Must-Read Cozy Mysteries for a Cozy Day

Retired nurse, avid gardener, and renowned cake maker Miss Hortense has lived in Bigglesweigh, a quiet suburb of Birmingham, England, since she emigrated from Jamaica in 1960. A career in nursing has made her an expert in deciphering other people’s secrets with just a glance. Miss Hortense once used her skills to benefit the Pardner network — a local group of Black investors that she helped found. Until, that is, she was unceremoniously ousted from its ranks. But when an unidentified man is found dead in the home of one of the Pardner members, it is finally time for Miss Hortense to solve a mystery that will see her and the community she loves pushed to their limits. The first novel from a bold, brilliant new voice, A Murder for Miss Hortense introduces a fearless sleuth whom readers will never forget.

When Dorothy’s obnoxious date is found dead in a hotel freezer, it not only ruins a gorgeous cheesecake but threatens the elaborate St. Olaf-themed wedding Rose is hosting. With every guest a suspect (especially Dorothy) and a marriage on the line, the four besties must ID the real killer, get the should-be-happy couple down the aisle, and make sure nobody from St. Olaf gets lost in the wilds of Miami. It’s up to the Golden Girls to sleuth out a way for friendship and love to win the day!

It’s 1964 in the tiny town of Eastport, Maine, and Billie McCadie is bored to death. She’s surrounded by dull people with more manners than sense, and no sign of the intrigue or romance that fill her beloved novels. That is until she receives a love letter and engagement ring for a perfect stranger, only to see that same woman murdered the very next day. What follows is an intoxicating cocktail of stalking, blackmail, Jell-O salads, and champagne secrets, all served along the rocky Maine coastline. A love letter to uncivilized behavior, Etiquette for Lovers and Killers blends mystery and romance into a witty, twisty, murderous delight that aches for better manners.

Welcome to the Killer Lines Crime Fiction Festival, the place for star writers of the genre to meet their adoring fans. But be careful — this year the murders aren’t just on the page … When author Jane Hepburn encounters the dead body of renowned (and reviled) literary agent Carrie Marks, she decides to put her fictional sleuthing skills to use in the real world. But the more Jane investigates, the closer she comes to a dangerous truth — one that’s stranger than fiction.

Thirty-year-old Sarah Jones gets caught up solving a murder after unknowingly befriending a dangerous con artist (who’s nothing like what she seems) in this playful, twisty mystery from acclaimed author Kathleen West.

A society matchmaker realizes she’s in danger when her clients’ weddings are sabotaged in increasingly disturbing ways — an utterly original mystery from New York Times bestselling author Aisha Saeed.

“A heartwarming mystery with a lovable oddball at its center” (Real Simple), this cozy whodunit introduces a one-of-a-kind heroine who will steal your heart. A Clue-like, locked-room mystery and a heartwarming journey of the spirit, The Maid explores what it means to be the same as everyone else and yet entirely different — and reveals that all mysteries can be solved through connection to the human heart.

Having recently moved from London to a small Cornish seaside village, Nova Davies started a book club at the local community center, but so far it’s a disaster. The five members disagree on everything, and to make matters worse, a significant sum of money is stolen during one of the meetings, putting the much-loved community center at risk. Suspicion for the theft falls on book club member Michael, especially when he disappears and a dead body turns up at his house. But the book club has their own theories. Agatha Christie superfan Phyllis is determined to prove Michael’s been framed, while romance reader Arthur believes there’s a mystery woman involved, and teenage sci-fi fan Ash thinks dark forces are at play. They can’t even agree on what to read, so how are they going to solve a murder?

Vera Wong is back and as meddling as ever, in this follow-up to the hit Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers. Vera’s life is thriving, her teahouse is bustling, and her son Tilly is dating Officer Selena Gray. But Vera craves more excitement. When a young woman seeks her help to find a missing friend, Vera uncovers a file on the death of influencer Xander Lin, whose identity is shrouded in mystery. Determined to solve the murder, Vera dives into another thrilling investigation.

Widow Mimi lives on idyllic Mackinac Island, where cars are not allowed and a Gibson martini with three onions at the witching hour is compulsory. Her estranged granddaughter, Addie, is getting over the heartbreak of being dumped by her fiancé, Brian. When Mimi gets an invitation from local socialite Jane Ireland to a charity auction, she invites Addie. Once they arrive, a big storm rolls in, trapping everyone in the mansion. And then, Jane is murdered. Mimi and Addie’s strained relationship is put to the test when they must team up to narrow down the suspects. When another body turns up, the sleuthing pair realize someone else is playing a deadly game, and they might not survive the night.

Maddy has turned Baby Cakes Bakery — named for her 250-pound English Mastiff, Baby — into a runaway success, and she’s marrying the love of her life. Plus the timing couldn’t be better: The country’s biggest bridal expo has come to town and Maddy has secured a spot for Baby Cakes to showcase their cakes. She’s also entered a contest for an all-expenses-paid wedding extravaganza offered by world-renowned (and supremely nasty) wedding planner Serafina. But when Serafina is found dead — impaled by one of the skewers Baby Cakes uses on their tiered wedding cakes — Maddy, her friends, and even Baby, join forces to unveil a killer hiding in plain sight … before wedding bells start to chime.

Recent MBA grad Bronwyn Crewse has just taken over her family’s ice cream shop in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, and she’s going back to basics. But unexpected construction delays mean she misses the summer season, and she opens during the first snow, keeping customers away. That evening, she finds a body in the snow, linked to an old family feud. It’s not easy to juggle a new-to-her business while solving a crime, but Win is determined to do it. With the help of her quirky best friends and her tight-knit family, she’ll catch the ice-cold killer before she has a meltdown …

Coffee not your cup of tea? Then dip into the latest Tea Shop Mystery! Tea maven Theodosia Browning is stirring up trouble again. Bring on the drama, recipes, and southern charm. This New York Times bestselling cozy series is the perfect blend of tea and solving murders.

Miriam’s move to Coral Shores, Miami, puts her academic career on the back burner. Thanks to her best friend Alma, she lands a gig as a Caribbean cooking expert on a TV show. But when a socialite at a Women’s Club luncheon takes a fatal nosedive into the chicken salad, followed by another untimely death, the heat is on. Detective Pullman ropes Miriam into the investigation, needing her insider access to the Spanish-speaking community and the posh Coral Shores social scene. As the ingredients of the deadly plot blend, Miriam is on the verge of uncovering the truth.

It’s been three years since food anthropologist and cooking show star Miriam Quiñones-Smith had her last brush with death. Her Spanglish culinary show, Abuela Approved, is topping the charts. Her parents are back in Miami and living with her in Coral Shores. And her kids are great. But when bones start popping up in unexpected places, Miriam’s idyllic life is threatened. To protect her family and friends, Miriam must dig up the truth that has been hiding in plain sight.

Ice cream shop owner Bronwyn Crewse is in for two scoops of murder when someone is poisoned and Bronwyn is implicated. To clear her name before the chill of winter sets in, Bronwyn will have to investigate and hope that her detective skills won’t “dessert” her.

When an actor in a local play is attacked during a performance, Bruno must learn whether it was an accident, a crime of passion, or an assassination attempt with implications far beyond the small French village.

When a local teacher is found dead, LA’s newest pet groomer Mimi Lee finds herself in a pawful predicament—with her younger sister’s livelihood on the line.

Contractor Shannon Hammer gets tangled up in murder at a eerie old asylum in the latest Fixer-Upper Mystery from New York Times bestselling author Kate Carlisle.

The annual Shady Palms Corn Festival is one of the town’s biggest moneymakers, drawing crowds from all over the Midwest looking to partake in delicious treats, local crafts, and, of course, the second-largest corn maze in Illinois. Lila Macapagal and her Brew-ha Cafe crew, Adeena Awan and Elena Torres, are all too happy to participate in the event and even make a little wager on who can make it through the corn maze the fastest — but their fun is suddenly cut short when a dead body is found in the middle of the maze … and an unconscious Adeena lies next to it, clutching a bloody knife.

When a wealthy bachelor drops dead at a ball, a young lady takes on the decidedly improper role of detective in this action-packed debut comedy of manners and murder. “A delightful cocktail that mixes elements of the Bridgerton series, Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice, and Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple mysteries … The payoff is a wealth of wit, hilarity, and suspense” (People, Book of the Week).

After the death of her husband, Molly Madison and her golden retriever, Harlow, move cross-country to California. On one of their daily beachside walks, her dog digs up a severed hand. But when the police run a background check on Molly, an incident from her past makes her an immediate suspect. To prove her innocence, Molly must rely on instincts keener than a canine’s to sniff out the real killer.

What’s the one dish you’d do anything to taste just one more time? Down a quiet backstreet in Kyoto exists a very special restaurant. Run by Koishi Kamogawa and her father, the father-daughter duo are “food detectives.” Through ingenious investigations, they are able to recreate dishes from a person’s treasured memories. The restaurant of lost recipes provides a link to vanished moments, creating a present full of possibility.

Charlie Harris and his feline companion Diesel take a bookish vacation but discover that murder never takes a holiday, in this all-new installment of the New York Times bestselling series. 

For fans of Knives Out and The Thursday Murder Club, an enormously fun mystery about a woman who spends her entire life trying to prevent her foretold murder only to be proven right sixty years later, when she is found dead in her sprawling country estate … Now it’s up to her great-niece to catch the killer.

The first book in the new historical Manor Cat series is the perfect cozy mystery for a Downton Abbey fan. When a dinner party at Danby Hall turns deadly, the feisty Lady Cecilia Bates, her clever maid Jane, and intuitive cat Jack are on the case. Agatha Christie meets Jane Austen in this historically detailed mystery.

Tricia Miles must swim against the tide to catch a killer when Haven’t Got A Clue’s assistant manager is accused of murder in the latest entry to Lorna Barrett’s New York Times bestselling Booktown series.

Politicians fight like cats and dogs, but when things take a deadly turn at the Virginia House of Delegates, Mary Minor “Harry” Haristeen calls on her beloved pets to help her crack the case and stop the fur from flying in this latest mystery from Rita Mae Brown and her feline co-author Sneaky Pie Brown.

Penelope Parish is ready to close the book on her amateur sleuthing — from now on, The Open Book’s writer-in-residence will be sticking to villains of the fictional variety while she puts the final touches on her new novel. But when an author is murdered inside the bookshop, Pen and the quirky citizens of Chumley-on-Stoke will try to stop a killer and protect the charming British town they call home.

Japan, 1869. A time of reform and rebellion. Detectives Kazuki and Kawaji are assigned to investigate a series of seemingly impossible murders. Together with the help of a mysterious shrine maiden, can they solve each gruesome death and piece together the dark connection between them? Taking us deep into the heart of 19th-century Tokyo, The Meiji Guillotine Murders is a fiendish murder mystery from one of Japan’s greatest crime writers.