Cozy Mystery Writers

I thoroughly enjoy both reading and writing cozy mysteries. For those who are not sure what a cozy mystery is, they can be defined as gentle mysteries, with no blood and guts, no violence, no cursing, no graphic sex, where the action in general takes place in small communities, and those doing the detecting are amateurs. The following are cozy mystery authors that I follow:

Susan Wittig Albert - The series that I follow here is the China Bayles Herbal Mysteries. It is a small town setting, with interesting characters and a lot of useful information on herbs,

M.C. Beaton - The series that I follow here are the Agatha Raisin series and the Hamish McBeath series. Both take place in small communities, are laced with humor, and push credulity.

Lilian Jackson Braun - The series that I follow here is the Cat Who series. The background is a small town community, where the protagonist writes a column for the local newspaper, as well as being the wealthiest person in the area. There is a strong cat theme here, as the protagonist is "owned" by two Siamese cats, Koko and Yum Yum.

Rita Mae Brown - The series that I follow here are the Mrs. Murphy series (all the animals talk, with Mrs. Murphy as the leading animal character), and the Sister Jane series, which is all about fox hunting (no, the fox is chased, but not hurt). 

Hope Callaghan - The series that I follow here are the Cruise Ship Christian Cozy mysteries, and the Garden Girls Christian Cozy mysteries. Both series have wonderful characters, great story lines, and they leave the reader smiling.

Laura Childs - The series that I follow here is the Tea Shop Mysteries.  Great reads, with recipies included!

Agatha Christie - Yes, these are older books, but I love re-reading them! I follow both the Miss Marple series (small community spinster sleuth) and the  Hercule Poirot series (dashing, celebrated Belgian detective). I love following the clues in both of these series!  

Cleo Coyle - The series that I follow here is A Coffeehouse Mystery. I do love coffee - and strong female protagonists! We get loads of info on coffee, and recipies!

Krista Davis - The series that I follow here is the Paws & Claws mysteries.

Vicki Delaney - The series that I follow here is the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop Mystery series. I am a tremendous Sherlock Holmes fan, and this series carries on a great tradition. With the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop right next door to Mrs Hudson's Tea Room, what can go wrong!

Joanne Fluke - The series that I follow here is the Hannah Swensen series. Set in Lake Eden, MN (my home state), we have a protagonist that owns a bakery, and a book filled with local culture and ... recipies! 

Dorothy Gilman - The series that I follow here is the Mrs. Polifax series. Retired garden club lady becomes first class spy ... and it is believable! 

Carolyn Hart - The series that I follow here is the Death On Demand series. The setting is the small seaside community of Broward's Rock. The protagonist is the owner of a local bookstore that focuses on mysteries.

I hope that you find one or two authors here that you would like to get to know. There is nothing better than a good mystery!

(c) September 2018 Bonnie Cehovet

Reproduction prohibited without written permission of the author.

Rediscovering Old Books

I have moved many times in my lifetime - partially due to my being in the Army for ten years, and partially due to three moves after I got out of the service. My stuff was in and out of storage a lot! It has been over two year since my latest move. I have things out of boxes, sorted what needed to be given away, and what I wanted to keep. Some things are still in boxes, until I purchase more bookcases. I am doing yet another run through, and giving more books away. 

It is amazing to me how things seem to just "surface" when we need them. I found a book on karmic healing that I don't remember buying or reading - it is n top notch condition, well written, and inludes Tarot as a modaity for workign with visualization. What more can I ask for!

I have uncovered more mystery books - I read them all, then decide what to keep. Amongst my treasures are books by Agatha Christie, Rex Stout's "Nero Wolf" mysteries,  Rita Mae Brown's "Mrs. Murphy" mystries, and Margaret Maron's "Deborah Knox" series.

I love rereading a good book - I remember where I was in my life when I last read the book, and thoroughly enjoy entering the world of the book in front of me again. It allows me to step outside of the day to day of life, and become someone else.

Do you enjoy rereading your books? Do they hold good memories for you, as mine do for me? One day I hope that my books hold good memories for my readers!

(c) April 2018 Bonnie Cehovet

Reproduction prohibited without written permission of the author.  

    

How Agatha Christie Influenced My Writing

I have decided to institute a monthly theme to my author's blogs. My theme for the month of March is female writers of (cozy) mysteries that have influenced my own writing in some way. Agatha Christie has influenced me from childhood with her characters, so she is going to take the lead for March.

 

Christie wrote 66 detective novels, and fourteen short stories. She introduced two of my favorite characters: Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot. I want to think that I carry a tiny bit of each of these characters in my psyche: Miss Marple for her astute observation of the people around her from a very down to earth point of view, and Hercule Poirot for his astute observations of the people around him from a more intellectual point of view. Both of these characters have given me many hours of reading pleasure, and will continue to do so.

Christie is known for her well developed characters, as well as descriptive backgrounds, and portraying the mores of her time well. I absolutely adore both the book and movie versions of "Murder On The Orient Express" - it is absolutely riviting about the inter-relationship between the passengers, and one does really not guess the truth until it is spelled out at the end of the story.

Christie's story hooks were often very simple facts of life - such as a character knowingly exposing a group of people to measles, causing a death that did not have to be (Miss Marple - "The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side"), or blackmail (Hercule Poirot - "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd"). 

Another character that Christie developed was Raymond West (Miss Marple's nephew). It took me a while to get used to him, but hehas great charm. He is an author, married to an artist, and he helps support Miss Marple financially. Through this character, Christie is able to expand her stories to a wider audience (IMHO).

Through Agatha Christie I have seen what a cozy mystery really can be. I have no intention of tring to duplicate her work - it stands alone, and always will. What I do intend to do is to reflect the life and mores of my time through the genre of cozy mystery. 

Next up: M.C. Beaton, author of the Agatha Raisin and Hamish MacBeth series.

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(c) March 2018 Bonnie Cehovet

Reproduction prohibited without written permission of the author.