I’m amazed and delighted at the variety and number of new cozy murder mysteries that are published each month by the vast array of publishers and those self-publishing.
Of the publishers, Berkley Prime Crime and Obsidian always have such interesting mysteries and varied themes. This month is no exception with a new series beginning and the addition of many already established series.
While I haven’t had a chance to read these books yet, they are all in my TBR stack. I’m looking forward to uncovering the mysteries they hold. Today I want to tell you a bit about these and hopefully entice you to read one or all.
First up is the debut installment of a new series by one of my favorite authors.
A POTION TO DIE FOR by Heather Blake
As the owner of Little Shop of Potions, a magic potion shop specializing in love potions, Carly Bell Hartwell finds her product more in demand than ever. A local soothsayer has predicted that a couple in town will soon divorce—and now it seems every married person in Hitching Post, Alabama, wants a little extra matrimonial magic to make sure they stay hitched. But when Carly finds a dead man in her shop, clutching one of her potion bottles, she goes from most popular potion person to public enemy number one. In no time the murder investigation becomes a witch hunt—literally! Now Carly is going to need to brew up some serious sleuthing skills to clear her name and find the real killer—before the whole town becomes convinced her potions really are to die for!
A Magic Potion Mystery #1
Obsidian
ISBN-13: 9780451416308
336 Pages, Paperback
Also by Heather Blake:
The Good, the Bad, and the Witchy, April 2013
A Witch Before Dying, August 2012
It Takes a Witch, January 2012
FIXING TO DIE by Elaine Viets
Mystery shopper Josie Marcus has been happily married to veterinarian Ted Scottsmeyer for months. But her newly wedded bliss is about to be cut short....Josie and Ted have finally tied the knot, and they’re ready for the next step: buying a house. Ted’s business partner, Christine, has one she’s willing to sell, but it needs a lot of love. Luckily, the newlyweds are up for the challenge.
But when they tear down a rickety gazebo in the backyard, they find the body of Christine’s sister, a free spirit who supposedly took off six months before. The police arrest Christine for murder, leaving Ted to work overtime at the office to cover for his partner. With no time to work on the house or be with her husband, Josie will have to find the real killer quickly, before both her house and marriage are beyond repair....
Josie Marcus, Mystery Shopper #9
Obsidian
ISBN-13: 9780451240989
304 Pages, Paperback
Also by Elaine Viets:
Board Stiff, May 2013
Murder is a Piece of Cake, November 2012
Final Sail, May 2012
Death on a Platter, November 2011
Pumped for Murder, May 2011
An Uplifting Murder, November 2010
Half-Price Homicide, May 2010
Crimes by Moonlight, April 2010
The Fashion Hound Murders, November 2009
Killer Cuts, May 2009
Murder With All the Trimmings, November 2008
Clubbed to Death, May 2008
Accessory to Murder, November 2007
Murder With Reservations, May 2007
High Heels are Murder, November 2006
Murder Unleashed, May 2006
Dying In Style, October 2005
Show Business Is Murder, August 2005
Just Murdered, May 2005
Drop-Dead Blonde, February 2005
Dying To Call You, October 2004
Murder Between The Covers, December 2003
Shop Till You Drop, May 2003
CHARMS AND CHOCOLATE CHIPS by Bailey Cates
A HALF-BAKED HEXBetween brewing magically spiced treats at Honeybee Bakery and volunteering with a local conservation group, Katie Lightfoot barely has time to see her firefighter boyfriend, Declan McCarthy, much less delve further into her destiny as a witch. But avoiding her fate won’t be as easy as whipping up a new recipe—especially when Katie finds herself once again mixed up in murder.
When a fellow volunteer for the conservation group is found dead, Katie’s mystical senses tell her that there’s more to the death than meets the eye. Her suspicions are confirmed when members of her coven are targeted next. Katie will have to embrace her powers quickly...or she may find herself chewed up and spit out by some serious black magic.
A Magical Bakery Mystery #3
Obsidian
ISBN-13: 9780451240620
336 Pages, Paperback
Also by Bailey Cates:
Bewitched, Bothered, and Biscotti, January 2013
Brownies and Broomsticks, May 2012
THE QUOTIENT OF MURDER by Ada Madison
Dr. Sophie Knowles loves using puzzles to make math fun for students. But when winter seizes Henley College, she must thaw out a cold case to track down a killer—her most difficult puzzle yet . . .Winter Intersession is in full swing, and campus is buzzing over the concert celebrating the bell tower’s reopening. The building has been shuttered for twenty-five years, and Sophie’s shocked to learn why—a student leapt from it to her death. But she’s even more troubled by the secrecy surrounding the case. After Sophie performs some quick calculations, she’s left with a nagging question: Was it really suicide?
When one of Sophie’s favorite students, a performer in the concert, is brutally beaten and left in a coma, Sophie’s mind kicks into overdrive. The horrific incidents seem too coincidental to be unrelated, but can Sophie put together the pieces from a twenty-five-year-old murder before any other students get hurt?
Professor Sophie Knowles #4
Berkley (Prime Crime)
ISBN-13: 9780425262702
304 Pages, Paperback
Also by Ada Madison:
A Function of Murder, January 2013
The Probability of Murder, March 2012
The Square Root of Murder, July 2011
READ IT AND WEEP by Jenn McKinlay
William Shakespeare is credited with inventing how many words?*Answering Shakespeare trivia comes with the job description for library director Lindsey Norris. But when the Briar Creek Community Theater mounts their newest production of the Bard, she has no intention of leaving the stacks for the stage. Unfortunately a villain is waiting in the wings...
Former Broadway actress Violet La Rue is holding auditions for A Midsummer Night’s Dream—and everyone from the sour spinster librarian Ms. Cole to Lindsey’s youthful library pages are trying out for parts. Brought in to play the mischievous Puck is the flirtatious professional actor Robbie Vine, who seems to have eyes for Lindsey. Before her blush has faded, the Bard’s dream turns into a nightmare—when one of the cast is poisoned. Now Lindsey and her crafternooners must take center stage to unmask the culprit before the final curtain call...
*Over 17,000
You can read an excerpt of this fun cozy.
A Library Lover's Mystery #4
Berkley (Prime Crime)
ISBN-13: 9780425260722
304 Pages, Paperback
Also by Jenn McKinlay:
Cloche and Dagger, August 2013
Going, Going, Ganache, April 2013
Book, Line, and Sinker, December 2012
Red Velvet Revenge, July 2012
Due or Die, March 2012
Death by the Dozen, October 2011
Books Can Be Deceiving, July 2011
Buttercream Bump Off, January 2011
Sprinkle with Murder, March 2010
FREEZER I’LL SHOOT by Victoria Hamilton
ICE COLDTrying to escape her overbearing mother, vintage kitchenware enthusiast and soon-to-be columnist Jaymie Leighton retreats to her family’s cottage on Heartbreak Island. While there she hopes to write an article about the Ice House restaurant, owned by good friends and neighbors, siblings Ruby and Garnet Redmond. Once an actual icehouse, the restaurant is charmingly decorated with antique tools of the trade, including a collection of ice picks.
One night, while working on her article, Jaymie overhears an argument and, ever the sleuth, sets out to explore. But when she stumbles upon a dead body her blood runs cold. It’s Urban Dobrinskie, whose feud with the Redmonds is no secret, and he’s got an ice pick through his heart. Now Jaymie’s got to sharpen her sleuthing skills to chip away at the mystery and prove her neighbors’ innocence—before someone else gets picked off...
A Vintage Kitchen Mystery#3
Berkley (Prime Crime)
ISBN-13: 9780425252376
304 Pages, Paperback
Also by Victoria Hamilton:
Bran New Death, September 2013
Bowled Over, March 2013
A Deadly Grind, May 2012
WORDS WITH FIENDS by Ali Brandon
Brooklyn bookstore owner Darla Pettistone and her oversized black cat, Hamlet, have solved a few complicated capers. But after a recent brush with danger, Darla needs to get Hamlet out of a feline funk...Lately, Hamlet hasn’t been chasing customers or being his obnoxious self—something Darla surprisingly misses. Concerned, she hires a cat whisperer to probe Hamlet’s feline psyche and then decides to get out of her own funk by taking up karate to learn how to defend herself in case the need arises again.
But when Darla finds her sensei dead at the dojo, it seems that even a master can be felled by foul play. Darla decides to investigate the matter herself, and the promise of a mystery snaps Hamlet out of his bad mood. After all, Darla may be the sleuth, but Hamlet’s got a black belt in detection...
A Black Cat Bookshop Mystery #3
Berkley (Prime Crime)
ISBN-13: 9780425252369
304 Pages, Paperback
Also by Ali Brandon:
Double Booked for Death, May 2013
A Novel Way to Die, November 2012
Double Booked for Death, December 2011
MULLED MURDER by Kate Kingsbury
This holiday season at the Pennyfoot, the head count is down—but the body count is up...With one of her housemaids leaving to get married, Cecily Sinclair Baxter wants nothing more for Christmas than some good help. Instead of visions of sugar plums, she’s calling the plumber to deal with flooded bathrooms. Then there’s the surly new janitor, who acts like he got coal in his stocking.
But as Cecily scrambles to hire and train new staff in time for the holidays, one of her guests is beyond help. Gerald Evans is found stabbed to death on the beach, and Cecily soon discovers he was a private investigator from London looking into dark doings involving the Pennyfoot. Who among the staff or guests was being pursued, and what secret drove that person to cold-blooded murder?
A Special Pennyfoot Holiday Mystery #21
Berkley (Prime Crime)
ISBN-13: 9780425262917
304 Pages, Trade Size
Also by Kate Kingsbury:
The Clue is in the Pudding, November 2012
Herald of Death, November 2011
Mistletoe and Mayhem, November 2010
Decked with Folly, November 2009
Ringing In Murder, November 2008
Shrouds of Holly, November 2007
Slay Bells, November 2006
An Unmentionable Murder, August 2006
Wedding Rows, January 2006
No Clue At The Inn, November 2005
Fire When Ready, December 2004
Berried Alive, April 2004
Paint by Murder, September 2003
Dig Deep for Murder, December 2002
For Whom Death Tolls, February 2002
Death is in the Air, August 2001
Thanks so much for stopping by today. I hope I’ve tempted you to check out these intriguing new mysteries. Have you read any of these yet?
Mason - I agree with you; there are so many new cosy mysteries out there. I like the variety. And some of these look like nice reads for those cold winter evenings. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteYou know how much I love cozies - thanks for posting.
ReplyDeleteAnn