It's a Mystery!: Featuring on Friday

Today I want to tell you about an author who writes a few genres. I have read books from each of three of his four cozy series. I think I found Ed through a read and review offer and now I have read several of his books. He writes as Ed Lynskey and also under some pen names.

About:
From Amazon page

"I'm a mystery author residing with my family not far from the Pentagon near Washington, D.C. I write four cozy mystery series, a private eye series, and stand alone crime novels. Our tuxedo cat is Frannie. I enjoy listening to jazz, and I'm a big Washington Nationals baseball fan."

I bet that is Frannie in the picture. :)

From Wiki: (condensed because there is ALOT to say about Ed)

Ed Lynskey is an American poet, critic, and novelist, mostly of crime fiction. He was born in Washington, D.C. where he still lives and works. He writes five mystery series, including the P.I. Frank Johnson Mystery Series, the Isabel & Alma Trumbo Cozy Mystery Series, the Piper & Bill Robin Cozy Mystery Series, the Hope Jones (Nozy Cat) Cozy Mystery Series, and the Ginny Dove Cozy Mystery Series."

Ed has also written reviews for The New York Times, The Washington Post any many other major newspapers. He also has had poems appear in The Atlantic Monthly, American Poetry Review and Chicago Review.

Lynskey's work has been compared with that of Loren D. Estleman, James Lee Burke, Daniel Woodrell, Bill Pronzini, and Robert Crais.

There are four series.

1. Isabel and Alma Trumbo series - eight books

Quiet Anchorage is book one in the series.

"Quiet Anchorage, Virginia, is like any other sleepy small town until Jake Robbins is murdered, and his fiancée Megan Connors is arrested for it. The laidback, good ole boy Sheriff Roscoe Fox feels smugly confident he’s got the right culprit, Megan Connors, locked up in his jail. It’s a feather in his cap to help give his re-election campaign for town sheriff a boost. However, not all the townies believe Sheriff Fox has so niftily solved Jake’s murder. Megan’s feisty septuagenarian aunts, Isabel and Alma Trumbo, are angry with Sheriff Fox. They decide they better set aside their hobby of playing Scrabble and get busy as amateur sleuths. They are avid mystery fans with their large home library filled with every whodunit they’ve read, so they know the tricks of their craft. They befriend the twentysomething Sammi Jo Garner who takes no guff off anybody and becomes the sisters’ assistant as they snoop away and unravel Jake’s murder mystery. The debut series novel from Ed Lynskey, QUIET ANCHORAGE is a fun addition to the cozy mystery genre in the tradition of Agatha Christie, Jessica Fletcher, and Anne George."

I have read several of this series. I like it because the characters are quirky, the books are humorous and they all have a mystery.

2. Piper and Bill Robbins series - 2 books

The Corpse Wore Gingham is book one.

"Piper and Bill Robins, a retired married couple, are enjoying their leisure years spent in the tranquil, leafy Washington, D.C. suburb of Beverly Park, Virginia. Bill watches “Pawn Stars” on TV and mows his lawn while Piper shops for clothes and solves crossword puzzles. One sunny June afternoon, Emily Davenport, who lives in California, telephones Bill and asks if he’ll check on her elderly mother Anna living next door to the Robinses'. She hasn’t answered Emily’s repeated attempts to call. After Bill and Piper go over, they discover Anna lies murdered in her bed. The only found clue is her bloodstained gingham bathrobe. Appalled and even more outraged, Piper persuades Bill to become wife-and-husband amateur sleuths, and they set out to find Anna’s killer. Meantime, Bill’s younger sister Noreen, a retired CPA, joins the Robinses’ investigation. She taps her ex-cop boyfriend Rick Novak and her mysterious, opinionated tuxedo tomcat Snoozy Q for support. While the city homicide detectives run their official investigation, the skillful snoops Piper, Bill, and Noreen train their sights on four murder suspects. Besides a clean read and fair play modern “whodunit” mystery, The Corpse Wore Gingham offers cozy mystery fans likeable protagonists, good-natured humor, and a lively pace."

I have read both of these books and like them both. Also humorous, quick read and there is a cat!

3. Hope Jones Cozy Mystery series - Nozy Cat written as Lynn Key. There are three books in this series. The books are Nozy Cat 1, Nozy Cat 2 and Nozy Cat 3.

"Following her lifelong dream, Hope Jones opens the Brontë Bookshop in the small town of Sweet Springs tucked away in the rolling, green hills of the Virginia piedmont. Her best friend Peggy Sue Roswell assists Hope along with her smart, spirited fifteen-year-old daughter Stacey. Their tuxedo cat Nozy Cat, the bookshop mascot, likes to sleep by the cash register while he guards it. One summer morning, Hope opens up the bookshop and finds the town’s handyman Hugo Spangler lying dead in the poetry section. Sergeant Trogg rules it a homicide and casts a hard eye on Hope and Peggy Sue as his prime suspects. Fortunately, Hope can rely on her incredibly clever, resourceful pet Nozy Cat when she gets busy applying her sleuthing skills to track down and identify the real murderer among the three suspects. The Hope Jones Cozy Mystery Series offers mystery fans a clean read and traditional whodunit with loads of good-natured humor and a perfect dose of the paranormal."

I have only read the first in this series but liked it a lot. I can relate to things in each of these series, they are all light mysteries and fun to read.

4. Ginny Dove Mystery series: new series written as Lea Charles

Found Key

"Ginny Dove, a military widow, runs the Paisley Apron Diner in the small town of Sweet Springs, Virginia, located amid the picturesque Blue Ridge Mountains. She’s drawn into a homicide investigation when the young schoolteacher Ellie Blackburn is found slain on Pilgrims’ Knob, which Ginny owns. Along with her patient mother Marge and her irrepressible Aunt Cricket, Ginny sets out to learn what happened to Ellie. Acting Sheriff Roosevelt Baker soon comes to depend on Ginny’s sleuthing smarts and practical ideas to ferret out the right clues leading them to identify three murder suspects. When not operating the town diner and playing amateur sleuth, Ginny raises her rambunctious seven-year-old son Boone and begins her promising romance with Roosevelt. While searching to find the “key” to solve Ellie’s murder mystery and return harmony to Sweet Springs, Ginny also discovers a few personal things about herself. Mystery fans of Nevada Barr as well as Jim and Joyce Laverne will enjoy the humor, setting, and compassion found in the Ginny Dove Cozy Mystery Series."

I haven't had a chance to read this yet but I do have it on my Kindle.

5. P.I. Frank Johnson Mystery Series - six books

Pelham Fell Here is the first in the series.

"PELHAM FELL HERE offers readers Frank Johnson's rich back story, an unusual departure from most of today's private eye series. We learn how the ex-military cop and part-time gunsmith Frank, now back living in his hometown of Pelham, Virginia, gets into the private investigator racket. He discovers somebody has killed his cousin Cody Chapman with a twelve-gauge shotgun blast. Enraged, Frank wants some answers and wants them fast. Was Cody involved in an illegal arms smuggling scheme? The disturbing mystery grows deeper when a pair of murderous deputy sheriffs ambush Frank on the river. After killing them in self-defense, Frank must take it on the lam while he continues his investigation, relying on his wits and smarts. Eventually, he finds a vicious group of Neo-Nazis holed up in a remote mountain castle may be behind Cody's murder. Frank realizes he's outnumbered and outgunned, but it hardly deters him from seeing the fight through to the end. Luckily, a couple of bounty hunter pals, Gerald and his kid brother Chet Peyton, throw in with Frank to even the odds. Events heat up to a frenetic pace until the climatic moment when Frank finds himself entangled in a dogfight for his very life. "

I have not had a chance to read any of the books in this series, but they have good reviews.

Stand Alones:

1. A Clear Path to Cross: P.I. Sharon Knowles Mysteries

"This is a collection of 20 stories featuring P.I. Sharon Knowles. All but one of these early short stories appeared in the paper and online pulp venues, including the notable HandHeldCrime, during the Internet bubble of the early twenty-first century. Ed's succinct stories are told in a clear, crisp prose that always cuts to the chase. There are no wasted words in this book, which reveals more of the facets of Sharon Knowles' life as a thoughtful, caring private eye.

Short stories originally published in ezines and journals like HandHeldCrime, Orchard Press Mystery, and Detective Mystery Stories."

2. Ask The Dice (noir), Lake Charles (crime), Topaz Moon (crime) Wrong Orbits (suburban noir) Quetzal Motel (science fiction), Blood Diamonds (diamond heist)

Here are the covers of three of the above.

Ed has several short story collections too. I recommend taking a look at his books. I really liked the ones I have read. He writes several genres. I bet you will find something you like.

Ed's books can be found on Goodreads and Amazon. Here is the wiki link for more information about him.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Lynskey