Books Finished in 2004

1. Paint by Murder (Kate Kingsbury)
2. Murder, Mrs. Hudson (Sydney Hosier)
3. The Clock Strikes Twelve (Patricia Wentworth)
4. The Cat Who Talked Turkey (Lilian Jackson Braun)
5. Agatha Raisin and the Haunted House (M. C. Beaton)
6. Aunty Dimity: Snowbound (Nancy Atherton)
7. Destination Murder - a Murder, She Wrote book (Donald Bain)
8. A Bicycle Built for Murder (Kate Kingsbury)
9. Shades of Earl Grey (Laura Childs)
10. For the Love of Mike (Rhys Bowen)
11. Photo Finished (Laura Childs)
12. Fudge Cupcake Murder (Joanne Fluke)
13. Guardian of the Horizon (Elizabeth Peters)
14. It Had to Be You (Jill Churchill)
15. Die Laughing (Carola Dunn)
16. Room for Murder (Tim Myers)
17. Spider-Man 2 (Peter David)
18. We'll Always Have Parrots (Donna Andrews)
19. Mrs. Jeffries Sweeps the Chimney (Emily Brightwell)
20. With This Puzzle, I Thee Kill (Parnell Hall)
21. Wedding Day Murder (Leslie Meier)
22. Pilgrim's Rest (Patricia Wentworth)
23. Last Puzzle and Testament (Parnell Hall)
24. Hasty Death (Marion Chesney)
25. Father's Day Murder (Leslie Meier)
26. The English Breakfast Murder (Laura Childs)
27. Booked for Murder (Tim Myers)
28. Birthday Party Murder (Leslie Meier)
29. The Cosmic Clues (Manjiri Prabhu)
30. Trick or Treat Murder (Leslie Meier)

Books Read in 2005

1. Snuffed Out (Tim Myers)
2. The Christmas Thief (Carol and Mary Higgins Clark)
3. And a Puzzle to Die On (Parnell Hall)
4. The Jasmine Moon Murder (Laura Childs)
5. A Mourning Wedding (Carola Dunn)
6. Berried Alive (Kate Kingsbury)
7. In Like Flynn (Rhys Bowen)
8. Aunt Dimity Takes a Holiday (Nancy Atherton)
9. Aunt Dimity and the Next of Kin (Nancy Atherton)
10. Death by Darjeeling (Laura Childs)
11. The Cat Who Went Bananas (Lilian Jackson Braun)
12. Peach Cobbler Murder (Joanne Fluke)
13. The Tale of Hill Top Farm (Susan Wittig Albert)
14. Chamomile Mourning (Laura Childs)
15. Sick of Shadows (Marion Chesney)
16. Murder on the Salsette (Conrad Allen)
17. Murder on the Marmora (Conrad Allen)

Books Finished in 2006

1. The Cat Who Dropped a Bombshell (Lilian Jackson Braun)
2. Delilah Doolittle and the Canine Chorus (Patricia Guiver)
3. Invitation to Murder (Elizabeth Bright)
4. The Serpent on the Crown (Elizabeth Peters)
5. Who's Sorry Now? (Jill Churchill)
6. Cherry Cheesecake Murder (Joanne Fluke)
7. Hitched (Carol Higgins Clark)
8. Tomb of the Golden Bird (Elizabeth Peters)
9. Dead Men Don't Lye (Tim Myers)
10. The Tale of Holly How (Susan Wittig Albert)
11. Million Dollar Baby (Amy Patricia Meade)
12. Santa Cruise (Carol and Mary Higgins Clark)
13. The Tale of Cuckoo Brow Wood (Susan Wittig Albert)
14. Most Baffling, Mrs. Hudson (Sydney Hosier)
15. No Clue at the Inn (Kate Kingsbury)

Books Read in 2007

1. Deadly Greetings (Elizabeth Bright)
2. Stalking the Puzzle Lady (Parnell Hall)
3. Blood Orange Brewing (Laura Childs)
4. Aunt Dimity and the Deep Blue Sea (Nancy Atherton)
5. A Pour Way to Die (Tim Myers)
6. Key Lime Pie Murder (Joanne Fluke)
7. Verse of the Vampyre (Diana Killian)
8. Dragonwell Dead (Laura Childs)
9. The Past Tense - a Diagnosis Murder book (Lee Goldberg)
10. The Cat Who Had 60 Whiskers (Lilian Jackson Braun)
11. Laced (Carol Higgins Clark)
12. Gunpowder Plot (Carola Dunn)
13. Fit to Die (J. B. Stanley) - a Supper Club mystery
14. No Nest for the Wicket (Donna Andrews)
15. The Accidental Florist (Jill Churchill)
16. Ghost of a Chance (Amy Patricia Meade) - set in the 1930's
17. Wreath of Deception (Mary Ellen Hughes) - a crafting mystery
18. The Penguin Who Knew Too Much (Donna Andrews)
19. A Poisoned Season (Tasha Alexander) - Victorian
20. Mrs. Jeffries Appeals the Verdict (Emily Brightwell) - Victorian
21. Her Royal Spyness (Rhys Bowen)
22. The Case of William Smith (Patricia Wentworth)
23. String of Lies ( Mary Ellen Hughes)
24. Shrouds of Holly (Kate Kingsbury) - Edwardian
25. A Death at the Rose Paperworks (M. J. Zellnik)

Books I've Finished This Year (2008)

1. Resort to Murder (Mary Ellen Hughes)
2. Murder on the Celtic (Conrad Allen)
3. You Have the Right to Remain Puzzled (Parnell Hall)
4. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Holmes (Loren D. Estleman)
5. Carrot Cake Murder (Joanne Fluke)
6. The Cliff House Strangler (Shirley Tallman)
7. And Only to Deceive (Tasha Alexander)
8. North by Northanger (Carrie Bebris)
9. Zapped (Carol Higgins Clark)
10. Mr. Knightley's Diary (Amanda Grange)
11. The Silver Needle Murder (Laura Childs)
12. Shadow Waltz (Amy Patricia Meade)
13. Mrs. Jeffries and the Best Laid Plans (Emily Brightwell)
14. A Deadly Yarn (Maggie Sefton)
15. More Letters From Pemberley (Jane Dawkins)
16. High Marks for Murder (Rebecca Kent)
17. A Mold for Murder (Tim Myers)
18. A Fatal Waltz (Tasha Alexander)
19. Lye in Wait (Cricket McRae)
20. The Cat's Pajamas (Gilbert Morris)
21. Dyer Consequences (Maggie Sefton)
22. When Zeffie Got a Clue (Peggy Darty)
23. When the Sandpiper Calls (Peggy Darty)
24. A Lady of High Regard (Tracie Peterson)
25. The Laughter of Dead Kings (Elizabeth Peters)
26. A Murderous Glaze (Melissa Glazer)
27. Aunt Dimity Goes West (Nancy Atherton)
28. New Moon (Stephenie Meyer)
29. Edmund Bertram's Diary (Amanda Grange)
30. Another Stab at Life (Anita Higman)
31. Bye Bye Bertie (Nancy Mehl)
32. Fatal Deduction (Gayle Roper)
33. Recipe for Murder (Lisa Harris)
34. Dashing Through the Snow (Mary and Carol Higgins Clark)
35. Six Geese A-Slaying (Donna Andrews)
36. Ringing in Murder (Kate Kingsbury)
37. A Flicker of Doubt (Tim Myers)

I was typing this up before at the library, but then there was a power surge and I lost what I was typing! So I had to type up # 31 onwards. This is probably the most books I've finished in a year since I was a kid. I'd finish more books, but I have trouble sleeping. If I didn't have any trouble sleeping, I could probably finish a book a week.

Cozy Mysteries by Tim Myers, Maggie Sefton, and Donna Andrews

Tim Myers writes cozy mysteries. He wrote series about a lighthouse inn, soap making, and candle making. He also writes under the names Elizabeth Bright (a series of three books set in a cardmaking store) and Melissa Glazer (about a paint-your-own pottery shop). I guess he uses the female pseudonyms because cozy mysteries appeal to more women than men. Glazer is a good name -- get it? Such as the glaze on the pottery? There are two in this series so far and the third is due out in November 2008.

Maggie Sefton writes a knitting series. Her latest is Fleece Navidad, a special Christmas mystery. The previous book in this series came out in June, Dyer Consequences. Her sleuth, Kelly, likes to drink coffee and knit. Luckily, the knitting shop has a cafe. Her friends Meg and Jennifer, among others, hang out there. Kelly does accounting work in Colorado (the town is based on Fort Collins, but is called something else). She recently bought an alpaca ranch.

Donna Andrews writes a humorous series with birds in most of the titles: Murder with Peacocks, etc.

Classic Mysteries

I love to read mysteries, especially cozy and historical ones. I also like classic mysteries such as Agatha Christie and the Sherlock Holmes stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. I thought I'd start a blog so I could recommend some of my favorites to other people.

When I was a kid I read Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys, Trixie Belden, and the Three Investigators. When I was about 13 I read an Alfred Hitchcock book of short stories from the library that introduced me to Agatha Christie, Sherlock Holmes, and Ngaio Marsh. Those stories interested me so I went back to the library and started reading Marsh, Christie, and Conan Doyle. I've read most of the Agatha Christies, but there's a few I haven't read. I like Miss Marple, Hercule Poirot, and Tommy and Tuppence.

I've read all the Sherlock Holmes stories; I had them all in one book. It took me a while (56 short stories and four novels), but I eventually finished the book. At least with the short stories you can finish one and go back to the book later and not forget what you've read.

I think I should read some Margery Allingham books. I will read Police at the Funeral this year. I have a new edition of it, versus the older paperbacks that I have that are kind of yellowed. I also have Mystery Mile in a newer edition (these are published by Felony and Mayhem).