Kellgren does a fantastic job with all the different accents.

I've only read 3 of the Molly Murphy series. The reader is very good, but I don't like Molly's main love interest. He strikes me as too mean to her. I don't think I'll continue on with this series.

I really loved Stephanie Plum's original reader C.J. Critt. I didn't like Lorelei King's reading at all. I didn't care for the series very much after book 9 or so and I stopped listening due to storyline and reader.

I've just started the first Agatha Raisin and I am enjoying it so far.

I buy my books through Audible. I like that you can sample before you buy. You should always listen to the reader before buying. I made this mistake and I couldn't finish listening because the reader's voice was just terrible.

I also get many books through the library. Most library systems have downloadable books now. I love it!

Here are more suggestions you might like to explore: Alyssa Maxwell
Lynn Cahoon
Marja McGraw

If you enjoy dog-related mysteries, try these authors:
C.A. Newsome
Laurien Berenson
Spencer Quinn
Donna Ball
(and my own): Susan Holmes

Someone may have already mentioned this: if you have the Kindle edition you can usually get the audiobook for $1.99 or less (sometimes even free). And many of us run audiobook giveaways, so check our websites!

Linda wrote: "I absolutely love the Her Royal Spyness series. Katherine Kellgren does a fantastic job with all the different accents.

I've only read 3 of the Molly Murphy series. The reader is very good, but I..."

I also really enjoy Her Royal Spyness and Agatha Raisin on audio. I am used to Loreli King now so still like listening to the S Plum series on audio.

Heidi (Yup. Still here.) wrote: "I also really enjoy Her Royal Spyness and Agatha Raisin on audio. I am used to Loreli King now so still like listening to the S Plum series on audio..."

My *only* problem with Loreli King's narrations is that she narrates 3 different series I've listened to - all of them very different kinds of books - and it has started to make all the series run together in my mind. When Stephanie Plum and the Grim Reaper start getting mixed up in my head, well... it's funny but disconcerting.

I started listening to audio books when I had a 6 hour (12 hour round trip) drive to a client site every week. Listening to a book kept me more alert than music. I bought a couple of old favorites and one or two books I really wanted to read but had trouble with getting distracted.

I don't buy as many cozies in audio format as other genres though. The exception is Amelia Peabody. Those are wonderful books to listen to.

I agree with the poster who said you should always listen to the recording before buying. Some narrators just aren't very good.

Susan, thanks for the mention :) My first, A Shot in the Bark, is a free Kindle download. If you own the Kindle version, the audio is 1.99.

There are a number of Audible books that are significantly cheaper if you own the Kindle. A number of JD Robb's titles are 3.99 after you buy the kindle version - around 5.99. Both versions together cost several dollars less than the Audible member price.

Also, Audible will notify you if a book on your wishlist goes on sale, so it makes sense to build your wishlist.

The past two winters I've done the treadmill watching Murder, She Wrote but before that I always listened to audio cozies. Our library has a great selection of audios and if they aren't in-house, you can order them from any library or college in our state. Also when driving, I listen to books.

Another source is http://www.bklynlibrary.org/. You can get an out of state card by mail for $50/year. It doesn't take a lot of books for that to be a good price.

The Free Library of Philadelphia and the Fairfax County Va libraries also sell out of state cards and all three have extensive overdrive collections.