Hello all,

I enjoy cozies but there are some awful ones out there, Let's talk about known good series that we like and maybe some to stay away from. I have started way too many and given up on them.

Some of my  favorites

Apple Orchard Sereis - Sheila Connelly, I like the way she is growing the characters

Beufort Angels - Mary Stanton - very well written good mystery

Fatal Fixer Upper Series by Jennie Bentley. love the main characts.

i will let everyone else add in I have some more too but I always go back to these series.

A few that I like are:

Beaufort & Company by Mary Stanton

Cupcake Bakery by Jenn McKinlay, also Library Lovers Mystery

Cats in Trouble by Leann Sweeney

Cat in the Stack by Miranda James

Magical Cats by Sofie Kellie

Haunted Home Renovations by Juliet Blackwell

Haunted Guesthouse by E.J. Copperman

Tried to read the Donut Shop series but didn't care for it.

Didn't care for Mystery a la mode series either.

My favorites include the Gaslight Mysteries by Victoria Thompson, the Maggy Thorsen series by Sandra Balzo, and the Agatha Raisin and Hamish Macbeth series' by M.C.Beaton. Mostly I'm not too big on cozies because they tend to be twee and precious or formulaic and predictable. I need a little blood and gore!

Ditto what LeeAnne said...there are very few cozy series I can tolerate for more than a couple of books. It's so subjective as to what people think is "good" and "bad"...for what it's worth, the ones I like enough to still be reading are:

• Gaslight historicals by Victoria Thompson
• Maggy Thorsen by Sandra Balzo
• Miss Zukas by Jo Dereske
• Molly Murphy by Rhys Bowen

Um, okay...that's it. LOL For the record, I did read the Agatha Raisin and Hamish MacBeth series up until about the sixteenth or seventeenth of each one before I finally had enough...I might go back to them eventually and just read one a year or something. LOL

Cheryl

I don't read many cozies either but here a few that I like:

• Gaslight series by Victoria Thompson
• Miss Zukas by Jo Dereske
• Library Lovers Mystery  by Jenn McKinlay
• Ghost Duster series by Wendy Roberts

I didn't care for most of the ones that involve food of some kind because the main character acts like an air head.

Tammy

I also love the

• Gaslight series by Victoria Thompson
• Miss Zukas by Jo Dereske

And I would add

Death on Demand series by Carolyn Hart

Manor House series by Kate Kingsbury

Coffee House series by Cleo Coyle

Alright, someone convince me to begin reading Victoria Thompson's Gaslight mysteries. Suppose that you are a member of marketing and publicity services for this series. Promote these books and tell me why I should ignore my TBR pile and concentrate instead on Thompson's tomes. Ready, set, go!

Okay, Anna, here goes!  The Gaslight Mysteries are very well researched with a nice array of fully-fleshed characters.  Sarah Brandt is a strong independent woman who is only occasionally annoying. LOL! The whole midwife thing is fascinating to me so I really enjoy that aspect of the series.  Frank Malloy is the police detective who reluctantly teams with Sarah to solve the various mysteries.  Their relationship is a bit frustrating for me because it feels like the author is using it to string her readers along.  JMO, of course!  I like that there are several ongoing story lines (Frank's son, Sarah's deceased husband) that make each book feel like you're part of its village.  Does that make any sense at all?

Overall, these are just good stories.  I tend to polish one off in three hours or so of steady reading.

Cheryl, I stopped reading both Agatha and Hamish after reading the first dozen or so of each series.  I really loved the first three or four in each series and then I continued to read more because I enjoyed the settings and characters than the mysteries.  After a while, Agatha got top shrill and Hamish too bumbling for me to handle anymore.  I might have to pick up where I left off several years ago and limit myself to one a year!

Here are mine:

Ghost Duster Mysteries - Wendy Roberts (paranormal)

Lucy Valentine Mysteries - Heather Webber (paranormal)

The Captain Lacey Mystery Series - Ashley Gardner (historicals and they should be read in order, IMO)

The Mattie Winston Mysteries  - Annalise Ryan aka Beth Amos, she wrote such good suspense back in the early 90s.

LeeAnne, I'm semi-convinced. Thanks for your thoughts!

I used to read a lot of cozies...think I just got "burned out", so went on to other things.  Have come back to them, but can't seem to find many that I want to "stick with" beyond one or two ( if the first one is somewhat interesting, I will usually try at least one more!).  The only two I have continued with through the latest book are Mary Daheim's Alpine series and Susan Wittig Albert's China Bayles series.  Some of them are just too cutsy for me, or so illogical that it makes me crazy!!!  JMO!!

Here are some of mine:

Cookie Shop series by Joanne Fluke

Lucy Stone series by Leslie Meier

Museum Series by Sheila Connelly

White House Chef mysteries by Julie Hyzy, along with her second series, the Manor house mysteries

Daisy Dalrymple series by Carola Dunn

Mrs. Jeffries series by Emily Brightwell

I also enjoy alot of the mystery series already posted, and don't forget Maggie Sefton, Joanna Carl, Lillian Jackson Braun & Carol Higgins Clark.

Im so glad to see the   Beaufort & Company series by Mary Stanton on some of the above lists.

I have the first in this series " Defending Angels" checked out from the library, and it really sounds good to me.

Some of the cozy series that I like include:

Needlecraft mystery series by Monica Ferris

Cookie shop series by Joanne Fluke

Chocolate store series by Joanna Carl

Cooking Class mystery by Miranda Bliss

thanks for all of the suggestions!  =)

The Booktown series by Lorna Barrett

We've missed Aunt Dimity!

Another one that Liked the first book in is the Tattoo shop series. I have the other 3 but have only read the first one. Good mystery and the main character isn't a ditz. I have notice more new series out lately too. A new series that I just started an liked is

The Square Root of Murder by Ada Madison. She also writes under Camille Minichino, Periodic table series. Very good. Strong femaile lead.

Alice

Hi all, I am new to the PBS community.  I like the following cozies:

Kate Carlisle, the Bibliophile mysteries

Kate Collins, Flower Shop mysteries

Leann Sweeny,  A Cats in Trouble mysteries

Rebecca M. Hale,  A Cats & Curios mysteries

Wendy Lyn Watson, A Mystery a la Mode

Miranda James, Cat in the stacks mysteries

Hannah Reed's Buzz Off

And i learned to read some new cozies, thanks for listing them.  

-Elisa

Welcome Elisa!  I hope you enjoy PBS! 

Anybody mention the Anne George series starting with Murder on a Girl's Night Out?  I just read this and was impressed with the writing. 

Welcome Elisa I hope you enjoy PBS, lots of great books, blogs, interviews games, book review and good chats in our forum.

I am reading Bitter Harvest right now, the latest in the apple orchid series by Sheila Connolly. One of my favorite series, likeable characters that aren't ditzes.  She does a good job describing the local area as it is in Western Massachusetts.

Alice

Alice, Agree with you about the Anne George series.  They were wonderful and I was very sad she died after writing the 8 or 9 books in the series.  Great writing - very descriptive, just the right amount of detail, dry humor really appeals to me.  Loved the two main characters and enjoyed getting to know even better through each book.  Would definately recommend them.

Mary Ann

If the "Brother Cadfael" Mysteries  by Ellis Peters are considered in the Cozy realm, then I'm pleased with what I've read so far.  If it is a Cozy then this is my first dip into this sub-genre.

I'm trying to collect the entire series.

-RD