Plot Twists We Wish Were Ours: Authors Share Their Dream Mystery Series
What cozy (or other) mystery series do you wish you'd thought of first (or that someone beat you to!)
- Terry Ambrose:
I’ve got a couple of favorites. In a cozy series, I love Jess Lourey’s Murder by Month mysteries. They’re lighthearted and fun and filled with quirky characters. The other series that began long before I started writing, but that influenced me greatly, was Sue Grafton’s Alphabet Series with Kinsey Millhone. In fact, I guess you’d say that those books led me to what has become my writing mantra—the case is never what it seems to be.
- Nancy J. Cohen:
A culinary cozy series would have been my choice since I love food and talking about it. Instead, I include recipes in some of my Bad Hair Day series titles.
- Debra H. Goldstein:
I wish I’d thought of lots of cozy mystery series first, but I am particularly jealous of Valerie Burns’ Bookshop mystery series, Anne George’s Southern Sisters books, and the Anastasia Pollack and Bad Hair Day mysteries by Lois Winston and Nancy J. Cohen.
- Cheryl Hollon:
I wish I had thought of LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY before Bonnie Garmus published her fabulous book. I relate to the challenges that faced Elizabeth Zott and admire her tenacity and courage in making her way in a world that ignored and degraded her talents. She created her success! Brava!
- Diane A.S. Stuckart:
When I first started writing, I lived in a suburb of Dallas, TX. Further north on the interstate headed to the university town of Denton was a billboard that always caught my eye. It featured a cartoon man behind bars with a slogan saying that he needed to call Shanda’s Bail Bonds. What a great idea for a mystery, I thought to myself every time I passed the sign. A woman bail bond agent. I really should write that book. I didn’t, unfortunately…but someone named Janet Evanovich did, and she has done pretty well with my idea.
- Maggie Toussaint:
Life is a journey and so is writing. In a way, I wish I had not started out in romantic suspense and then landed in cozy mystery. On the other hand, learning about the emotional story in romance helped shape my mystery characters with more depth. Anyway, all of this to say I love the many cozy authors I’ve read and am happy for their success.
- Lois Winston
Technically, it’s not a cozy, but I wish I’d thought up the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich. If we’re going strictly cozy, I’d choose The Thursday Murder Club series by Richard Osman.
What mystery series do you find yourself wishing you’d thought of first? Whether it’s a cozy classic or something more thrilling, we’d love to hear about your favorites—share them in the comments below!
Debra, thank you so much! I’m honored!
So many great writers I like all of the genre’s if I was a writer I would want to be like Kelly Oliver or Carmen Radtke they both have fun stories. Deborah
Some to read and some to remember!
Thanks Maren Tirabassi (this comes to me on email but references me by wordpress … I never know why)
Christopher Fowler wrote the Bryant and May series -about 20 books. The character were reminiscent of Sherlock Holmes and Watson except they were octogenarians. He incorporated fun facts about the City of London into every story. Unfortunately, Fowler passed away in March of 2023. I really miss the books and him for creating them. RIP.
Thanks, Debra. I am honored to be mentioned as well.