Category: cozy mystery

Guest Blogger ~ Greta Boris

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The Lighter Side of Death

Greta Boris

It was March 19, 2020, and I was in San Diego at the Left Coast Crime Convention. I was just leaving my first (or maybe second) panel discussion when an announcement came over the loud speakers. The conference was being cancelled. The governor had just shut down the state. I grabbed my bags and headed for home.

During lockdown a lot of authors shut down just like the country. Their stories dried up. They were too distracted by the pandemic and all it’s accompanying fears to write.

Not me. Writing became my sanity.

There are two basic ways people deal with difficulties. Some are internal processors. They need to sit quietly and think things through. This is the kind of person I wish I was.

I am the second kind, however. I’m an external processor. Often, I don’t really know what I think about things until I get them out of my brain into the atmosphere.

Thankfully for my husband, I’m also a writer. Talking works, but so does writing. It’s saved our marriage. He can only handle so much of my mental meanderings.

Anyway, back to 2020. I was sure, like the rest of you, that this whole pandemic thing would be over in a hot minute. As the weeks of isolation dragged on, however, I realized I was going to have to do something with the growing fear within.

At the time, I was wrapping up book five or six of a seven book psychological suspense series now titled The Almost True Crime Series. It’s written as a if its a true crime podcast with each book representing one season of the show. My podcaster, Molly Shure, delves into the minds of the killers, trying to understand the “whys” behind the crimes. This is a topic that fascinates me, but it’s a little on the dark side.

In the middle of COVID, with all the darkness that it brought, I felt the need for something lighter and brighter. Being the kid that did NOT pull the covers over my head when something went bump in the night, I knew I had to tackle the current zeitgeist head on. I had to find the lighter side of death.

Coincidentally, my daughter had recently introduced me to a YouTube channel—The Ask a Mortician Show. Caitlin Doughty, an actual mortician, was funny and real and so, so interesting. She tackled topics like embalming procedures for people who’d died in various gruesome ways, strange burial rituals from around the globe, and why green burials were the wave of the future.

She, I thought, would make an excellent amateur sleuth. But how or why would a mortician be privy to things the authorities weren’t? By the time she got her hands on a corpse, medical and law enforcement professionals would have already investigated if an investigation was warranted.

Then, I remembered a conversation I’d had at the salon back in the good old days when we were allowed to groom ourselves. A stylist told me about another stylist who moonlighted in mortuaries doing hair for the dead.

What if my character got a request to style a deceased client for that client’s funeral? What if she discovered a hitherto unknown talent when she did? What if she could feel the final emotions or sensations of that person when she touched their hair? And what if the person demanded justice by haunting my main character until the murderer was exposed?

That had legs. I had an interesting protagonist with an interesting gift, a reason she would know things the police and coroner wouldn’t, and most importantly, a reason for her to encounter lots of dead people. No shade on Miss Marple, I love those stories, but the murder rate in St. Mary Meed was hard to swallow.

Thus To Dye For, book one in The Mortician Murders was born. I’m currently writing book nine in Imogene Lynch’s story. She’s found more than a gift and a slew of murderers. She’s found family, a legacy of power, an arch enemy in the Orange County Medical Examiner, and an evil cult she must ultimately confront. She’s also found love with Greener Pastures Mortuary’s hunky night watchman, Elmore Leonard Brown, who later in the series becomes an Orange County Sheriff.

The Mortician Murder world has been a respite for me from the tumult of the 2020s. The scary things Imogene has braved have helped me face my own fears during COVID and beyond. Through her, I’ve discovered a secret weapon—laughter. As hyperbolic as it might sound, writing this series has taught me that embracing the lighter side of death helps to diffuse the power of darkness.

Viva la Cozy Mystery!

To Dye For – A Ghostly Mortician Murder

Death is Permanent. Unless It’s Not.

Imogene’s client has an unusual request. The only problem? She’s dead.

Hairstylist Imogene Lynch agrees to do a simple, if creepy, favor—styling the hair of her favorite client for her funeral. Things take a chilling turn when the body refuses to stay still. Either Imogene is losing her mind, or something far more sinister is at play.

Determined to untangle the mystery, she joins forces with the mortuary’s infuriatingly handsome night watchman. What do they uncover? Turns out her client’s death, like her hair color, wasn’t exactly natural. And worse—she’s not the only victim.

Someone is thinning out the population of Liberty Grove, and if Imogene isn’t careful, she’ll be next.

For fans of reluctant heroes, ghostly mysteries, and murder with a side of dark humor.

Buy link:  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09WG2SVDC

Greta Boris is the USA Today Bestselling author of The Mortician Murders, a ghostly mystery series, and The Almost True Crime series, stories of psychological suspense. She hails from sunny Southern California, where—based on her books, which are all set there—things are darker than you’d expect. 

She’s also a popular workshop instructor with books and online courses on a variety of writing topics.

Author Links:  http://gretaboris.com and  https://www.facebook.com/greta.boris

Guest Blogger ~ Seren Star Goode

~ patyjag ~ 3 Comments

Why I Write Cozy Mysteries — A Beach Walk Answer

On foggy mornings along the California coast, the world feels suspended.

The horizon disappears. The ocean and sky blur into one soft gray. Even the familiar curve of the shoreline looks different, as if something has shifted overnight.

Those are my favorite mornings to walk the beach.

After a strong swell, the tide leaves behind driftwood, kelp, and the occasional glint of something unexpected. I look for sea glass. At first, it’s easy to miss — a cloudy fragment half-buried in sand. But once you learn to spot that soft glow, you can’t unsee it.

Mystery writing feels like that.

I write cozy mysteries because I’m drawn to what hides beneath ordinary life. A marina on a bright afternoon. A small-town festival. Neighbors chatting on a front porch. On the surface, everything looks steady. But if you stand still long enough — you’ll notice tension, history, secrets.

Mystery readers understand that instinct. We read to uncover. To test our suspicions. To follow currents that weave through waves.

For me, the cozy branch of the genre offers something I love: community. In a small coastal town like my fictional Ocean Wood, relationships overlap. Loyalties complicate things. A crime doesn’t just affect one person; it ripples outward. That emotional web gives a mystery weight without turning it bleak.

My protagonist, Amanda Warren, arrives in town trying to rebuild her life. She carries loss. She’s not looking for trouble, but it keeps finding her. Each case she investigates is about justice, yes — but it’s also about steadiness. About putting the pieces back together.

And then there’s Grok.

Grok is a very large, very opinionated Maine Coon cat who may — or may not — have abilities that defy easy explanation. Some readers meet him expecting whimsy and stay for the sharp observations. Cats notice everything. They watch quietly. They sense shifts before humans do. Grok often catches emotional truths before Amanda does.

Writing him is a way of honoring intuition — that small internal nudge that says, something isn’t right here.

Whether you prefer hardboiled detectives or classic puzzles, that feeling is universal in mystery fiction. The tightening awareness. The moment when a clue lands differently. The fog beginning to thin.

On the beach, when I find a piece of sea glass, I always pause. It began as something whole — a bottle, perhaps — broken and tossed aside. The ocean didn’t erase its past. It reshaped it. Edges softened. Surfaces turned luminous.

That’s what draws me to this genre. Mystery is about disruption, but it’s also about restoration. Order doesn’t return untouched; it returns altered, wiser. In my most recent release, Monterey Bay Malice, chaos erupts at a seaside festival, and the crime cuts through friendships and reputations. Yet by the end, what matters most is not just who did it, but how the community stands afterward.

I don’t write cozies because I want to avoid darkness. I write them because I’m interested in what survives it.

Readers don’t turn to mysteries because they love crime. They turn to them because they love discovery. They love that moment when the scattered details align. They love the sense that someone — whether a detective, an amateur sleuth, or a watchful cat — was paying attention.

Fog eventually lifts. The tide recedes. That’s how finishing a mystery feels to me. Something once scattered has taken shape. The surface is clear again.

That’s why I write the genre I do.

Because beneath even the calmest shoreline, there are stories waiting to be uncovered.

And sometimes, if you’re lucky, they shine.

Monterey Bay Malice, the latest installment in the Amanda Warren Cozy Animal Mystery Series, strikes a deadly note when a music festival organizer is electrocuted onstage. As sabotage ripples through the seaside town of Ocean Wood, Amanda and Grok—her 35-pound psychic Maine Coon cat—must uncover the truth before celebration turns to catastrophe

Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0FVWFN352

Free story in the series: Kerfuffle at the Border https://dl.bookfunnel.com/bjbbxrovgs

Seren Star Goode writes coastal cozy mysteries set along California’s Monterey Bay. Her Amanda Warren series follows a reluctant sleuth, a close-knit community, and a very large Maine Coon cat named Grok who may be the smartest one in town. When she’s not plotting fictional murders, Seren can often be found walking the beach in search of sea glass, where many of her story ideas begin.

Websitehttps://www.serengoode.com/
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Guest Blogger ~ CB Wilson

~ patyjag ~ 5 Comments

Beyond the Teacup: Cozy Mystery in the Modern World

Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve always been the one asking, “What if?” What if the rules could bend just a little? What if the story ventured further than expected? What if a cozy mystery—beloved for its comfort and familiarity—could also genuinely surprise you?

My relationship with mystery began early and rebelliously. I was the kid who read her first Nancy Drew book, then promptly rewrote the ending. Not because I disliked the story, but because I craved something sharper, deeper, perhaps a touch more dangerous. Nancy opened the door to mystery, but Agatha Christie sealed my fate. Once I discovered intricate puzzles, layered motives, and the quiet brilliance of intelligent women navigating hostile worlds, my reading preferences were forever transformed.

That tension between comfort and risk? That’s exactly why cozy mystery resonates so powerfully. At its heart, cozy mystery has always rested on a solid foundation: an amateur sleuth; a close-knit setting; quirky, memorable characters; and a crime that disturbs but doesn’t overwhelm everyday life. Readers seek that familiarity, that sense of place, and the reassurance that justice will ultimately prevail. But here’s what excites me: cozy mystery is evolving.

Today’s cozy readers welcome more complexity. They want adventure that challenges their protagonists. They appreciate emotional depth that reflects genuine human experiences. They enjoy romance that feels real to the characters rather than formulaic. Most importantly, they’re drawn to strong female protagonists who think critically, adapt resourcefully, and sometimes make mistakes while holding their ground.

When I created The Gem Hunters Mysteries, I deliberately chose to push beyond the traditional cozy framework while honoring its essentials. My protagonist isn’t a baker or bookstore owner who stumbles into crime—she’s a diamond investigator whose job is to recover stolen gems. She operates in a world where money, power, and obsession collide, where the stakes carry genuine weight. She’s smart, she’s tough, and she’s navigating a dangerous, high-stakes environment typically reserved for thrillers while maintaining the heart and accessibility that cozy readers cherish.

For me, this isn’t about breaking the rules. It’s about expanding them.

Diamonds, much like mysteries themselves, are inherently layered. They carry history, symbolism, and powerful motives. They inspire obsession, loyalty, betrayal, and sometimes murder. Using gemstones as the driving force behind a cozy mystery allows me to explore global intrigue, family secrets, and personal risk while keeping the focus squarely on character development, relationships, and puzzle-solving.

The response? Readers have enthusiastically embraced this expanded vision. What I’ve learned about the genre is thatcozy mystery isn’t fragile. It doesn’t collapse when you introduce international travel, genuine danger, or a heroine carrying emotional scars. Instead, the genre shines brighter when writers trust both the framework and their readers enough to ask challenging questions. What if the amateur sleuth brings professional expertise to her investigations? What if the small-town setting connects to a much larger, more complex world? What if comfort doesn’t require predictability?

I still love the classics, and I honor the genre’s roots every time I write. But I also firmly believe cozy mystery has room to grow, stretch, and reflect the realities of modern women—women who simultaneously juggle careers, relationships, fears, courage, and insatiable curiosity. While the cozy mystery genre has always celebrated intelligence, community, and justice, I’m discovering that it can also celebrate ambition, expertise, and courage in the face of genuine danger. These additions don’t diminish what makes cozies special. They enhance it.

So yes, perhaps it’s simply who I am: the explorer, the one who rewrites endings, the one who views cozy mystery not as a restrictive box but as an invitation. After all, isn’t that where the real mystery begins? In the space between what is and what could be? In the questions we dare to ask and the boundaries we’re brave enough to test?

The beauty of cozy mysteries is that they welcome us home while encouraging us to venture a little further each time. That balance—between the familiar and the unexpected—is exactly what keeps readers turning pages and writers like me pushing the envelope.

And I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Every diamond has a story… but some are worth killing for.

When Sunset Peak’s legendary Peak Diamond disappears during the town’s glittering centennial gala, Taylor Hunter knows one thing: this was no ordinary theft. As a renowned “Diamond Detective” and reluctant heir to a family legacy of jewel thieves, Taylor has solved high-profile cases around the globe—but this time, it’s personal.

The stakes spiral when a perfect replica of the diamond is found, a notorious diamond broker turns up dead, and her twin sister Hope’s fingerprints are discovered at the crime scene. With Sunset Peak’s future—and her sister’s freedom—on the line, Taylor must partner with the one man she swore she’d never trust: Police Chief Rocky Rockman, her ex-husband’s dangerously charming best friend.

Armed with her expertise, her sharp instincts, and Glimmer, her diamond-sniffing dachshund, Taylor races to unravel a tangled web of stolen gems, buried secrets, and hidden betrayals stretching far beyond her small Arizona town. But someone is willing to kill to keep the truth buried—and if Taylor’s not careful, she could be their next target.

Perfect for fans of Janet Evanovich, Ellery Adams, and Jenn McKinlay, The Fire Diamond is a fast-paced cozy adventure mystery where family secrets cut deep, small-town gossip hides deadly truths, and every diamond comes with a price.

BUY links:

Amazon: https://mybook.to/TheFireDiamond

Barnes & Noble:https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-fire-diamond-cheryl-wilson/1148442601

Apple: https://books.apple.com/us/book/the-fire-diamond/id6753361681

Kobo: https://www.kobo.com/us/en/ebook/the-fire-diamond

Award-winning author, CB Wilson, writes two beloved cozy mystery series: the Gem Hunters Mysteries—beginning with The Fire Diamond—and the Barkview Mysteries, set in the dog-friendliest town in America. A GIA-trained gemologist and lifelong dog lover, she fills her books with sparkling clues, warm humor, and unforgettable canine sidekicks. She lives in Arizona, where she writes stories rich with diamonds, danger, laughter, and loyal dogs.

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/cbwilsonauthor

Goodreads:  https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/137800079

Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/c-b-wilson

Instagram: www.instagram.com@cbwilsonauthor

Linktree. https://linktr.ee/cbwilsonauthor

YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1HfOVqN7aBccTW70_wlL0w

tikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@author.cb.wilson

Characters, where do they come from?

~ patyjag ~ 2 Comments

Shandra Higheagle Mystery, this month.

After my post last month about Getting to Know my Character, I had a reader ask me to write about how I create, develop, and name characters.

I guess I’ll start with my Shandra Higheagle series. In the case of this series, my brother gave me the idea for a unique murder weapon. He is an artist and was working at a bronze foundry, welding bronze statues and putting the patina on them. He told me about a large statue of a warrior with a spear and how the spear from the warrior’s hand up could be removed. It was made that way for transportation.

Once that idea was in my head, I knew the first book had to be set in the world of art to have the statue come into play. I decided my main character would be an artist. Since I am captivated by Indigenous culture and have a friend in that world who was willing to help me understand things I would need to know, I made Shandra a potter who made vases that are sold in art galleries. She is also half Nez Perce from the Colville Reservation and half Caucasian. To make it easier for me to write from her perspective, I had her Nez Perce father die when she was four and her mother took her away from that side of her family. She grew up off a reservation on a cattle ranch in Montana with a stepfather who kept her Nez Perce origins hidden.

That gave me a good way to reacquaint her with her Nez Perce heritage as I learned things. I didn’t try to appropriate her culture, just share her learning and experience. I had the help of my friend, who lives on the Colville Reservation, to help me with the books that are set there and how the people there live.

I set the books in a fictional ski resort area in Idaho. We had traveled through Kellogg, ID, a few years earlier, and I thought it was a wonderful place for an artist to reside. It gave Shandra a mountain where she would gather clay and purify it to make her vases. I had learned about an artist who made his own clay in Wallowa County from my brother. He set up a time for me to meet with the artist and learn all about the gathering and purifying of the clay. While I was there, he showed me several of his pieces that were in various stages of the processes he used.

Once I had all about Shandra settled, I started working on secondary characters. Her dog, Sheba, who is large and scared of her own shadow. A woman who helps her with her clay and taking care of the land that she purchased. Crazy Lil came with the ranch like a stray cat. She grew up on the ranch, lost it when her parents died, and went to work for the person who bought it. When they sold to Shandra, Crazy Lil didn’t move on and became Shandra’s right-hand woman. She’s a bit on the cantankerous side and is leery of Ryan, the detective who takes a shine to Shandra.

Then I added friends. A woman who owns an art gallery in Huckleberry. Naomi is married and she and her husband, Ted, sell Shandra’s vases and know a good deal about her. Ruthie is a Black woman who owns a diner in Huckleberry. She and Shandra bonded over Shandra’s love of cheeseburgers and caramel shakes. Her other good friend is Miranda Aducci, whose family owns the Italian Restaurant in Huckleberry. There are several other unique characters like the albino doctor who is trying to find a cure for the disease that killed all the males in his family in their 50s, and Maxwell Treat whose family owns the local mortuary.

When Shandra is considered a suspect for the death of a gallery owner in the first book, she butts heads with Ryan Greer, the detective for the county. This brings in a man who was a cop in a large city and came back to where he grew up because his large Irish family all live in and around the county. His cultural beliefs about little people help him to come to terms with Shandra’s dreams with her deceased grandmother before she realizes that they are helpful.  

Detective Ryan Greer came to me as I was building the beginning scene in my head. I made him Irish and gave him a good Irish name. His mother is Irish and taught her family all about her homeland. His siblings all have Irish names.

My vision of Shandra

Shandra’s name just came to me as I was putting together what she looked like to me. Of course, I wanted a last name that sounded Native American. Sheba’s name came from a big black fluffy dog my daughter had while growing up. Crazy Lil, was just something I typed the first time I brought her into the book. That’s the way all the secondary characters’ names come to me in each book.

As I type a scene and add a new character, I have in my mind what they look like and I add a name that seems to suit them, or the purpose they have for the story. That sounds kind of vague but that’s the way my mind works.

I always have the main character, the victim, and the suspects fleshed out when I start a book, but the secondary characters that are new to the series pop up as they enter my head.

I’m sure readers are interested in how I came up with my Gabriel Hawke and Dela Alvaro characters in their series. I’ll tell you about them in next month’s post.

I wanted to give you the info about my new Cuddle Farm Mystery Series. There will be a blog tour for the first book, Merry Merry Merry Murder, from October 10th-23rd. there will be character posts and posts about how I came up with the series on multiple different blogs if you want to hear about the book from Cocoa, the border collie, Cupcake, the pygmy goat, Lulu, the chiweenie, and Betty, a secondary character who is one of the main character’s best friends.

 You can purchase Merry Merry Merry Murder ebook from the usual vendors or you can purchase the ebook from my website.

“Where comfort and cheer meet scandalous secrets—A holiday mystery set in a small town.”

In the close-knit town of Auburn, Oregon, Andi Clark’s therapy animals bring comfort to the community, especially during the holiday season. When a young girl seeks solace from Athena, Andi’s therapy dog, after witnessing an unsettling scene behind the sleigh, it marks the beginning of a much darker holiday.

As the town gathers for the Tree Lighting Ceremony, a scream shatters the festive atmosphere. Cocoa, Andi’s loyal Border Collie, pulls her toward a chilling sight: a woman standing over the lifeless body of the girl’s mother, strangled with Christmas lights.

Determined to help the grieving girl and her town recover from the shock, Andi, her therapy animals, and her niece, a county deputy, take it upon themselves to investigate. As they uncover secrets and untangle clues, they stay one step ahead of the new sheriff and worry that the killer lurking in their midst could be someone they know.

Purchase now from my website: https://www.patyjager.net/product/merry-merry-merry-murder-ebook/

Purchase from a universal buy link: https://books2read.com/u/mZ6qpJ

Getting to Know My Character

~ patyjag ~ 6 Comments

As the days and nights are starting to cool, I’m looking forward to dressing in cozy sweatshirts, wrapping up in fuzzy blankets and settling into a routine of writing and quilting.

During the summer, there isn’t time to quilt. I spend a lot of time on the road either to attend events to sell my books, to attend family events, or do research for my writing. When I’m home I’m writing, pulling weeds, doing gardening, or helping hubby.

But come fall and winter, there are my walks and housework, but then I write until 3 or 4 pm and then I work on whatever quilt I have going until it’s dinner time. If I’m cutting fabric for a quilt, I’ll continue doing that after dinner.

It’s funny, I don’t like putting puzzles together, but I enjoy moving pieces of fabric around to find the right pattern in the colors and adjusting them. I can have fabric pieces laying on the guest bed for several days, or even weeks, as I wander in and out rearranging and deciding if I like the way they look. Once I’m satisfied I start sewing them together.

That’s kind of how I write. I start with the idea of a story in my mind and rearrange the characters and the setting as I formulate where the story will start and who will be murdered. It’s a process that I recently realized is crucial to my being able to write an enjoyable story.

My book Merry Merry Merry Murder that is releasing October 15th is the first book of what I hope will be a new series for me. I had the idea for it last fall. And then in January, I wrote the book in one month and felt I was on to something I could do to give my readers something extra to read in between my Gabriel Hawke Novels and Spotted Pony Casino Mysteries releasing.

I sent the book to my beta readers and they all said that they didn’t like the main character and the story fell flat. That is not what a writer wants to hear. I didn’t have time right then to work on it, because I was busy getting the next Hawke book written.

The Christmas book sat and I thought about it when I wasn’t deep in the Hawke book. And then I needed to get the next Spotted Pony book written. I talked to my beta readers some more about the Christmas book as I wrote the Spotted Pony book.

I swirled the main character Andi around in my mind a lot when I wasn’t actively writing or thinking about the books I was writing. After a couple of chat sessions with a beta reader and having a break between my other books, I sat down and went through Merry Merry Merry Murder. ( I know too many Merrys, but sing it like the Carol of the Bells song and you’ll get it)

After letting the character “ferment” in my brain for nearly a year, I dug back into the story. In that year, I’d learned more about my main character, so I “knew” her better. I rewrote the beginning of the story and gave her a new interesting friend and sent the new version to my beta readers.

It was a hit!

Every time I’ve started a new series, I’ve lived with the main character in my head for a year or more. So I knew them inside and out before I started writing their first book. I didn’t do that with Andi and now that I have had her in my head for longer, she is a complete character.

I’ll be sharing her book with you next month, but it was the idea I came up with for this month’s post.

I do have the next Hawke book, Wolf Moon, available in ebook, exclusively at my website right now or you can preorder it from your favorite ebook vendor and get it on September 19th.

In the remote, snowbound wilderness of Oregon’s Eagle Cap Mountains, a sled dog race turns deadly.
State Trooper Gabriel Hawke is teaching winter survival to Search and Rescue recruits when he’s called in to find a missing musher. Arriving at the race camp, he discovers the musher isn’t just a name on a list—she’s someone his friend Justine cares about deeply.

As Hawke searches rugged trails and icy backcountry, the case quickly shifts from a rescue to a murder investigation. Then a second body turns up, and it’s clear the killer is hiding among the racers, handlers, or volunteers. The deeper Hawke digs, the more he uncovers buried secrets and dangerous rivalries.

Now, with a killer on the loose and Justine possibly in the crosshairs, Hawke must navigate blizzards, betrayal, and bloodshed—before the race ends in even more tragedy.

Buy Direct for $1 off and read now! https://www.patyjager.net/product/wolf-moon-ebook/

Universal Buy link or pre-order https://books2read.com/u/bWO1dD