This post is all about cozy mysteries (“cozies”)! These books usually come in series, but there are some that are published as standalone novels, too. I’ve been looking into this genre more recently, since I love a good mystery but I haven’t have much of a taste for really graphic or depressing books as of late.
Here’s 50+ of the Best Cozy Mystery Books and Series, divided up into subcategories (general, historical fiction, paranormal, etc.). Enjoy and happy reading!
What are cozy mysteries (cozies)?
In case you’re not familiar with them, cozy mysteries are a subgenre of crime fiction. In cozies, there’s generally limited graphic violence or death, the main character is typically an amateur sleuth (as opposed to an authority figure like a policeman) and the crimes usually take place in small towns or otherwise small-scale setting.
This list of cozy mystery books and series is divided into the following categories:
Standalone Cozy Mysteries
General Cozy Mystery Series
Historical Fiction Cozy Mystery Series
Bookish Cozy Mystery Series
Foodie Cozy Mystery Series
Paranormal Cozy Mystery Series
Cat Lover Cozy Mystery Series
Sewing, Crafting and Home Cozy Mystery Series
(If you have a favorite book that’s not listed below, definitely drop me line! I’m especially interested in standalone cozies since sometimes I don’t like diving into a new series. )
Standalone Cozy Mysteries
The Thursday Murder Club
What It's About: Four septuagenarians with a few tricks up their sleeves
A female cop with her first big case
A brutal murder
Welcome to…
THE THURSDAY MURDER CLUB
In a peaceful retirement village, four unlikely friends meet weekly in the Jigsaw Room to discuss unsolved crimes; together they call themselves The Thursday Murder Club...Publication Date: September 3, 2020
What It's About: Four septuagenarians with a few tricks up their sleeves
A female cop with her first big case
A brutal murder
Welcome to…
THE THURSDAY MURDER CLUB
In a peaceful retirement village, four unlikely friends meet weekly in the Jigsaw Room to discuss unsolved crimes; together they call themselves The Thursday Murder Club...Publication Date: September 3, 2020
Hello, Summer
What It's About: New York Times bestselling author and Queen of the Beach Reads Mary Kay Andrews delivers her next blockbuster, Hello Summer.
It’s a new season...
Conley Hawkins left her family’s small town newspaper, The Silver Bay Beacon, in the rearview mirror years ago. Now a star reporter for a big-city paper, Conley is exactly where she wants to be and is about to take a fancy new position in Washington, D...Publication Date: May 5, 2020
What It's About: New York Times bestselling author and Queen of the Beach Reads Mary Kay Andrews delivers her next blockbuster, Hello Summer.
It’s a new season...
Conley Hawkins left her family’s small town newspaper, The Silver Bay Beacon, in the rearview mirror years ago. Now a star reporter for a big-city paper, Conley is exactly where she wants to be and is about to take a fancy new position in Washington, D...Publication Date: May 5, 2020
Sunset Beach
What It's About: Pull up a lounge chair and have a cocktail at Sunset Beach – it comes with a twist.
Drue Campbell’s life is adrift. Out of a job and down on her luck, life doesn’t seem to be getting any better when her estranged father, Brice Campbell, a flamboyant personal injury attorney, shows up at her mother’s funeral after a twenty-year absence...Publication Date: May 7, 2019
What It's About: Pull up a lounge chair and have a cocktail at Sunset Beach – it comes with a twist.
Drue Campbell’s life is adrift. Out of a job and down on her luck, life doesn’t seem to be getting any better when her estranged father, Brice Campbell, a flamboyant personal injury attorney, shows up at her mother’s funeral after a twenty-year absence...Publication Date: May 7, 2019
Above the Bay of Angels
What It's About: A single twist of fate puts a servant girl to work in Queen Victoria’s royal kitchen, setting off a suspenseful, historical mystery by the New York Times bestselling author of The Tuscan Child and The Victory Garden.
Isabella Waverly only means to comfort the woman felled on a London street...Publication Date: February 11, 2020
What It's About: A single twist of fate puts a servant girl to work in Queen Victoria’s royal kitchen, setting off a suspenseful, historical mystery by the New York Times bestselling author of The Tuscan Child and The Victory Garden.
Isabella Waverly only means to comfort the woman felled on a London street...Publication Date: February 11, 2020
A Keeper
What It's About: When Elizabeth Keane returns to Ireland after her mother’s death, she’s focused only on saying goodbye to that dark and dismal part of her life. Her childhood home is packed solid with useless junk, her mother’s presence already fading. But within this mess, she discovers a small stash of letters—and ultimately, the truth...Publication Date: October 4, 2018
What It's About: When Elizabeth Keane returns to Ireland after her mother’s death, she’s focused only on saying goodbye to that dark and dismal part of her life. Her childhood home is packed solid with useless junk, her mother’s presence already fading. But within this mess, she discovers a small stash of letters—and ultimately, the truth...Publication Date: October 4, 2018
Crooked House
What It's About: Described by the queen of mystery herself as one of her favorites of her published work, Crooked House is a classic Agatha Christie thriller revolving around a devastating family mystery.
The Leonides are one big happy family living in a sprawling, ramshackle mansion. That is until the head of the household, Aristide, is murdered with a fatal barbiturate injection...Publication Date: February 1, 2011
What It's About: Described by the queen of mystery herself as one of her favorites of her published work, Crooked House is a classic Agatha Christie thriller revolving around a devastating family mystery.
The Leonides are one big happy family living in a sprawling, ramshackle mansion. That is until the head of the household, Aristide, is murdered with a fatal barbiturate injection...Publication Date: February 1, 2011
Ordeal by Innocence
What It's About: Considered by critics as one of the best of Agatha Christie’s later novels, and a personal favorite for Christie herself, Ordeal by Innocence is a psychological thriller involving crimes from both past and present.
According to the courts, Jacko Argyle bludgeoned his mother to death with a poker...Publication Date: November 3, 1958
What It's About: Considered by critics as one of the best of Agatha Christie’s later novels, and a personal favorite for Christie herself, Ordeal by Innocence is a psychological thriller involving crimes from both past and present.
According to the courts, Jacko Argyle bludgeoned his mother to death with a poker...Publication Date: November 3, 1958
Death Comes As the End
What It's About: In Death Comes As the End, Dame Agatha Christie transports us back to ancient Egypt 2000 B.C. where a priest’s daughter, investigating a suspicious death, uncovers an asp’s nest of jealousy, betrayal, and serial murder.
It is Egypt in 2000 BC, where death gives meaning to life. At the foot of a cliff lies the broken, twisted body of Nofret, concubine to a ka-priest...Publication Date: January 1, 2001
What It's About: In Death Comes As the End, Dame Agatha Christie transports us back to ancient Egypt 2000 B.C. where a priest’s daughter, investigating a suspicious death, uncovers an asp’s nest of jealousy, betrayal, and serial murder.
It is Egypt in 2000 BC, where death gives meaning to life. At the foot of a cliff lies the broken, twisted body of Nofret, concubine to a ka-priest...Publication Date: January 1, 2001
General Cozy Mystery Series
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency (No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency #1)
What It's About: Precious Ramotswe has only just set up shop as Botswana's No.1 (and only) lady detective when she is hired to track down a missing husband, uncover a con man, and follow a wayward daughter. However, the case that tugs at her heart, and lands her in danger, is a missing eleven-year-old boy, who may have been snatched by witch doctors.Publication Date: February 6, 2003
What It's About: Precious Ramotswe has only just set up shop as Botswana's No.1 (and only) lady detective when she is hired to track down a missing husband, uncover a con man, and follow a wayward daughter. However, the case that tugs at her heart, and lands her in danger, is a missing eleven-year-old boy, who may have been snatched by witch doctors.Publication Date: February 6, 2003
The Mysterious Affair at Styles (Hercule Poirot #1)
What It's About: The famous case that launched the career of Hercule Poirot. When a wealthy heiress is murdered, Poirot steps out of retirement to find the killer. As the master detective makes his way through the list of suspects, he finds the solution in an elaborately planned scheme almost impossible to believe.Publication Date: January 1, 1920
What It's About: The famous case that launched the career of Hercule Poirot. When a wealthy heiress is murdered, Poirot steps out of retirement to find the killer. As the master detective makes his way through the list of suspects, he finds the solution in an elaborately planned scheme almost impossible to believe.Publication Date: January 1, 1920
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie (Flavia de Luce #1)
What It's About: It is the summer of 1950–and at the once-grand mansion of Buckshaw, young Flavia de Luce, an aspiring chemist with a passion for poison, is intrigued by a series of inexplicable events: A dead bird is found on the doorstep, a postage stamp bizarrely pinned to its beak. Then, hours later, Flavia finds a man lying in the cucumber patch and watches him as he takes his dying breath...Publication Date: April 28, 2009
What It's About: It is the summer of 1950–and at the once-grand mansion of Buckshaw, young Flavia de Luce, an aspiring chemist with a passion for poison, is intrigued by a series of inexplicable events: A dead bird is found on the doorstep, a postage stamp bizarrely pinned to its beak. Then, hours later, Flavia finds a man lying in the cucumber patch and watches him as he takes his dying breath...Publication Date: April 28, 2009
Still Life (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, #1)
What It's About: The discovery of a dead body in the woods on Thanksgiving Weekend brings Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and his colleagues from the Surete du Quebec to a small village in the Eastern Townships. Gamache cannot understand why anyone would want to deliberately kill well-loved artist Jane Neal, especially any of the residents of Three Pines - a place so free from crime it doesn't even have its own police force...Publication Date: October 3, 2005
What It's About: The discovery of a dead body in the woods on Thanksgiving Weekend brings Chief Inspector Armand Gamache and his colleagues from the Surete du Quebec to a small village in the Eastern Townships. Gamache cannot understand why anyone would want to deliberately kill well-loved artist Jane Neal, especially any of the residents of Three Pines - a place so free from crime it doesn't even have its own police force...Publication Date: October 3, 2005
Size 12 Is Not Fat (Heather Wells #1)
What It's About: Heather Wells Rocks!
Or, at least, she did. That was before she left the pop-idol life behind after she gained a dress size or two — and lost a boyfriend, a recording contract, and her life savings (when Mom took the money and ran off to Argentina). Now that the glamour and glory days of endless mall appearances are in the past, Heather's perfectly happy with her new size 12 shape (the average for the American woman!) and her new job as an assistant dorm director at one of New York's top colleges...Publication Date: December 27, 2005
What It's About: Heather Wells Rocks!
Or, at least, she did. That was before she left the pop-idol life behind after she gained a dress size or two — and lost a boyfriend, a recording contract, and her life savings (when Mom took the money and ran off to Argentina). Now that the glamour and glory days of endless mall appearances are in the past, Heather's perfectly happy with her new size 12 shape (the average for the American woman!) and her new job as an assistant dorm director at one of New York's top colleges...Publication Date: December 27, 2005
One for the Money (Stephanie Plum #1)
What It's About: Meet Stephanie Plum, a bounty hunter with attitude. In Stephanie’s opinion, toxic waste, rabid drivers, armed schizophrenics, and August heat, humidity, and hydrocarbons are all part of the great adventure of living in Jersey.
She’s a product of the “burg,” a blue-collar pocket of Trenton where houses are attached and narrow, cars are American, windows are clean, and (God forbid you should be late) dinner is served at six...Publication Date: August 26, 1994
What It's About: Meet Stephanie Plum, a bounty hunter with attitude. In Stephanie’s opinion, toxic waste, rabid drivers, armed schizophrenics, and August heat, humidity, and hydrocarbons are all part of the great adventure of living in Jersey.
She’s a product of the “burg,” a blue-collar pocket of Trenton where houses are attached and narrow, cars are American, windows are clean, and (God forbid you should be late) dinner is served at six...Publication Date: August 26, 1994
Real Murders (Aurora Teagarden #1)
What It's About: Charlaine Harris on seni eesti lugejale tuntud Lõuna-Louisiana vampiiridest kõnelevate raamatute ja HBO telesarja „True Blood” põhjal. Ta on aga kirjutanud palju muudki ja kirjutab üha edasi. Osa tema raamatuid on jõudnud televisiooni, osa jõuab lähemal ajal. Telesari on tehtud ka Charlaine Harrise kümnest raamatust koosneva Aurora Teagardeni sarja põhjal...Publication Date: December 1, 1990
What It's About: Charlaine Harris on seni eesti lugejale tuntud Lõuna-Louisiana vampiiridest kõnelevate raamatute ja HBO telesarja „True Blood” põhjal. Ta on aga kirjutanud palju muudki ja kirjutab üha edasi. Osa tema raamatuid on jõudnud televisiooni, osa jõuab lähemal ajal. Telesari on tehtud ka Charlaine Harrise kümnest raamatust koosneva Aurora Teagardeni sarja põhjal...Publication Date: December 1, 1990
Historical Fiction Cozy Mystery Series
Maisie Dobbs (Maisie Dobbs #1)
What It's About: Maisie Dobbs, Psychologist and Investigator, began her working life at the age of thirteen as a servant in a Belgravia mansion, only to be discovered reading in the library by her employer, Lady Rowan Compton. Fearing dismissal, Maisie is shocked when she discovers that her thirst for education is to be supported by Lady Rowan and a family friend, Dr...Publication Date: July 1, 2003
What It's About: Maisie Dobbs, Psychologist and Investigator, began her working life at the age of thirteen as a servant in a Belgravia mansion, only to be discovered reading in the library by her employer, Lady Rowan Compton. Fearing dismissal, Maisie is shocked when she discovers that her thirst for education is to be supported by Lady Rowan and a family friend, Dr...Publication Date: July 1, 2003
Crocodile on the Sandbank (Amelia Peabody #1)
What It's About: Amelia Peabody, that indomitable product of the Victorian age, embarks on her debut Egyptian adventure armed with unshakable self-confidence, a journal to record her thoughts, and, of course, a sturdy umbrella. On her way to Cairo, Amelia rescues young Evelyn Barton-Forbes, who has been abandoned by her scoundrel lover...Publication Date: February 18, 2024
What It's About: Amelia Peabody, that indomitable product of the Victorian age, embarks on her debut Egyptian adventure armed with unshakable self-confidence, a journal to record her thoughts, and, of course, a sturdy umbrella. On her way to Cairo, Amelia rescues young Evelyn Barton-Forbes, who has been abandoned by her scoundrel lover...Publication Date: February 18, 2024
Mr. Churchill's Secretary (Maggie Hope #1)
What It's About: For fans of Jacqueline Winspear, Laurie R. King, and Anne Perry, Mr. Churchill’s Secretary captures the drama of an era of unprecedented challenge—and the greatness that rose to meet it.
London, 1940. Winston Churchill has just been sworn in, war rages across the Channel, and the threat of a Blitz looms larger by the day...Publication Date: April 3, 2012
What It's About: For fans of Jacqueline Winspear, Laurie R. King, and Anne Perry, Mr. Churchill’s Secretary captures the drama of an era of unprecedented challenge—and the greatness that rose to meet it.
London, 1940. Winston Churchill has just been sworn in, war rages across the Channel, and the threat of a Blitz looms larger by the day...Publication Date: April 3, 2012
The Beekeeper's Apprentice (Mary Russell and Sherlock Holmes #1)
What It's About: An Agatha Award Best Novel Nominee
Named One of the Century's Best 100 Mysteries by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association
From New York Times bestselling author Laurie R. King comes the book that introduced us to the ingenious Mary Russell–Sherlock Holmes mysteries
In 1915, Sherlock Holmes is retired and quietly engaged in the study of honeybees in Sussex when a young woman literally stumbles into his lap on the Sussex downs...Publication Date: January 15, 1994
What It's About: An Agatha Award Best Novel Nominee
Named One of the Century's Best 100 Mysteries by the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association
From New York Times bestselling author Laurie R. King comes the book that introduced us to the ingenious Mary Russell–Sherlock Holmes mysteries
In 1915, Sherlock Holmes is retired and quietly engaged in the study of honeybees in Sussex when a young woman literally stumbles into his lap on the Sussex downs...Publication Date: January 15, 1994
Her Royal Spyness (Royal Spyness #1)
What It's About: Georgie, aka Lady Victoria Georgiana Charlotte Eugenie, cousin of King George V of England, is penniless and trying to survive on her own as an ordinary person in London in 1932.
So far she has managed to light a fire and boil an egg... She's gate-crashed a wedding... She's making money by secretly cleaning houses...Publication Date: July 3, 2007
What It's About: Georgie, aka Lady Victoria Georgiana Charlotte Eugenie, cousin of King George V of England, is penniless and trying to survive on her own as an ordinary person in London in 1932.
So far she has managed to light a fire and boil an egg... She's gate-crashed a wedding... She's making money by secretly cleaning houses...Publication Date: July 3, 2007
Bookish Cozy Mystery Series
A Killer Plot (Books by the Bay Mysteries #1)
What It's About: In the small coastal town of Oyster Bay, North Carolina, you'll find plenty of characters, ne'er-do-wells, and even a few celebs trying to duck the paparazzi. But when murder joins this curious community, the Bayside Book Writers are there to get the story...
Olivia Limoges is the subject of constant gossip...Publication Date: June 1, 2010
What It's About: In the small coastal town of Oyster Bay, North Carolina, you'll find plenty of characters, ne'er-do-wells, and even a few celebs trying to duck the paparazzi. But when murder joins this curious community, the Bayside Book Writers are there to get the story...
Olivia Limoges is the subject of constant gossip...Publication Date: June 1, 2010
Murder is Binding (Booktown Mystery #1)
What It's About: The streets of Stoneham, New Hampshire, are lined with bookstores...and paved with murder.
When she moved to Stoneham, city slicker Tricia Miles met nothing but friendly faces. And when she opened her mystery bookstore, she met friendly competition. But when she finds Doris Gleason dead in her own cookbook store, killed by a carving knife, the atmosphere seems more cutthroat than cordial...Publication Date: April 1, 2008
What It's About: The streets of Stoneham, New Hampshire, are lined with bookstores...and paved with murder.
When she moved to Stoneham, city slicker Tricia Miles met nothing but friendly faces. And when she opened her mystery bookstore, she met friendly competition. But when she finds Doris Gleason dead in her own cookbook store, killed by a carving knife, the atmosphere seems more cutthroat than cordial...Publication Date: April 1, 2008
By Book or By Crook (Lighthouse Library Mystery #1)
What It's About: Get bound up in murder in the first Lighthouse Library mystery!
For ten years Lucy has enjoyed her job poring over rare tomes of literature for the Harvard Library, but she has not enjoyed the demands of her family’s social whorl or her sort-of-engagement to the staid son of her father’s law partner...Publication Date: February 3, 2015
What It's About: Get bound up in murder in the first Lighthouse Library mystery!
For ten years Lucy has enjoyed her job poring over rare tomes of literature for the Harvard Library, but she has not enjoyed the demands of her family’s social whorl or her sort-of-engagement to the staid son of her father’s law partner...Publication Date: February 3, 2015
The Secret, Book & Scone Society (Secret, Book, & Scone Society #1)
What It's About: From New York Times bestselling author Ellery Adams comes the first in an intriguing new series set within a quirky small-town club where the key to happiness, friendship—or solving a murder—can all be found within the pages of the right book . . .
Miracle Springs, North Carolina, is a place of healing...Publication Date: October 31, 2017
What It's About: From New York Times bestselling author Ellery Adams comes the first in an intriguing new series set within a quirky small-town club where the key to happiness, friendship—or solving a murder—can all be found within the pages of the right book . . .
Miracle Springs, North Carolina, is a place of healing...Publication Date: October 31, 2017
Murder by the Book (Beyond the Page Bookstore Mystery #1)
What It's About: Addie Greyborne loved working with rare books at the Boston Public Library—she even got to play detective, tracking down clues about mysterious old volumes. But she didn't expect her sleuthing skills to come in so handy in a little seaside town . . .
Addie left some painful memories behind in the big city, including the unsolved murder of her fiancé and her father's fatal car accident...Publication Date: October 30, 2018
What It's About: Addie Greyborne loved working with rare books at the Boston Public Library—she even got to play detective, tracking down clues about mysterious old volumes. But she didn't expect her sleuthing skills to come in so handy in a little seaside town . . .
Addie left some painful memories behind in the big city, including the unsolved murder of her fiancé and her father's fatal car accident...Publication Date: October 30, 2018
Homicide in Hardcover (Bibliophile Mystery #1)
What It's About: Book expert Brooklyn Wainwright discovers that murder is always a bestseller in the first novel in the New York Times bestselling Bibliophile Mystery series.
Brooklyn Wainwright is a skilled surgeon. Sure, her patients might smell like mold and have spines made of leather, but no ailing book is going to die on her watch...Publication Date: February 3, 2009
What It's About: Book expert Brooklyn Wainwright discovers that murder is always a bestseller in the first novel in the New York Times bestselling Bibliophile Mystery series.
Brooklyn Wainwright is a skilled surgeon. Sure, her patients might smell like mold and have spines made of leather, but no ailing book is going to die on her watch...Publication Date: February 3, 2009
Foodie Cozy Mystery Series
Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder (Hannah Swensen #1)
What It's About: Her gingersnaps are as tart as her comebacks...
Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder is the first mouth-watering novel in the Hannah Swensen crime series from acclaimed author Joanne Fluke. Packed full of delicious recipes and perfect for fans of M. C. Beaton and Leslie Meier.
Hannah Swensen already has her hands full running Minnesota's most popular bakery...Publication Date: April 1, 2000
What It's About: Her gingersnaps are as tart as her comebacks...
Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder is the first mouth-watering novel in the Hannah Swensen crime series from acclaimed author Joanne Fluke. Packed full of delicious recipes and perfect for fans of M. C. Beaton and Leslie Meier.
Hannah Swensen already has her hands full running Minnesota's most popular bakery...Publication Date: April 1, 2000
The Quiche of Death (Agatha Raisin #1)
What It's About: Putting all her eggs in one basket, Agatha Raisin gives up her successful PR firm, sells her London flat, and samples a taste of early retirement in the quiet village of Carsely. Bored, lonely and used to getting her way, she enters a local baking contest. Then her recipe for social advancement sours when Judge Cummings-Browne not only snubs her entry--but falls over poisoned dead!Publication Date: March 7, 2006
What It's About: Putting all her eggs in one basket, Agatha Raisin gives up her successful PR firm, sells her London flat, and samples a taste of early retirement in the quiet village of Carsely. Bored, lonely and used to getting her way, she enters a local baking contest. Then her recipe for social advancement sours when Judge Cummings-Browne not only snubs her entry--but falls over poisoned dead!Publication Date: March 7, 2006
Brownies and Broomsticks (Magical Bakery Mystery #1)
What It's About: Katie Lightfoot's tired of loafing around as the assistant manager of an Ohio bakery. So when her aunt Lucy and uncle Ben open a bakery in Savannah's quaint downtown district and ask Katie to join them, she enthusiastically agrees.
While working at the Honeybee Bakery—named after Lucy's cat—Katie notices that her aunt is adding mysterious herbs to her recipes...Publication Date: May 1, 2012
What It's About: Katie Lightfoot's tired of loafing around as the assistant manager of an Ohio bakery. So when her aunt Lucy and uncle Ben open a bakery in Savannah's quaint downtown district and ask Katie to join them, she enthusiastically agrees.
While working at the Honeybee Bakery—named after Lucy's cat—Katie notices that her aunt is adding mysterious herbs to her recipes...Publication Date: May 1, 2012
Death by Dumpling (A Noodle Shop Mystery #1)
What It's About: Welcome to the Ho-Lee Noodle House, where the Chinese food is to die for. . .
The last place Lana Lee thought she would ever end up is back at her family’s restaurant. But after a brutal break-up and a dramatic workplace walk-out, she figures that a return to the Cleveland area to help wait tables is her best option for putting her life back together...Publication Date: March 27, 2018
What It's About: Welcome to the Ho-Lee Noodle House, where the Chinese food is to die for. . .
The last place Lana Lee thought she would ever end up is back at her family’s restaurant. But after a brutal break-up and a dramatic workplace walk-out, she figures that a return to the Cleveland area to help wait tables is her best option for putting her life back together...Publication Date: March 27, 2018
On What Grounds (Coffeehouse Mystery #1)
What It's About: Introducing a delightful new series featuring Clare Cosi, manager of the historic Village Blend coffeehouse...
Clare arrives at work to discover the assistant manager dead in the back of the store, coffee grounds strewn everywhere. Two detectives investigate. But when they find no sign of forced entry or foul play, they deem it an accident...Publication Date: September 1, 2003
What It's About: Introducing a delightful new series featuring Clare Cosi, manager of the historic Village Blend coffeehouse...
Clare arrives at work to discover the assistant manager dead in the back of the store, coffee grounds strewn everywhere. Two detectives investigate. But when they find no sign of forced entry or foul play, they deem it an accident...Publication Date: September 1, 2003
Death by Darjeeling (A Tea Shop Mystery #1)
What It's About: Meet Theodosia Browning, owner of Charleston's beloved Indigo Tea Shop. Patrons love her blend of delicious tea tastings and southern hospitality. And Theo enjoys the full-bodied flavor of a town steeped in history—and mystery...
—It's tea for two hundred or so at the annual historic homes garden party...Publication Date: May 1, 2001
What It's About: Meet Theodosia Browning, owner of Charleston's beloved Indigo Tea Shop. Patrons love her blend of delicious tea tastings and southern hospitality. And Theo enjoys the full-bodied flavor of a town steeped in history—and mystery...
—It's tea for two hundred or so at the annual historic homes garden party...Publication Date: May 1, 2001
Catering to Nobody (A Goldy Bear Culinary Mystery #1)
What It's About: MEET THE CATERER WHO WHIPPED UP THE
MULTIMILLION-COPY MYSTERY SERIES–
AS GOLDY SOLVES HER FIRST MURDER!
Diane Mott Davidson’s winning recipe of first-class suspense and five-star fare has won her and caterer Goldy critical raves and a regular place on major bestseller lists across the country...Publication Date: February 17, 1990
What It's About: MEET THE CATERER WHO WHIPPED UP THE
MULTIMILLION-COPY MYSTERY SERIES–
AS GOLDY SOLVES HER FIRST MURDER!
Diane Mott Davidson’s winning recipe of first-class suspense and five-star fare has won her and caterer Goldy critical raves and a regular place on major bestseller lists across the country...Publication Date: February 17, 1990
Paranormal Cozy Mystery Series
Secondhand Spirits (A Witchcraft Mystery #1)
What It's About: Lily Ivory is not your average witch. Her spell-casting powers tend to draw mischievous spirits while keeping normal humans at a distance. But now her vintage clothing store could give her a chance to make friends in San Francisco....
Lily hopes for a normal life when she opens Aunt Cora's Closet...Publication Date: July 7, 2009
What It's About: Lily Ivory is not your average witch. Her spell-casting powers tend to draw mischievous spirits while keeping normal humans at a distance. But now her vintage clothing store could give her a chance to make friends in San Francisco....
Lily hopes for a normal life when she opens Aunt Cora's Closet...Publication Date: July 7, 2009
Wicked Appetite (Lizzy & Diesel #1)
What It's About: For centuries, treasure hunters have been eager to possess the stones, undeterred by their corrupting nature. The list is long — Genghis Khan, Alexander the Great, Napoleon, to name a few. Now the Stones have found their way to Salem, Massachusetts, and so has Gerwulf Grimoire, adding himself to this rogues’ gallery of power seekers...Publication Date: September 14, 2009
What It's About: For centuries, treasure hunters have been eager to possess the stones, undeterred by their corrupting nature. The list is long — Genghis Khan, Alexander the Great, Napoleon, to name a few. Now the Stones have found their way to Salem, Massachusetts, and so has Gerwulf Grimoire, adding himself to this rogues’ gallery of power seekers...Publication Date: September 14, 2009
It Takes a Witch (A Wishcraft Mystery #1)
What It's About: Darcy Merriweather and her sister, Harper, hail from a long line of witches who have the power to grant wishes using spells. They've come to Enchanted Village in Salem, Massachusetts, to join the family business, but they soon find themselves knee deep in murder...
Until three weeks ago, Darcy and Harper were working dead-end jobs and trying to put their troubles behind them...Publication Date: January 3, 2012
What It's About: Darcy Merriweather and her sister, Harper, hail from a long line of witches who have the power to grant wishes using spells. They've come to Enchanted Village in Salem, Massachusetts, to join the family business, but they soon find themselves knee deep in murder...
Until three weeks ago, Darcy and Harper were working dead-end jobs and trying to put their troubles behind them...Publication Date: January 3, 2012
The Trouble With Magic (A Bewitching Mystery #1)
What It's About: Antiques-shop clerk Maggie O'Neill was a little weirded out when she discovered her new boss Felicity was a witch. But when Felicity becomes the suspect in a local murder, Maggie must enlist Felicity's wiccan friends for help--and discover her own spellbinding talent. Publication Date: January 3, 2006
What It's About: Antiques-shop clerk Maggie O'Neill was a little weirded out when she discovered her new boss Felicity was a witch. But when Felicity becomes the suspect in a local murder, Maggie must enlist Felicity's wiccan friends for help--and discover her own spellbinding talent. Publication Date: January 3, 2006
Abby Cooper, Psychic Eye (Psychic Eye Mystery #1)
What It's About: Abby Cooper is a P.I., psychic intuitive. But her insight failed her when she didn't foresee the death of one of her clients-or that the lead investigator for the case is the gorgeous blind date she just met. Now, with the police suspicious of her abilities and a killer on the loose, Abby's future looks more uncertain than ever.Publication Date: December 7, 2004
What It's About: Abby Cooper is a P.I., psychic intuitive. But her insight failed her when she didn't foresee the death of one of her clients-or that the lead investigator for the case is the gorgeous blind date she just met. Now, with the police suspicious of her abilities and a killer on the loose, Abby's future looks more uncertain than ever.Publication Date: December 7, 2004
First Grave on the Right (Charley Davidson #1)
What It's About: This whole grim reaper thing should have come with a manual.
Or a diagram of some kind.
A flow chart would have been nice.Charley Davidson is a part-time private investigator and full-time grim reaper. Meaning, she sees dead people. Really. And it's her job to convince them to "go into the light...Publication Date: February 1, 2011
What It's About: This whole grim reaper thing should have come with a manual.
Or a diagram of some kind.
A flow chart would have been nice.Charley Davidson is a part-time private investigator and full-time grim reaper. Meaning, she sees dead people. Really. And it's her job to convince them to "go into the light...Publication Date: February 1, 2011
The House on Tradd Street (Tradd Street #1)
What It's About: Practical Melanie Middleton hates to admit she can see ghosts. But she's going to have to accept it. An old man she recently met has died, leaving her his historic Tradd Street home, complete with housekeeper, dog, and a family of ghosts anxious to tell her their secrets.
Enter Jack Trenholm, a gorgeous writer obsessed with unsolved mysteries...Publication Date: November 4, 2008
What It's About: Practical Melanie Middleton hates to admit she can see ghosts. But she's going to have to accept it. An old man she recently met has died, leaving her his historic Tradd Street home, complete with housekeeper, dog, and a family of ghosts anxious to tell her their secrets.
Enter Jack Trenholm, a gorgeous writer obsessed with unsolved mysteries...Publication Date: November 4, 2008
Aunt Dimity's Death (Aunt Dimity Mystery #1)
What It's About: Lori Shepherd thought Aunt Dimity was just a character in a bedtime story...Until the Dickensian law firm of Willis & Willis summons her to a reading of the woman's will. Down-on-her-luck Lori learns she's about to inherit a sizable estate-if she can discover the secret hidden in a treasure trove of letters in Dimity's English country cottage...Publication Date: November 1, 1992
What It's About: Lori Shepherd thought Aunt Dimity was just a character in a bedtime story...Until the Dickensian law firm of Willis & Willis summons her to a reading of the woman's will. Down-on-her-luck Lori learns she's about to inherit a sizable estate-if she can discover the secret hidden in a treasure trove of letters in Dimity's English country cottage...Publication Date: November 1, 1992
Cat Lover Cozy Mystery Series
The Cat Who Could Read Backwards (The Cat Who... #1)
What It's About: Jim Qwilleran is a prizewinning reporter who's been on the skids but is now coming back with a job as feature writer (mostly on the art scene) for the Daily Fluxion. George Bonifield Mountclemens, the paper's credentialed art critic, writes almost invariably scathing, hurtful reviews of local shows; delivers his pieces by messenger; lives with his all-knowing cat Koko in a lushly furnished house in a moldering neighborhood, and has a raft of enemies all over town...Publication Date: August 15, 1986
What It's About: Jim Qwilleran is a prizewinning reporter who's been on the skids but is now coming back with a job as feature writer (mostly on the art scene) for the Daily Fluxion. George Bonifield Mountclemens, the paper's credentialed art critic, writes almost invariably scathing, hurtful reviews of local shows; delivers his pieces by messenger; lives with his all-knowing cat Koko in a lushly furnished house in a moldering neighborhood, and has a raft of enemies all over town...Publication Date: August 15, 1986
Curiosity Thrilled the Cat (Magical Cats Mystery #1)
What It's About: When librarian Kathleen Paulson moved to Mayville Heights, Minnesota, she had no idea that two strays would nuzzle their way into her life. Owen is a tabby with a catnip addiction and Hercules is a stocky tuxedo cat who shares Kathleen's fondness for Barry Manilow. But beyond all the fur and purrs, there's something more to these felines...Publication Date: February 1, 2011
What It's About: When librarian Kathleen Paulson moved to Mayville Heights, Minnesota, she had no idea that two strays would nuzzle their way into her life. Owen is a tabby with a catnip addiction and Hercules is a stocky tuxedo cat who shares Kathleen's fondness for Barry Manilow. But beyond all the fur and purrs, there's something more to these felines...Publication Date: February 1, 2011
Sewing, Crafting and Home Cozy Mystery Series
Pleating for Mercy (A Magical Dressmaking Mystery #1)
What It's About: Publication Date: August 1, 2011
What It's About: Publication Date: August 1, 2011
Better Homes and Corpses (Hamptons Home & Garden Mysteries #1)
What It's About: Publication Date: August 4, 2015
What It's About: Publication Date: August 4, 2015
A Crafty Killing (Victoria Square Mystery #1)
What It's About: The last thing Katie Bonner wanted was to become the manager of Artisans Alley. But when her business partner, Ezra Hilton, is found bludgeoned to death, she has no other choice. Business under Ezra has been faltering-but was it enough to provoke someone to murder? Only Katie can find the answer.
Publication Date: February 1, 2011
What It's About: The last thing Katie Bonner wanted was to become the manager of Artisans Alley. But when her business partner, Ezra Hilton, is found bludgeoned to death, she has no other choice. Business under Ezra has been faltering-but was it enough to provoke someone to murder? Only Katie can find the answer.
Publication Date: February 1, 2011
Cloche and Dagger (Hat Shop Mystery #1)
What It's About: An all-new series from New York Times bestselling author Jenn McKinlay
Not only is Scarlett Parker’s love life in the loo—as her British cousin Vivian Tremont would say—it’s also gone viral with an embarrassing video. So when Viv suggests Scarlett leave Florida to lay low in London, she hops on the next plane across the pond...Publication Date: July 6, 2013
What It's About: An all-new series from New York Times bestselling author Jenn McKinlay
Not only is Scarlett Parker’s love life in the loo—as her British cousin Vivian Tremont would say—it’s also gone viral with an embarrassing video. So when Viv suggests Scarlett leave Florida to lay low in London, she hops on the next plane across the pond...Publication Date: July 6, 2013
The Diva Runs Out of Thyme (A Domestic Diva Mystery #1)
What It's About: Few can compete with Natasha Smith when it comes to entertaining, but her childhood rival, Sophie Winston, certainly tries. Natasha may have stolen the spotlight, and Sophie's husband, but Sophie is determined to rob her of the prize for the Stupendous Stuffing Shakedown. She just needs the right ingredient...Publication Date: September 7, 2008
What It's About: Few can compete with Natasha Smith when it comes to entertaining, but her childhood rival, Sophie Winston, certainly tries. Natasha may have stolen the spotlight, and Sophie's husband, but Sophie is determined to rob her of the prize for the Stupendous Stuffing Shakedown. She just needs the right ingredient...Publication Date: September 7, 2008
I love food cozy mysteries! I don’t know why but they bring me so much joy 😂
Fantastic post!! So many favorites and also so many to try!!
This is a good list but the Agatha Raisin series is in the wrong place. It is not a foodie mystery in fact Agatha is a terrible cook! The 1st one is called The Quiche of Death because that’s what killed the victim.
The Miss Fortune series by Jana DeLeon is fantastic too! I almost like it better than Stephanie Plum!
Elly Griffiths’ books would definitely suit this list of “cozies”. “Stranger Diaries” and its sequel “The Postscript Murders”, as well as Griffiths’ Magic Men series and her Ruth Galloway series are all fine mysteries.
I am so honored to be on this list (Pleating for Mercy)! Thank you for the mention. The series has all new covers, and new books coming out, too, so again, thanks!