One great place to start is to check out www.stopyourekillingme.com. This is a wonderful website for mystery lovers. Once you get on the site, look at the categories on the left. Until the new Genre Index is finished, you might want to look at the Read-Alikes. You can also look at the Job Index, which lists the occupations of series' characters. The Historical Index will give you the time period of series' characters.

I'm sure others will chime in with their favorites, but I am a cozy mystery addict. I read Susan Wittig Albert, Sarah Graves, Rett MacPherson, Carolyn G. Hart, Rita Mae Brown, Joann Fluke, Diane Mott Davidson, Carolyn Haines, Denise Swanson, Joanne Pence and M. C. Beaton, among others.

Welcome, Hannah!

Yes, I just have to stick my nose into everything "mysterious."  LeeAnne, I've just started the Elvis Cole series by Robert Crais. It's vastly different from my usual cozy stuff, but I've been enjoying Elvis' antics, nonetheless.

Hey LeeAnn, your link didn't work for me.  Can you do it again? 

I absolutely agree with Elizabeth George and CJ Box.  I also love Nevada Barr (I'm in the middle of her latest right now)--not historical but has some depth of location and character development.  I also like Laurie King and Carol O'Connell for just plain fine writing.  One resource that I like to use is to read through the winners of the Edgar Awards.  Those are always on my radar when I need a new idea.  The Thirteenth Tale was wonderful but not a series.

I'm always ready to recommend the Judge Deborah Knott series by Margaret Maron.  They are a good stepping stone into mysteries. Not cozies but not as graphic as a Kellerman or a Patterson. First in the series is Bootlegger's Daughter. I second Anne W.'s recommendation of Carolyn Haines. The "Bones" series is great.

I don't know that I have any authors to add- I also don't go in for the romance in the mysteries, there is a thread on this and there are several authors mentioned there you might enjoy. I have also found that many of the "cozy mysteries"- while my favorite genre- are not necessarily well written as you just mentioned. I recently read "knit 1, kill 2" and rather enjoyed it- the writing was good, the girlfriend stuff was nice (not overly humorous which I detest), and the yarn descriptions which I thought would be boring ended up being very vibrant and interesting since the author concentrated on color and texture instead of the craft itself of knitting. I also really like the "Mrs. Jeffries" books and the "Murder She Wrote" books. Neither have romantic subplots, but these would be very different from your Stephanie Plum. Actually, if you like Stephanie Plum- a snappy intelligent female, you might enjoy an older series like Rex Stout's "Nero Wolfe". Archie is also suave and quick witted, and the series stands up well to time. Its probably my favorite series!

You might want  to  try  Victoria Thompson'sGas light Series

 Tammy beat me to it!  I'm crazy for Victoria Thompson's Gaslight Mysteries!   They feature a midwife in 1890's New York City and they are amazing!   Terrific characters and she really brings you into Sarah Brandt's time very easily.

  I'm also a big fan of Dorothy Gilmore's Mrs. Pollifax series. It begins in the early 1970's and is about an older woman who decides to become a CIA operative in her golden years.  It's amazing to read about her adventures in countries that don't exist anymore, what was going on in the world around her at that time.  Plus, she's  a total hoot and I can only hope to grow up to be like her :)

 Stop You're Killing Me, Fantastic Fiction and CozyMystery.com are some of my favorite sites for finding new authors.

  Welcome!!!

I LOVE the Victoria Thompson Gaslight series books.

I second the Dorothy Gilman, Mrs. Pollifax series. I have also just discovered the Mrs. Pargeter's series by Simon Brett, different than anything I have read before. I have also started the Amelia Peabody series by Elizabeth Peters and it offers history, humor, and lots of fun along with good mysteries.