Patricia Stoltey

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Getting Cozy with Talk Radio

January 31, 2011 By: Patricia

Okay, that might have been a little misleading. I’m talking about “cozy” mysteries and the book I just picked up at the library after seeing the author’s guest appearance at Helen Ginger’s blog, Straight from Hel.

I’m reading Dead Air: A Talk Radio Mystery by Mary Kennedy. It’s off to a great start…a talk show therapist with scads of bizarre callers makes an interesting protagonist. And it doesn’t hurt to have a handsome and sexy cop in the picture.

Which leads me to talk about cozy mystery series. I’m always interested in new ideas authors have for creating a market niche with a unique setting, or an unusual vocation or hobby for the protagonist, or a bizarre cast of characters in an unlikely location.

Just from Colorado authors there are knitting mysteries (Maggie Sefton), bird watching series (Christine L. Goff), and home crafting mysteries about everything from making soap to cheese (Cricket McRae). Diane Mott Davidson writes about Goldy Bear’s Catering Service and Beth Groundwater’s new series will feature a white water river ranger.

I like to visit a website called Cozy Mystery List. Here mysteries are categorized by everything from setting to protagonists’ occupations. There are series that feature animals, stories grouped by location, mysteries with senior sleuths and more. Not all cozy authors are listed, but it’s a great place to start if you’re searching for something new and different.

Are you a fan of cozy mysteries? If so, who are your favorite authors?

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Comments

  1. Hilary Melton-Butcher says

    February 3, 2011 at 10:52 am

    Hi Patricia .. up until Mum’s illness I was always out and about .. but have read the odd ‘cozy’ since she’s been ill & enjoyed the books .. I used to love the detective series all varieties as a kid & still love some murder/detective series as light relief on tv – my switch off mode .. One day I shall get time to read more .. cheers Hilary

  2. Jemi Fraser says

    January 31, 2011 at 8:18 pm

    I like cozies. I haven’t read a ton of them, but they’re fun reads. Elizabeth Spann Craig’s Pretty is as Pretty Dies is terrific! And some of Agatha Christie’s would count as cozies I think – I’ve loved all of her books!

  3. Patricia Stoltey says

    January 31, 2011 at 5:02 pm

    Hi Kay — I enjoy live readings — when Ann Parker was in Fort Collins, she read from her Leadville historical mystery series. Excellent introduction to a fine character.

  4. Kay Theodoratus says

    January 31, 2011 at 4:49 pm

    I read cozies when the cover, tag line, and blurb lure me in. Cricket McRae’s books were the last I read … but a live reading lured me in there. Loved the voice of the main character.

  5. Patricia Stoltey says

    January 31, 2011 at 2:20 pm

    I agree, Elizabeth, Mary’s an excellent writer. I’m enjoying “Dead Air” so much.

  6. Elizabeth Spann Craig/Riley Adams says

    January 31, 2011 at 1:59 pm

    Oh, I do love them. 🙂 Mary is a friend–she and I are on a group together…lovely lady and does a lot of volunteer work for books for troops. Great writer, too!

  7. Paul D. Brazill says

    January 31, 2011 at 12:27 pm

    I really haven’t read enough to know what’s cozy and what’s not! The Talk Radio idea sounds like a good one, though.

  8. welcome to my world of poetry says

    January 31, 2011 at 12:21 pm

    I love cozy books especially when the weather is bad outside and get seated comfortably on the settee and read.

    Yvonne.

  9. Patricia Stoltey says

    January 31, 2011 at 11:29 am

    I read thrillers, too, and almost all other genres. But a good cozy is hard to beat when you want a quick, entertaining read. I enjoy them most on snow days (which it looks like we might have in a mini-version today).

  10. Mason Canyon says

    January 31, 2011 at 10:58 am

    I enjoy a nice mix of cozy and thriller. Thanks for the link, I’ll definitely check out that.

    Mason
    Thoughts in Progress

  11. Stephen Tremp says

    January 31, 2011 at 9:53 am

    I don’t read many cozy mysteries. I like larger or multiple settings with diversity of characters. Oh, and wormholes too.

  12. Alex J. Cavanaugh says

    January 31, 2011 at 9:47 am

    Think I’m more of a thriller fan…

  13. Clarissa Draper says

    January 31, 2011 at 9:09 am

    I like some cozy series. I consider Agatha Christie cozy and love her.

  14. E.J. Wesley says

    January 31, 2011 at 7:48 am

    While I can’t profess to be a diehard fan of the genre (Charlaine Harris/Sookie Stackhouse, etc. is about as close to a Cozy series I follow), I grew up watching Murder She Wrote with my mother and will always think of that show when I think of the Cozy.

    I really appreciate how diverse and accessible the genre is, and should definitely read more of it.

    EJ

  15. Margot Kinberg says

    January 31, 2011 at 7:11 am

    Patricia – Some cosy mysteries (like Elizabeth Spann Craig’s are terrific! So are Beth Groundwater’s and some others. I think it can be too easy to slide into “cute” with cosies. Murder is not cute. Elizabeth and Beth don’t do that, but some I’ve read do.

Meet Patricia

I read, I write, I blog, and sometimes I do the laundry and cook. My 2014 novel, Dead Wrong, was a finalist in the thriller category of the 2015 Colorado Book Awards. Wishing Caswell Dead (Five Star/Cengage, December 20, 2017) is a historical mystery set in 1830s Illinois in the fictitious Village of Sangamon. The novel was a finalist for the 2018 Colorado Book Awards for General Fiction. Read More…

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