Cozy Mysteries discussion

Since August is back-to-school month, this seems appropriate. I know there aren't as many books to choose from this month so will understand if not everyone can find one.

Our featured author for August is Kathleen Bacus.

Calamity Jayne
#1 Calamity Jayne
#2 Ghouls Just Want to Have Fun
#3 Calamity Jayne Rides Again
#4 Calamity Jayne Goes to College
#5 Calamity Jayne Heads West
#6 Anchors Aweigh



Other works:

Fiance at Her Fingertips

Have in the TBR pile.

is 99 cents on Kindle! Just bought it. :)

Ordered the first one from PBS. Never tried this series before!

Aren't these more romance than mystery? That's how they're classified through my library.

Grey: I think they're actually more chick lit mystery than romance -- and yes, there is a difference, though you are right about most stores and libraries shelving them under romance instead of mystery (though smart stores do both).

I've been searching for the first in this series about two years now, to no avail. Ebook format doesn't help me since I don't have an ereader and it takes me months to read a book on the computer (too hard on the eyes).

"they're actually more chick lit mystery than romance (and yes, there is a difference)"

I don't much care for the term "chick lit", because I hate the word chick in reference to women. But that's just me, I guess. What exactly is the difference?

When the romance is more predominant than the actual mystery, that's a big turn off to me and just a personal preference.

Heather L wrote: "Grey: I think they're actually more chick lit mystery than romance -- and yes, there is a difference, though you are right about most stores and libraries shelving them under romance instead of mys..."

If you do PBS, Heather, check there. Apparently they have multiple copies available!

Grey853 wrote: ""they're actually more chick lit mystery than romance (and yes, there is a difference)"

I don't much care for the term "chick lit", because I hate the word chick in reference to women. But that's..."

I used to get mad over the term "chick", but find I use it all the time myself anymore, so no problem. I much prefer it to the term my youngest brother seems to have adopted which is the "b-word" that rhymes with witch!

Grey853 wrote: "What exactly is the difference (between romance and chick lit)"

For one, romance has to end with a "happy ever after." It's the story of one man and one woman falling in love. Chick lit, on the other hand, doesn't necessarily end with a HEA or the couple riding off into the sunset together, but can end with a "happy for now." Also, while the heroine might date throughout the book, it's more about self discovery -- or, in this case, solving a mystery -- than discovering love.

Gemma Halliday's "High Heel" series is another good example of chick lit mystery.

It's good to get a comparison because it gives me a reference. Halliday has exactly the kind of writing I don't care for. Thanks.

My tolerance for any kind of romance in my cozy is very low. Even half and half is a turn off. So, I appreciate the explanation.

I found Calamity Jayne Goes to College earlier this year so will read that.

I know this is a little different than our traditional cozy authors we feature. I choose it off our suggestion thread. Sometimes it's nice to feature authors that are different so that we can all experience something new. Not every author every month is going to be a fit for everyone. It's just a new way to discover different series/authors/books, or even learn the defintion of different book definitions. :)

Oh, and as for the "chick" reference... in England some guys refer to their girls as "birds", which only makes sense when you realize that in USA some girls are called "chicks". I'd reather be a chick than a bird. lol

Great! A new author for me. I just bought mine off Kindle like Donna said, for 99 cents! Calamity Jayne!

I've got the first one on my TBR Shelf!!

I am looking forward to getting one of these at library or through inter loan.

I have the first one in my TBR pile - Yay! So I'm going to read

I had bought my copy used a couple of months ago through Amazon.

I put my hold on Calamity Jayne at the library yesterday.

Sherrie wrote: "Have in the TBR pile."

Me too!

Oh my! I love her! I recommend you give the entire Calamity series a read because IMO her writing gets better with each book. I am so excited because hardly anyone has read her books (they are similar to Stephanie Plum). I know someone mentioned before mentioned they were upset about something with a cat in the first book, but I don't even remember that scene. I love cats (have two), so normally would catch something. Anywho...the series is one of my favorties and there are only 6 books so you don't feel like it goes on and on.

I have the first one in my TBR pile also. Calamity Jayne I have not had the chance to read her and I am looking forward to trying her out. I have heard good things about her. Thanks for the chance to read her.

Your welcome Linda (and everyone else). I saw it on our suggestion thread and although it's a shorter series than we're used to, I thought it was something different we could feature. The Calamity Jayne goes to College made me think of Back-to-School too.

Heidi (ok you can listen to me) wrote: "Oh my! I love her! I recommend you give the entire Calamity series a read because IMO her writing gets better with each book. I am so excited because hardly anyone has read her books (they are ..."

Well, you all got my attention. I just ordered my first Calamity Jayne book. Can't wait to get started on it.

Yay! Like I said the series grew on me. It is just light and fun IMO.

Light and fun is my favorite thing. And I've been trying a lot of new authors (that is, new to me) lately. I've found some I really enjoy.

Referring to an earlier post ... how do you definie "Chick Lit" and I agree with the poster that I don't like the name. I don't like women being called chicks plus I don't like the implication that it is something a man wouldn't enjoy reading. I found one of her books on sale for my Kindle.

New to this site and this looks like fun! I just ordered the first one from PBS. While I was there, I ordered a couple of new-to-me authors that I saw mentioned on this site. So happy to be here!

Heidi (ok you can listen to me) wrote: "Oh my! I love her! I recommend you give the entire Calamity series a read because IMO her writing gets better with each book. I am so excited because hardly anyone has read her books (they are ..."

That was me, commenting about the cat. And just to be clear, the cat lives! But the whole scene was so well written, that it freaked me out and I couldn't keep on reading. I just lost my beloved cat Boris a couple of weeks ago, so I'll skip this months author, but I think anyone who likes humor will enjoy this series. :)

Welcome Michele! Glad you joined in on the fun!

Jennifer E. wrote: "Heidi (ok you can listen to me) wrote: "Oh my! I love her! I recommend you give the entire Calamity series a read because IMO her writing gets better with each book. I am so excited because har..."

Ahhh! I thought it was you, but my memory stinks sometimes. So sad about your cat. :( I keep telling my eldest cat he better live forever because it makes me cry just thinking about it.

This is a new series for me so I'll read . Looks like a fun read!

I'd never heard of this series but downloaded the first one & am about to start.

That stinks Carol. I had to get all of them through interlibrary loan .

The request I had on PBS for the first one timed out, so I got the 2nd one instead.

I had to order through the interlibrary system also.

Some libraries have better interlibrary loans than mine does. Mine charges me $1.50 to use the program. I figure for another $1 I can buy a used copy and keep it.

Melodie wrote: "The request I had on PBS for the first one timed out, so I got the 2nd one instead."

That's probably a good thing Melodie - you miss the scene with the cat that freaked me out so badly. :D

Just finished Calamity Jayne. New-to-me author and it was a quick read but I felt like she uses too many cliches throughout. Don't know if I will finish the series because I have too many other books to read at this time. But I do like the opportunity to read new authors.

I enjoyed ; I thought it was quite amusing. I've added the next book in the series to my TBR list.

The series does improve a lot with each book IMO so I hope you enjoy book two Donna.

Finished Calamity Jayne over the weekend. I enjoyed this book and hope to work my way through the series, especially since people say they get better. I really liked the characters and thought the ending was really good.

Calamity Jayne gave me a few laugh out loud moments but I'm still trying to figure out why the publisher labels this a "romance"!!

Karen M wrote: "Calamity Jayne gave me a few laugh out loud moments but I'm still trying to figure out why the publisher labels this a "romance"!!"

It is def. a cozy with some romance in it IMO.

I'm about halfway through Calamity Jayne, and while it's cute, I'm glad to hear it improves with each book. But then that's typical. We all have to start somewhere. Anyway, I am enjoying the book. I'm glad you all suggested it.

I finished Calamity Jayne and really enjoyed it. I thought it was a cute, fun, quick read and I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series!

I could not find this author at library and someone had mentioned romance category, so i decided to detour this month and read some other stuff. now after reading new posts, I guess it had been categorized wrong so I may still ask for a loan from another library before the month is over. You are all making it sound sweet.

Just started Calmaity Jane - never heard of this author before. The library system where I live has all of this series.

My library only had the 1st one in the series. Calamity Jayne which I own already. Our library cooperative, however, does have the rest of the series. Can't make up my mind whether to wait & see if I get a Kindle so I'll get the books from the library or until I lose my mind and do another multi book purchase and at least buy the 2nd one. Could go either way!

I finished reading Calamity Jayne this morning. I really liked it I wasn't sure. I laughed out loud about how she lost her job at the newspaper. She is an accident waiting for a place to happen, and I liked the side note of romance along with the mystery. I am going to read the others in the series.

I liked it too Lori-I'm definitely reading the next. I found the writing awkward at first but by about 1/3 of the way through either she improved or I just changed.

Anyway, I got hooked.

I also lol'd about how she lost her job!