2016 was another fantastic year for Cozy Mysteries especially amid all the changes in the cozy publishing world. We saw several of our favorite series ending way too soon.
By the end of the year I will have read 200 books with over 100 earning 5 stars. All of the books listed below received my Paradise Rating which means I wanted to give them more than 5 stars.
Foreign Éclairs: A White House Chef Mystery
9th in Series
Cozy Mystery
Setting – Washington D.C.
A Berkley Prime Crime Mystery
An Imprint of Penguin Random House LLC.
Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
ISBN-13: 978-0425262405
E-Book ASIN: B00W2ZKN2G
This was one of the series that ended
but is unique because the author knew it was that last book
and was able to end it in a way the readers could appreciate.
My Review Here
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Drawing Blood
(A Sketch in Crime Mystery)
2nd in Series
Cozy Mystery
Setting – New York
Publisher: Midnight Ink (February 8, 2016)
Paperback: 336 pages
ISBN-13: 978-0738742281
E-Book ASIN: B019KKTX0I
My Review Here
This series is continuing but with a different publisher. The Drawing Game
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Delivering the Truth
(A Quaker Midwife Mystery)
New Series
Historical Cozy Mystery
Setting – Massachusetts
Publisher: Midnight Ink (April 8, 2016)
Paperback: 312 pages
ISBN-13: 978-0738747521
E-Book ASIN: B019KKTWX6
My Review Here
Book 2 in this series,
Called to Justice
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An Unhappy Medium
(A Family Fortune Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
4th in Series
Setting – Michigan
A Berkley Prime Crime Mystery (April 5, 2016)
An Imprint of Penguin Random House LLC
Cover Illustration by Daniel Craig
Cover Design by Judith Lagerman
Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
ISBN-13: 978-0425282809
E-Book – ASIN: B011IUSQXI
My Review Here
I do not see a new book listed on Amazon for this series.
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With A Vengeance (A Zoe Chambers Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
Setting – Pennsylvania
4th in Series
Henery Press (May 3, 2016)
Paperback: 272 pages
ISBN-13: 978-1635110173
E-Book ASIN: B01BGZOFSU
My Review Here
I do not see a new book for this series yet on Amazon.
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Killer Cocktail
(A Nic & Nigel Mystery)
2nd in Series
Cozy Mystery
Setting – California
Publisher: Midnight Ink (May 8, 2016)
Paperback: 240 pages
ISBN-13: 978-0738745237
E-Book ASIN: B01A5OGVRGMy Review Here
Book 3 in this series, A Perfect Manhattan Murder
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The Book of Beloved
(Pluto’s Snitch)
Paranormal Historical Suspense Mystery
1st in Series
Setting – Alabama
Thomas & Mercer (August 9, 2016)
Paperback: 330 pages
ISBN-13: 978-1503938069
E-Book ASIN: B01BXSFGDS
My Review Here
Book 2 in this series, The House of Memory
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Cozy Mystery
3rd in Series
Setting – North Carolina
Berkley (October 4, 2016)
Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
ISBN-13: 978-0425268278
E-Book – ASIN: B01AHKXHTS
My Review Here.
This one was hard, losing Joyce in 2015 and Jim in 2016 and their amazing storytelling was a jolt.
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We Wish You a Murderous Christmas
(A Year-Round Christmas Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
2nd in Series
Setting – New York
A Berkley Prime Crime Mystery (November 1, 2016)
An Imprint of Penguin Random House LLC
Mass Market Paperback: 304 pages
ISBN-13: 978-0425280812
E-Book ASIN: B01BK0WS8U
My Review Here
I am looking forward to the next installment in November 2017!
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Better Late Than Never (A Library Lover’s Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
7th in Series
Setting – Connecticut
A Berkley Prime Crime Mystery (November 1, 2016)
An Imprint of Penguin Random House
Hardcover: 304 pages
ISBN-13: 978-0399583735
E-Book ASIN: B01BK0SQ90
My Review Here
I sure hope there are more stories coming in this series!
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What were your favorite books this year? Please share them in the comment section below so we can all see them and add them to our wish lists!
Looking ahead to 2017 I see so many wonderful books in our future. Cozy Mysteries give me so much joy and the authors continue to impress me with their talents and imagination. Some publishers may be cutting back on this genre but the authors are finding new homes and new ways to bring us their stories. I will do my best to keep you informed about authors that have moved to new publishing houses or self publishing. For some that may mean e-books only.
I did upgrade my kindle for Christmas last year and I do love it, although there is nothing I like better than holding a print book in my hands. If you haven’t treated yourself to a Kindle yet, the one I purchased last year, a Kindle Fire for $149 has been updated and is now just $89.99. You can also get it with extra memory for just $119.00 and you can break it down into as many as 5 payments to fit your budget. I like mine because I can not only read books but I can check in on my blog, Facebook, Twitter and email when I am away from my desktop computer because I do not have a cell phone. The only thing I can’t do is make a phone call 😀
In addition to the the cozies I will continue to sprinkle in traditional mysteries, thriller, suspense and even some romance to change things up from time to time.
I hope you have enjoyed my reviews, recommendations, and giveaways. It has been a pleasure to be your Escape Into A Good Book Travel Agent this year. I am excited for the new year as I start my 8th year blogging! I hope to book many more literary escapes for you all to enjoy!
Be sure to stop back tomorrow when I tell you about a few non-cozy books that earned my Paradise Rating. My BLOGOVERSARY Giveaways will also start tomorrow!!
I am honored to have made your list, and in such great company! Thanks so much.
So many fabulous books here! I love anything from Jen McKinlay and An Unhappy Medium was so good! The ones I haven’t read I am really looking forward to reading in 2017!
I agree 100% with the ones I have read. A few others on my list but I was surprised to find some that were new to me. Thanks!
Great list! Thanks so much for all that you do for mystery readers and writers.
Julianne Holmes – Just Killing Time.
Love your list, so many good book! Just fininshed Murderous Christmas, how timely! I also loved discovering Julia Buckley this year–A Dark and Stormy Murder was great! Looking forward to another year of Escaping with Dollycas!
Authors I’ve enjoyed this year are Amanda Flower(aka Isabella Allen), Annette Dashofy, Beth Amos (aka Annelise Ryan & Allyson K. Abbott)
My favorite, however, is Gloria Alden who writes “The Catherine Jewell Mysteries” which are set in rural northeast Ohio. The latest (7th) book in Gloria’s series is Blood Red Poinsettias published in 2016 and I have it on good authority that an 8th book will be forthcoming in early 2017. As with most series it’s best read in order and the other books in the series in order of publication are : The Blue Rose, Daylilies for Emily’s Garden, Ladies of the Garden Club, The Body in the Goldenrod, Murder in the Corn Maze, Carnations for Cornelia. The characters are engaging, the plots are fresh and she manages to touch on a variety of social and disability challenges of her characters which makes the stories and the characters all the more real.