Alice, here is Jenn McKinlay's newsletter about ending her hat series: http://www.jennmckinlay.com/newsletter.htm

Finishing up this book Angel at Troublesome Creek (Augusta Goodnight, Bk 1) Mignon F Ballard.   It's a fun read.....MC has a gardian angel; in some ways she reminds me of Sid our skeleton friend.

I've read one for each category and a few for the bonus author category; it'll be hit and miss whether I list my books now in the categories or for an author; depending on what fits where and since there's no specific number to achieve for each category.

Just finished Heather Blake's newest Wishcraft Mystery book, The Witch and the Dead, and I thought it was one of the best yet.  This was book 7 in the series and it has not lost any of it's charm. 

Una, she doesn't write those fast enough for me! 

After a week of not feeling well and not reading, back to War and Peach, then Blown Away, both newly released cozies.

Yesterday I started Broken Hearted Ghoul (Taxi for the Dead, Bk 1) :: Joyce Lavene, Jim Lavene

I always enjoy books by the Lavene's. This one is very good. Very sad that both Joyce and Jim died last year.

Alice

Alice, I liked that series.  The Lavene's ended it before they passed.  I was sorry that they did, thought it could go a bit further.

Just finished Long Upon the Land (A Deborah Knott Mystery)Author: Margaret Maron Great read story told in present and past tales that connect it all together.  The final conversation was a great end to the story. I never caught on, so don't read the end till the end or you will spoil it.

I liked the entire Deborah Knott series, some a bit more than others but Long Upon the Land was indeed a winner.

I could not settle on a book yesterday and now have several goin gon Kindle.  Just as bad as tree books!

Bought the Farm / Jeef Shelby = thought it would be a quick cozy to free up a space in Unlimited, it's not
Nick of Time / Beth Amo = time travel, ghosts and other paranormal stuff
Ashes / Kelly Cozy = not a cozy!  It's about a group of militants who set off a bomb, brought down a building in LA and what one survivor goes through and the retired covert op who goes rogue to bring her justice.  This has parts where I've really gotten upset and have to put it down!
Dying for a Dude / Cinday Sample = #4 in a cozy series. 
Wicked Burn / Rebecca Zanetti = another paranormal, witches, vampires, shifters and demons among other non human.  Book #3 of the series and it's getting a bit scary.  The first two were more like romance but this one has more fighting and death. 

And, tree books, Memory in Death / J D Robb and just finished Rules of Murder / Julianna Deering.  This could be a cozy, a historical cozy or a mystery challenge book.  Takes place in 1932, has several murders but more along the lines of Clue, who poisened the lady in her bedroom type thing.  Nice book.
 

I'm in the minority, but I never much cared for the Deborah Knott mysteries. Tried reading them many years ago and found them blah.

I read Rules of Murder a couple of weeks ago as I had it free on my Kindle. I wasn't impressed. The mystery wasn't bad but the main character had no real depth. He seemed shallow and frivolous.  I just finished Crack of Dawn by Jeff Shelby, the third book in the Rainy Day series. About average.

Also just finished Dangerous Dough by Jessica Beck, Beeline to Murder by Meera Lester, and The Conspiring Woman by Kate Parker and Murder Offstage by L.B. Hathaway. I'm halfway through It's Your Party, Die if You Want To by Vicki Fee.

I have all the categories filled in with one or more selections in the challenge. Only thing I have to come up with is my own category. I've been thinking of married amateur sleuths as most of the books have single, divorced, or women who were done wrong main characters. You'd think there were no happy women out there.

I didn't care for the Sigrid Hareld books.  Enjoyed Maron's stand alone.

Finished the Jeff Shelby book.  I wasn't fond of the MC.  She could really jump to conclusions.  Also fonished Nick of Time.  Can''t help it started a Miss Fortune, not by Jana de Lemon.  One of the writers she's allowed to use her characters.  They do a pretty good job of following the line of the series.

Darn double post

I loved the Sigrid Harald books! Started the Deborah Knott books last year and they were ok, but I didn't get very far; may return to those this year.

Mary,

I was looking at your list it is an impressive list of books

Another topic,

You know all know I like historical mysteries a lot. Sometimes I think they fall in the grey area of a cozy. I use how violent the murder is to determine if it is cozy historical or straight up historical mystery. Thougths?

Thanks, Alice. My library orders slews of new cozies every month, both paperback and e-books, so I always have my fix of cozies. I have lots from PBS, too. I know people thinks that's all I read, but I try to throw in other genres to every three or so cozies.

I use the same yardstick to decide if a historical falls into the cozy catetgory. If there's no blood/violence, then it's historical cozy. I probably don't read a lot of regular historicals, probably a few a year.

Alice, that's my determining factor for any mystery I read.  I have two I'm reading and thought they would be cozies and they're both so filled with violence I actually put them down for a bit.  Ashes has the retired spy extracting information from a man by cutting off his fingers! 

Almost finished with this challenge - three more books to find and read.  The bonus section will take me through the end of the year.  I have 20 A authors.  Not read everything!  Some aren't released yet, just have 20 titles at this point.  Got the authors  from the Cozy Mystery site, did it the lazy way.  Who knows through the year I might find more As.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ALICE

Thank you Una

Wishing you a very Happy Birthday,  Alice! :)

Finished War and Peach which I enjoyed. Love how Nola and her friends and family work together to solve a mystery or two. Next book should involve her life changing adventure which is how this book ended with.

Next book up is Blown Away by Clover Tate which is the first in her new Kite Shop series. I put it in the category for no animals on the cover.

Happy Belated Birthday, Alice!!

Thank you Lynn and all.

Today I finished Lowcountry Boneyard (Liz Talbot, Bk 3) :: Susan M. Boyer

This is a very good cozy series. Well plotted mysteries are not easy to figure out. Brings South Carolina atmosphere to life. I am surprised it is not more popular . I highly recommend this series.

I just got ahold of book 4 in that series on my Kindle, Alice. I liked the series a lot. Very well written.

I just finished Plaid and Plagiarism by Molly MacRae. Although I liked the book, there were four main characters all introduced at once which made it a little difficult to keep straight. The transitioning was a little off, too. All-in-all, not bad for the first in a series. Hopefully future books will transition from one scene to another a little more smoothly.

Currently about halfway through The Question of the Missing Head by E.J. Copperman. I know lots of people like this series, but so far I'm not impressed. Although I know a little of Asperger's, I find the constant explanation of why the main character acts the way he does irritating. We don't need to know every thought in the MC's head and why he thinks differently than the rest of us. A little less explanation, once a few of the quirks are explained, would make it much more palatable. It's similar to the MC in other cozies contantly describing every detail of her clothes, furniture, etc.  We'll see if it grows on me more further along.

I like that series too Alice.  Somehow I've read the first two and let it drift away.  Glad you brought it up because now, I too will read book 3!