Guess this is a good time to repeat the truly great website for lovers of mysteries. You can search for mysteries by title, author, main character, geographical location and more.

I first learned about stopyourekillingme dot com here and have used it endlessly ever since.

Here is a link that might be useful: Mysteries--great website

Thanks for reminding me of stopyourekillingme ginny12. I haven't been there in years, and it was a lot more limited then, it may have been getting started.

Resurrecting part II of a wonderful post. I've been working my way thru the authors and here are the new-to-me reads with my opinions for any mystery lovers.

Coben, Harlan - knee ruined basketball super star Myron Bolitar, violence but great plot & good characters.
Daly, Elizabeth - 'Somewhere In The House' (Henry Gamadge series, very low key, no opinion yet.)
Heyer, Geogette - 'Why Shoot A Butler' (enjoyable).
Pim, Sheila - closest protagonist to my favorite Agatha Christie's Miss Marple. Plot not as tricky :-(
Upfield, Arthur W. - 'Bony and the White Savage' (I'm hooked, love this character, have read 5 more!).
Wentworth, Patricia - have read 3 and an unappetizing meaness is present; endings are anti-climatic, too bad because there is such potential.
a Miss Seeton (don't remember which author as there are several, repetitive but acceptable).
Not in parts I and II:
Delany, Vicki - 'Negative Image', the 4th of the series set in Tralfagar B.C. Good plot & sub-plots. Personalities within the police keep it from being dry. Violence minimal.

Elkins, Aaron - professor Gideon Oliver, the skeleton detective.

Please define your use of the word "cozy" as applies to a mystery. Thank you.

I don't like blood and guts mysteries .

I really enjoyed reading the Flavia de Luce mysteries.........the first one is The Sweetness At The Bottom Of The Pie .

They are unusual because the heroine is a very clever, witty 11-year old girl who has some very complicated capers in her little village in England.

And more surprising to me was that this series was written by a 70 year old man !!

They are delightful.

pink, I had always wondered at the term cozy/cosy being applied to murder mysteries.

If I was at the receiving end of a sharp implement or a gun, being held over a vat of boiling oil or just about to be thrown over a 200 hundred foot cliff with a pack of starving wolves waiting to tear my shattered remains asunder I would feel anything but cosy.

I also notice in whodunnits both in books and on TV that the crime solvers go back to everyday life with just a gentle murmur to the 'help' "Oh, Ethel, remember to buy another bottle of stain-remover please". The Miss Marple types, well on into their eighties, who just pick up their knitting or organise the next vicarage whist-drive come to mind.

If I had lived in St Mary Mead or Cabot Cove I would be perpetually looking over my shoulder or, more likely, on the next train/bus out of town.

Ha, Vee. You should see the set of Cabot Cove at Universal Studios. The "sea" is a little pond. It quite ruined the program for me.

I think cozies are those books where the murder happens off-page and the reader doesn't have to deal with any blood or gore. Of course, they preclude torture, boiling oil, and packs of starving wolves. Think Jeanne M. Dams and her beautiful cathedral close or Hazel Holt with her beloved son and her best friend.

Carolyn, isn't Cabot Cove meant to be set somewhere on the New England coast? I was always impressed with the amazingly blue blue skies that apparently cover that area . . . and the same with scenes set in 'Old' England, with the same blue skies and an obviously 'modern' Tudor Mansion (probably the property of some movie mogul) standing in for an ancient pile in the old country.

Yes, the setting was New England (Maine?). Everyone should see the leaves in N.E. in the fall.

A wanna-be mystery is a cozy.

Flavia is the most fun since Amelia Peabody..

ginny12 - what is the title of the new Elizabeth George mystery please.

The most recent Elizabeth George is 'A Banquet of Consequences', published in 2015. The previous is 'Just One Evil Act', 2013.

Most popular living mystery/thriller writers have websites that list their books in chronological order and always offer previews or 'blurbs' on what's the latest publication. I check them all regularly so I can put my request in at the library ASAP (great library system where I live so I no longer spend money on purchasing new books from favorite authors). I am currently on the wait list for the newest C.J. Box, Lee Child and John Sanford - the last two won't even be published until fall!!

Lucky you. My library won't take requests until the books are in, or at least I don't know how to request them.

Gardengal, do you know about the stopyourekillingme.com website? You can look up books either by author or main character. They list everything they wrote, with series in order of publication as well as stand alone books.

Of course,,,,,,,the Maisie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear.

Nice to see the thread I started all those years ago alive and doing so well thanks to all your contributions.

Re Elizabeth George--I stopped reading her after being a major fan for years. There were at least four duds in a row and I wasn't willing to give her another chance.

And re libraries--I too am lucky enough to live in a town with a great public library so I get all my mysteries there, even if I have to wait. I regularly check my favorite authors to get in line.

Re Cabot Cove--it's supposed to be in Maine, not far from where I live in New England. But the light gives it away--it's not Maine light. The coast of Maine is beautiful in the summer with lots to see and do. Many authors live/d there and you could do a literary tour, if you like. Almost anywhere in New England is spectacular in the fall. I never go anywhere else in October. Standing at my own kitchen window is very heaven.

I'm new here but the topic caught my eye. I'm a mystery fan. Has someone mentioned Louise Penny? Wondeful writing, intriguing stories.

irisgal - what?

Maisie - Louise Penny is an new-to-me author. Have just gotten her Bury Your Dead from our library. Have you read that one?

Pink Warm Mama, did you mean my definition of a cozy? Or Flavia and Amelia being entertaining characters?

Louise Penny was mentioned in Part 1. My all time favorite.

I'm not sure I would classify these as mysteries but worth a mention. More blood and guts than what I normally enjoy, but readable. "Runoff" scored higher at goodreads than "Head Wounds". I would do it the opposite.

Mark Coggins, "Runoff". Even loving San Francisco as I do, I'm not running to the library for another in the series. Poor but honest, hard-boiled PI August Riordan gets the short end of the stick but manages in the end to bust apart a malevolent plan to rig the mayoral election. The characters range from his female impersonator buddy Chris, the beautiful Miss Chinatown, her mother the Dragon Lady, Wu and his cleavers - it's like reading a violent comic book.

Chris Knopf, "Head Wounds". The improbable Sam Acquillo, ex-corporate manager of 5000 employees, ex-boxer, has returned to the family cottage in the Hamptons to do fine carpentery on newly erected mansions and drink himself to death. Meanwhile he needs to clear himself of murder. I really wanted to love this but there was too much ............ extraneous detracting stuff?

I have been rereading some Agatha Christies and I have to say they do stand the test of time. An Agatha Christie, I don't remember which one now 53 years later, was the first book I took out from the "adult section" of our library when I was 14. I was thrilled to be finally able to borrow from there.

My current read is A Most Curious Murder BY Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli, a cosy and promising so far ,just a few pages in.

I'm glad to see someone bring up Agatha Christie. She was a master, certainly one of the all-time greats. The word 'cozy' does her an injustice in my opinion. She had an unsentimental eye for human behavior and was brilliant in her plotting.

I read her autobiography some years back and while she left a lot out, like most who write in that genre, it was most illuminating. It seems she was good at math as a girl and I have wondered if that particular type of intellectual talent played a role in her gift for puzzle-setting and puzzle-solving.

Maisie - Tried really hard to get into Louise Penny's Bury Your Dead but simply could not make it. Is there a particular book of hers you might recommend instead? Many thanks.

Hi pink,

Sorry I don't seem to be getting emails about this one but happened to see it pop up. I am mildly compulsive about reading books in chronological order when I find an author I like. But you ask a good question because I didn't love Penny's first one as much as some of the others. Maybe try The Beautiful Mystery?

Ginny,

I agree and don't think of Agatha Christie as a cozy writer, although she might fit some of the traits of cozy she always, to me anyway, gave her characters a bit of an edge ,and her plots some treachery.

Cindy

Thanks Maisie. I'll begin a search.

I'm bumping this up in hopes of further suggestions. Since I last posted, I discovered Ann Cleeves via PBS on tv. She is terrific, both the mysteries, the characters and the settings. I have read all of her 'Vera', 'Shetland', and 'Inspector Ramsay' series--very, very good, with lots of local atmosphere.

Not sure if Fred Vargas has been mentioned in the first 'Mysteries--desperate...' thread. That's the pen name for a French archeologist who writes the Commissaire Adamsberg series, centered in Paris tho also elsewhere in France. Truly excellent but years between each book. Hard to wait.

Not so good, imho, is the Mrs Polifax series. I'm reading the first one now--cute but very improbable. Won't read another.

So, any ideas out there?

Have you read The Lewis Trilogy by Peter May? It is set on the Scottish island of Lewis, and the books are very good.

Ginny do you get the Shetland series (based on Ann Cleeves) on US TV? Haven't read the book but find the shows interesting as we know those far Northern islands well. Even now my brother is up there 'messing about in boats' as Ratty said. And these local craft are still based on the Viking design with 'pointy bits' fore and aft. The series uses many island locations.

Thanks for the replies. Carolyn, I'm off to the library today and will look for the Peter May books. Great location. Vee, yes, PBS has shown the Shetland series tho not all yet. I have seen all shown and that's how I discovered Ann Cleeves. She is really good--all her mystery books--tho each book series is fairly short.

I've not taken the time to read through this entire long thread. My two favorite mystery writers at the moment are Susan Hill and Louise Penny. The books I like by Hill are the Simon Serailler series. I have recently discovered Penny and have now read 3 mysteries by her--- the Inspector Gamache series, mostly set in a quaint village in French Canada. Years ago, I had liked Rennie Aird's work.

A couple more Scottish writers. Val McDermid, tough no nonsense (probably also in real life) Wire in the Blood and countless others.

Ian Rankin with his Detective Rebus series which have been on the go since the mid '80's.

An excellent author is Kate Atkinson who writes clever intelligent fiction and has also done well with her Jackson Brodey character. I think the first one is "When Will There be Good News?" Of course, as is my wont, I read a later one first. I think they come better 'in order'.

Just thought of Lindsey Davies and her series set in ancient Rome based around her 'detective' Marcus Didius Falco. She seems to have done her homework well. The first one is The Silver Pigs They have been adapted by BBC radio.

I would second woodnymph's recommendation of Susan Hill set in a small English cathedral city; best read in order.

Try Ruth Ware, if you already haven’t. I was lucky enough to snag The Death of Mrs. Westaway from the ‘new book’ shelf at the library even though there are over 500 holds on it, and read it through in one day. Although I didn’t see the similarity in style myself, she is being called the new Agatha Christie, and I surely enjoyed the one I read.

I am currently reading the Sir Robert Carey mysteries by P F Chisholm. Carey was a real-life person in Elizabethan England, and the books are great. If you like C J Sansom, I think you will like these.

I have to agree with Vee about Kate Atkinson's crime books too.

After I last posted, I remembered that I had read part of a Peter May book several years ago and found it too gruesome and full of bad language so I returned it. Too bad--the Scottish Isles are such a great setting. I ended up with one of the British Crime Classics from the Poisoned Pen Press, recommended on RP a few years ago. I've bought some of these but this is from the library. Will report when done. And I will try some of the good recommendations here.

I'm not" desperate", but wanted to resurrect this thread. Mainly I want to ask about P.D. James, as a mystery writer. I seem to be expanding my mystery reading. I watched a filmed version of James' "Death in Holy Orders" and liked it very much. So far, my fave mystery writers are Dona Leon, Louise Penny, Ruth Rendall and R. Aird. Do you think I would like the work of P.D. James?

Mary, I think you might enjoy P D James. she writes with intelligence. The only way to find out is to try one of her books!

Below an obituary. I always want to know what makes a writer 'tick'.

P D James

PD James is considered one of the top mystery writers of all time, some say the very top. Give her a try but do read her main series with cerebral detective Adam Dalgliesh in order. PBS also filmed these years ago and they are great--maybe that was one you saw. Hope you enjoy them.

I love P.D. James. Someone considered one of the earliest mystery writers is Wilkie Collins. He was a prolific writer and I've enjoyed most of his books very much. Most were free on Kindle. He was a friend of Charles Dickens. I enjoyed Edinburgh Twilight lately by Carole Lawrence. She has three books in the Edinburgh series. She received an award for her poetry.

I am not sure what makes a mystery cozy. Is it that there is no explicit violence, or maybe the characters are somewhat sheltered and innocent? No bad language?

I liked An Instance of the Fingerpost by Iain Pears, and his Dream of Scipio and Stone's Fall. They have mystery in them but guess they're not who-done-its. He writes art history mysteries but I haven't read any of them.

I like Rex Stout, Ruth Rendell, Agatha Christie, Josephine Tey, Elmore Leonard. It's hard to beat Sherlock Holmes.

What is a cozy mystery?

"Cozy mysteries, also referred to as "cozies", are a subgenre of crime fiction in which sex and violence are downplayed or treated humorously, and the crime and detection take place in a small, socially intimate community."

Wikipedia has a good detailed explanation......the 'detectives' are usually amateurs and most often women. Sex, profanity and violence are kept to a minimum. The focus is on the characters and the plot. The actual murder or crime is almost incidental.

Kind of figured. I've read a few and enjoyed them. Explicit sex and violence aren't my thing. Seems to me that writers from the distant past could include violence in a story without detailing it so much.

I found a new-to-me mystery author I have really enjoyed and thought I'd share it here. His pen name is Jean-Luc Bannalec and his mysteries are all set in Brittany in northwest France. His main character is Commissaire Dupin who was exiled from Paris for not following rules. He still doesn't follow rules, of course.

There are five books so far, set in our own time with a host of supporting characters. Definitely books to be read in order. The books feature lots of scenery description and fabulous food description, especially seafood as Brittany juts out into the Atlantic. There is also Celtic lore as this was a Celtic stronghold.

Jean-Luc Bannalec is actually German and writes in German but the books have all been translated and are very popular. I'm always looking for new mystery writers I will like and this discovery was a home run for me. Has anyone else read any of these? I recommend them if you haven't.

Ginny - Sounds interesting! Thanks for the recommendation. I see my library has them. I'll have to give them a try.

Yes, Ginny, I've read all five of the Brittany mysteries by Bannalec published so far in English. They were recommended to me when I mentioned I had reached the end of Simenon's Maigret series and I was undergoing withdrawal pangs. I can see that Bannalec was probably inspired by the Maigret stories -- he even tells how Maigret visited Concarneau (pronounced Konk-kern by the Bretons) during one of Maigret's own cases.

The settings and plots are a bit different, I think, and I enjoyed learning about Gauguin and his contemporaries in Pont-Aven (the first book), the tourism industry of the Glenan archipelago (second book), salt 'farming ' in the Fleur de Sel Murders, and oyster farming in The Missing Corpse. The fifth book, The Killing Tide, gets deeper into Celtic lore as Monsieur le Commissaire Dupin increases his knowledge of the Finistere (The End of the World which the Bretons also call 'The Beginning of Land' of the Eurasian continent).

Ginny, I really enjoy Nolwenn, Dupin's indispensable assistant and his tutor in all things Breton. She will make Dupin a 'true' Breton yet. She's already convinced him to follow his doctor's orders to eat a few oysters every day.

The stories do get a bit convoluted, but I've found this forgivable. I second your recommendation.

I’ve read The Missing Corpse and I enjoyed it a lot. I will have to read the other four. Thanks, Frieda!

Donna

Glad some others have read some/all of the Commissaire Dupin books. Great summary, Friedag! One of the things I like is that Jean-Luc Bannalec mentions a lot of real places--scenic or restaurants etc--and I have googled some to see them. It's fun as I'm reading the books, especially as I don't think a trip to Brittany is in my future, much as I'd love it.

To each his own--I'm glad so many of you liked these books, but I found them too long on description and too short on mystery. I stopped reading after the second one.

I have requested the first one to see if it suits me. If there is a lot of description I shall skip that anyway.

I have also requested the new Simon Brett mystery in a new series "The Clutter Corpse" set in the English city where I went to Grammar School.

The library has just notified me that I can borrow the Bannalec book. The first new book I shall be reading for ages! I have a few on the TBR pile but preferred my comfort books instead!

No, the Bannalec style isn't for me! I am not really interested in police procedural books and Dupin is such a grump from the beginning, disliking so many of his work colleagues also the murder was gory!

The print size is good though! That helps me these days for reading in bed. I might read a bit more than the first few pages as I have started it!