Settle in, amateur sleuths! These heartwarming cozy mysteries will keep you guessing until the very last page.
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26 Best Cozy Mysteries to Curl Up with Right Now
Updated on Sep. 07, 2024
Cozy (mystery) up to a good book
Do you love a good detective story but hate feeling too scared to sleep? Try cozy mysteries. These lighter, whimsical whodunits forgo the gore and adrenaline rush that characterize so many of today’s thrillers and mystery books for entertaining stories about amateur sleuths solving murders and other mayhem—often with a dash of wholesome romance or family bonding thrown in. It’s enough to make even crime feel, well, cozy.
Author Agatha Christie, whose mysteries are often named among the best books of all time, is generally considered the queen of the cozy. But there is more to the genre than just Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot. Our curated collection of cozy mysteries includes beloved fan favorites, critically acclaimed series with stellar reader reviews and award-winning mystery bestsellers.
To really narrow down the list, we asked librarians, authors, book influencers and Reader’s Digest editors for their top picks. Read on for the cozy mysteries they say everyone needs to add to their to-be-read list.
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Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto
For fans of: Finlay Donovan Is Killing It by Elle CosimanoÂ
It’s pretty much impossible to read Jesse Q. Sutanto’s Dial A for Aunties without absolutely adoring it. Published in 2021, this hilarious and heartwarming mystery spirals into perfect mayhem after the accidental murder of a blind date and the gloriously spectacular cover-up attempt. “Jesse Q. Sutanto is a wonder,” says Jean Stehle, a librarian of over 20 years who shares book recommendations on Instagram on the account @jeanstehle_. “She successfully pulls off a cozy mystery with plenty of rom-com moments. The result is an endearing series following an immigrant Indonesian Chinese family. Whatever you do, don’t mess with the aunties. They’ll stop at nothing for justice!”
Once you’re hooked on Sutanto’s style, you’re going to want to check out her 2023 offering, Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers. “It’s one of the most delightful books I read all year, a found-family story and legitimately funny,” says Reader’s Digest books editor Tracey Neithercott. “I dare you to not to fall in love with Vera. She may be older than the cops trying to solve a recent murder, but as she’d tell you, she’s also a whole lot wiser.”
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The Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood
For fans of: The Widows of Malabar Hill by Sujata Massey and The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
Judith Potts, the protagonist of 2021’s The Marlow Murder Club, might be 77 years young, but that doesn’t mean she can’t fend for herself. Her life is the epitome of independence, filled with regular scotch drinking, bike riding and even skinny-dipping in the Thames. After witnessing a crime and growing impatient with the police’s incompetence, she also takes to amateur sleuthing. Joined by dog-walker friend Suzie and clergyman’s wife Becks, feisty Judith falls headlong into a murder mystery that is more complicated and dangerous than she ever dreamed.
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The Maid by Nita Prose
For fans of:Â The Framed Women of Ardemore House by Brandy SchillaceÂ
Meet Molly Gray, a socially awkward maid at a luxury hotel. She finds comfort in the predictability of her routines, but her life is upended when she discovers a wealthy hotel guest dead in his bed, thrusting her into a web of intrigue and suspicion. Published in 2022, The Maid serves readers with a unique protagonist and great mystery while exploring themes of social isolation and the quest for connection. All of that has helped make the book a hit with critics and readers alike.
“Molly’s charming nature and the way her community rallies around her won the hearts of readers worldwide,” says Julianne Buonocore, president of the Literary Lifestyle, a virtual reading community for women. “It’s simply impossible not to love Molly!”
So what’s next for the beloved heroine? The second book in the Molly the Maid series, is out now, while a holiday-themed novella, The Mistletoe Mystery, hits shelves in October 2024. But you’ll have to wait until April 2025 for the third book in the series, The Maid’s Secret.
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The Bullet That Missed by Richard Osman
For fans of: The Satapur Moonstone by Sujata Massey and How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin
The 2022 installment of Richard Osman’s wildly popular Thursday Murder Club cozy mystery series, The Bullet That Missed, revives beloved sleuths Elizabeth, Joyce, Ron and Ibrahim, along with a 10-year-old cold case. But of course, even cold cases can awaken new, red-hot danger. Fans of mystery book series and strong friendship themes will love this fun romp with the quick-witted foursome through lavish settings like a luxury spa and lofty penthouse.
Psst! If you love this one, keep an eye out for Osman’s next series, which launches in September with We Solve Murders. Our books editor raced through it and said the characters make the story more fun than murder should be—making the book a major win.
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A Killing in Costumes by Zac Bissonnette
For fans of: The Deep End by Julie Mulhern
An LGBTQ+ book that’s also a cozy mystery? You’ll find it in A Killing in Costumes. The 2022 book centers on fading TV stars Jay Allan and Cindy Cooper, who were once married. That ended when their sexual orientations came to light, but they’ve stayed friends for decades. Now they’re opening a Hollywood-themed store together in Palm Springs. All’s well until a nasty rival businessman winds up dead and police set their sights on Jay and Cindy as prime suspects. To keep their biz afloat and themselves out of jail, they need to find the real killer—and fast!
Looking for your next great book? Read four of today’s most compelling novels in the time it takes to read one with Fiction Favorites. And be sure to join the community!
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Arya Winters and the Tiramisu of Death by Amita Murray
For fans of: Death by Dumpling by Vivien Chien
Meet Arya Winters, a delightfully awkward baker living in a charming English village full of nosy neighbors. Despite social anxiety, Arya is no shut-in spinster. She’s got the hots for the sexy writer next door and above-average observation skills, giving her the courage to get out of the house and start investigating a recent death by poisoned tiramisu. Reviewers say 2021’s Arya Winters and the Tiramisu of Death has all the comforting elements of the cozy genre but with a touch of modern irreverence and macabre.
Hungry for more? If you love quirky Arya, you’ll be happy to know the next book in this series, Arya Winters and the Cupcakes of Doom, will be released in September 2024.
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Disaster at the Vendome Theater by M.L. Longworth
For fans of: The Verifiers by Jane Pek
Fancy a holiday in the south of France? The 10th book in M.L. Longworth’s Provençal Mystery series, Disaster at the Vendome Theater delivers a slice of life in the village of Aix-en-Provence—with a bit of murder thrown in.
Lawyer Jean-Marc Sauvet simply wanted to enjoy a summer performing on stage at the local theater. But when two famous actors are added to the cast list—and show up for rehearsals!—just before a dead body appears, he knows there’s something strange afoot. Aside from an action-packed plot, this 2022 cozy mystery includes drool-worthy descriptions of French foods and wine.
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Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson
For fans of:Â Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto and How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin
Looking for a darkly comic mystery about an epically dysfunctional family? You might want to check out Benjamin Stevenson’s Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone. The 2022 bestseller has been praised as a modern take on Agatha Christie–style fiction, revolving around narrator Ernie Cunningham, a writer who comes from a family of career criminals. When the clan gathers together and somebody turns up dead, the knives come out, and Ernie sets out to solve the mystery without getting killed or arrested himself.
“[The book] offers a cozy, ski-resort setting locked off from the world as it unravels a mysterious tale of death and plot twists in the lives of one very complicated family,” says Julianne Buonocore, founder of the popular book and lifestyle website the Literary Lifestyle. “Stevenson’s quirky writing style makes this a new standout in the genre.”
The book’s sequel, Everyone on This Train is a Suspect, is also a worthy read—and was a Reader’s Digest Book Club pick for 2024. “It’s not just the humor that makes this book so much fun—though prepare for laughs,” Neithercott says of the sequel. “It’s also the meta take on the mystery novel. The behind-the-scenes look at crafting a good mystery and the winks at genre conventions were some of my favorite parts. Mystery fans are bound to get a kick out of them too.”
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A Deadly Bone to Pick by Peggy Rothschild
For fans of: Muzzled by David Rosenfelt and Two Parts Sugar, One Part Murder by Valerie Burns
Friends of Fido, gather round. The heroine of 2022’s A Deadly Bone to Pick solves crime with the help of two pups, a loyal golden retriever and a rambunctious Saint Berdoodle. Ex-cop Molly Madison has moved to a small beachside town to lick her wounds after the tragic death of her husband. But then one of her dogs unearths a human hand on the beach. Can Molly leave the investigation to the pros, or will her old career instincts kick in to help her hunt down the killer? It doesn’t take a bloodhound to sniff out the answer there! Despite heavy themes of grief and murder, this canine-themed mystery stays cozy till the end.
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Reserved for Murder by Victoria Gilbert
For fans of: The Broken Spine by Dorothy St. James
Book club fans, grab a lemonade, take a seat in an Adirondack chair and settle in for a delightful cozy mystery set in coastal North Carolina. Set at a charming bed-and-breakfast, Reserved for Murder kicks off when the president of a writer’s fan club is found murdered. Who among the bibliophile group could be responsible? It’s up to the inn’s owner, Charlotte Reed, to piece together the puzzle to save the rest of the group—and the famous author—from a similar fate.
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Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P. Manansala
For fans of: Body and Soul Food by Abby Collette
Mia P. Manansala describes herself as a queer Filipino American author, and her 2021 book, Arsenic and Adobo, reflects her distinct viewpoint in cozy culinary form. Lila Macapagal has just gone through a devastating breakup. She’s returned home to spend time with her lovable yet meddling aunties. Together, they’re working hard to keep Tita Rosie’s restaurant alive. Sounds like the makings of a breezy mother-daughter book or beach read, right? But there’s a dead body to be found and a murder to be solved before Lila, one of the last people to see the victim, goes from prime suspect to jailed restaurateur.
Ruby Roy and the Murder in the Falls by Rima Ray
For fans of: Vera Kelly Is Not a Mystery by Rosalie KnechtÂ
A 2022 release, Ruby Roy and the Murder in the Falls tells the story of Dr. Ruby Roy, a young, eccentric professor at Baron University. Though she tries to fit in, she feels like her wild imagination, plus-size body and mix of Indian and Canadian heritage doom her to forever stand apart. When she becomes the unfortunate discoverer of a dead body on campus, Ruby chucks the pretense and decides to let her quick wits and imagination run amok in a cat-and-mouse hunt for the killer.
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Bury the Lead by Kate Hilton and Elizabeth Renzetti
For fans of:Â The Skeletons of Scarborough House by Kitty French and Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna RaybournÂ
Authors Kate Hilton and Elizabeth Renzetti teamed up to deliver this witty and engaging mystery, published in 2024. And boy are we are glad they did. Bury the Lead follows Cat Conway, a former big-city journalist who returns to her hometown with her career and her marriage in tatters. Taking a job at the local newspaper, she stumbles upon a series of mysterious deaths in the quaint hamlet and sets out to solve the case—even as the police consider her a suspect.
Bookstagramer Sloane Bernard calls Bury the Lead “a wonderful whodunit” and recommends it to cozy fans. “I was quickly whisked away by this charming cozy mystery,” she says. “From its setting in sleepy cottage country to a whip-smart woman sleuth, this book had me rooting for it from the beginning.”
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Nonna Maria and the Case of the Missing Bride by Lorenzo Carcaterra
For fans of: The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra by Vaseem Khan and The Shape of Water by Andrea Camilleri
Lorenzo Carcaterra’s 2022 cozy mystery, Nonna Maria and the Case of the Missing Bride, is the first in a series that transports readers to the island of Ischia, in the Gulf of Naples. There, sassy Italian grandma Nonna Maria can’t seem to stop fixing other people’s troubles. And now that a bride has gone missing and a seasoned sailor has drowned, it’s time for her to push up her sleeves, pour another glass of wine and solve a real, live mystery.
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The Quiche of Death by M.C. Beaton
For fans of: Homicide and Halo-Halo by Mia P. Manansala and Against the Currant by Olivia MatthewsÂ
The Quiche of Death may be just one of many delightful cozy mysteries by M.C. Beaton, but it’s a significant one: The 1992 release kicks off the New York Times bestselling Agatha Raisin book series, an iconic collection of cozies that’s been brought to life in the British television show of the same name. You’ll fall head over heels for new retiree Agatha Raisin in this first installment. She enters a baking contest to pass the time, even though she’s never baked before. When a judge dies of poisoning after eating her store-bought quiche, Agatha must find the real culprit to clear her name.
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The Cracked Spine by Paige Shelton
For fans of: Books Can Be Deceiving by Jenn McKinlay and The Body in the Bookstore by Ellie AlexanderÂ
Jump into Paige Shelton’s Scottish Bookshop Mysteries series with 2016’s The Cracked Spine. It’s a lighthearted story about a woman named Delaney Nichols who moves to Edinburgh to work at a bookshop called The Cracked Spine—talk about the perfect setting for a bookish romantic comedy. You’ll read about rows and rows of books, of course, plus a madcap cast of lovable locals and a handsome Scotsman who works at the pub across the street. But this is a mystery too, complete with theft, murder and danger that compels Delaney to leave the comforts of the shop to stop tragedy from striking again.
A Body in 3B by Eryn Scott
For fans of: The Secret, Book & Scone Society by Ellery Adams and Checked Out by Elizabeth Spann Craig
Like a cozy whodunit with a lighthearted plot, a tight-knit community … and ghosts? You, too, might enjoy Eryn Scott’s 2023 mystery, A Body in 3B. “The only way I know how to describe this book is to take Only Murders in the Building, mash it up with Amelie and then add in a hint of Ghosts,” says Lynn Morrison, author of more than 20 cozy mysteries herself, including the bestselling Dora and Rex 1920s Mysteries series. “I adore the adventurous heroine and her offbeat friendship with a ghost from the ’80s. The blossoming love with the handsome neighbor down the hall has kept me returning book after book.”
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Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder by Joanne Fluke
For fans of: Magic, Lies and Deadly Pies by Misha Popp and Secrets, Lies & Crawfish Pies by Abby L. Vandiver
Like M.C. Beaton’s Agatha Raisin series, Joanne Fluke’s Hannah Swensen books have graced mystery lovers’ nightstands for years. But where Beaton presents British “cottagecore,” Fluke offers a delectable collection of culinary cozies. Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder (published in 2000) introduces Hannah, a firecracker of a baker whose amateur detective work has riled up some Minnesota locals. When a dead body is found surrounded by Hannah’s famous chocolate chip cookies, she can’t help but get involved in the case.
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A Peculiar Combination by Ashley Weaver
For fans of: The Conductors by Nicole Glover and Murder in Old Bombay by Nev MarchÂ
Fancy a little historical fiction with your cozy mysteries? Then you’ll love this rollicking 2021 kickoff to the Electra McDonnell series, set in World War II–era England.  A Peculiar Combination features themes of loyalty and espionage. Ellie is used to flying under the radar. She comes from a family of thieves who steal from the rich to put bread on their table. But when she’s recruited to steal precious blueprints that will help England’s war effort, she falls into a plot that involves a dead German spy, an empty safe and a race to catch a double agent.
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Killer Content by Olivia Blacke
For fans of: Live and Let Chai by Bree BakerÂ
This quirky 2021 cozy mystery from Olivia Blacke mixes up a diverse cast, a social media theme and a classic country-to-city trope. What’s not to love? In Killer Content, Louisiana girl Odessa Dean moves to Brooklyn to sling beers and live rent-free by cat-sitting. She knows she’s in for a learning curve, but she’s not prepared for the death of a co-worker who had also been rising in the ranks as a YouTube influencer. Odessa suspects the death was not as innocuous as it seems, so she takes to the internet to hunt for a killer among YouTube fans.
Murder Knocks Twice by Susanna Calkins
For fans of: Cocaine Blues by Kerry Greenwood and A Most Agreeable Murder by Julia SealesÂ
This 2019 Agatha Award Nominee for Best Historical Mystery immerses readers in a story thick with smoke and mirrors in 1920s Chicago. In Murder Knocks Twice, Gina Ricci, a new hire at the Third Door speakeasy, is enamored with the glamorous world behind the backroom curtains. But then she learns that her predecessor was murdered. When she witnesses a second murder, Gina feels compelled to track down the villain and bring the shadows of the Third Door to light.
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Mango, Mambo, and Murder by Raquel V. Reyes
For fans of: Aunty Lee’s Delights by Ovidia YuÂ
Grab 2021’s Mango, Mambo, and Murder for a feel-good mystery with culinary and multicultural themes from a Latina author. Cuban American foodie Miriam Quiñones-Smith is in a funk. Her career is at a standstill, and her marriage is on the rocks. So when Detective Pullman ropes her into a murder investigation within Spanish-speaking high society, she dives right in. But could her undercover involvement become a recipe for disaster?
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The Socialite’s Guide to Murder by S.K. Golden
For fans of: Murder at the Brightwell by Ashley Weaver and A Death in the Dales by Frances BrodyÂ
Welcome to the Pinnacle Hotel, home of glamorous parties, high-end artwork and the ghosts of past guests. It’s also where Evelyn Elizabeth Grace Murphy, the protagonist of The Socialite’s Guide to Murder, hides away, replaying the 1945 death of her mother. It’s now 1958, and Evelyn has found another dead body. To solve the murder, she must overcome her anxiety, team up with sexy hotel employee Mac Cooper and throw a party where every guest is a high-society suspect. The game’s afoot in this lighthearted 2022 page-turner.
Gator Queen by Tara Lush
For fans of: Whiskey Chaser by Lucy Score and Claire Kingsley
Take it from cozy mystery author Lynn Morrison: This quirky 2024 release belongs on your bookshelf. “Who doesn’t love a weird Florida man story?” Morrison asks. Written by former journalist Tara Lush, Gator Queen features a fierce, feisty and absolutely fabulous female protagonist who ends up with her hands full of murder and gators.
“How could I not keep coming back to a book where gator hunting, fake dating and familial obligations all come together?” says Morrison. “This book is sitting at the top of my beach reads pile.” (When you finish reading it, you might have to check out Morrison’s own cozy, The Missing Diamond, which she coauthored with Anne Radcliffe and describes as Bridgerton meets Murder Mystery.)
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Under Lock & Skeleton Key by Gigi Pandian
For fans of: The Guest List by Lucy Foley
Gigi Pandian has won multiple awards for her cozy mysteries and urban fantasy novels, and in 2022, she kicked off her must-read Secret Staircase Mysteries series with this must-read novel. In Under Lock & Skeleton Key, she offers a classic locked-room mystery (think Clue). When Tempest Raj retreats home to California after a tragic accident, she’s looking for the comfort of family and home-cooked Indian food, not even more disasters. But that’s precisely what she gets when she finds a dead body inside the wall of a recent renovation project. Themes of family and food pervade this delightful cozy mystery.
When you finish this one, there are still two more in this cozy mystery series waiting for you. And in March 2025, the fourth book hits stores.
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Murder in an Irish Cottage by Carlene O’Connor
For fans of: Auntie Poldi and the Sicilian Lions by Mario Giordano and Tea with Milk and Murder by H.Y. HannaÂ
As the title implies, this 2016 mystery is the first in a good old-fashioned Irish cozy collection. Murder in an Irish Cottage centers on 20-something Siobhán, who is raising her younger siblings while running her late mother’s bistro in Kilbane, Ireland. But when the spunky Irishwoman finds a dead man seated at the restaurant—with a pair of garish pink scissors in his chest—her quiet life is upended. It’s time to suss out a murderer and save the bistro from a dwindling customer base that’s growing too scared to come and dine. If you love Irish authors like Tana French (reigning queen of the Irish mystery novel) but want something light and breezy, this Ireland-set story is the perfect pick.
FAQs
What is considered a cozy mystery?
The cozy mystery category, like any other book genre, is not one-size-fits-all. Some readers love “cozies” set in the kitchen (complete with recipes!), while others prefer cats to culinary misadventures. But the work of Agatha Christie—the Queen Mother of the genre—is as a template for what most experts consider a cozy mystery. For example:
- The book must unfold as a puzzle that allows the reader to play detective (with a few red herrings here or there).
- The murder victims must not be pivotal or even highly likable characters.
- The story must be infused with humor, wit and good cheer. In other words: Peak coziness!
- And of course, the hero or heroine must solve the mystery in the end, bringing the criminal mastermind to (not-too-violent) justice.
What is the difference between mysteries and cozy mysteries?
Some call cozies “feel-good murders,” which seems like the most blatant of oxymorons. But indeed, unlike standard mysteries, cozy mystery books are written with comfort and warmth in mind. These whodunits are warm and winsome, full of witty banter, optimistic protagonists and villains who always meet their rightful end. Unlike many modern mystery novels, cozies aren’t graphic or gory. Rather than dwelling on the crime, cozy mysteries sweep us up into the charming, ordinary life of the main character—usually an amateur detective of sorts.
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About the experts
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Why trust us
At Reader’s Digest, we’ve been sharing our favorite books for over 100 years. We’ve worked with bestselling authors including Susan Orlean, Janet Evanovich and Alex Haley, whose Pulitzer Prize–winning Roots grew out of a project funded by and originally published in the magazine. Through Fiction Favorites (formerly Select Editions and Condensed Books), Reader’s Digest has been publishing anthologies of abridged novels for decades. We’ve worked with some of the biggest names in fiction, including James Patterson, Ruth Ware, Kristin Hannah and more. The Reader’s Digest Book Club, helmed by Books Editor Tracey Neithercott, introduces readers to even more of today’s best fiction by upcoming, bestselling and award-winning authors. For this piece on cozy mysteries, Leandra Beabout tapped her experience as a longtime journalist who has written dozens of articles about books for Reader’s Digest to ensure that all information is accurate and offers the best possible advice to readers. We verify all facts and data, back them with credible sourcing and revisit them over time to ensure they remain accurate and up to date. Read more about our team, our contributors and our editorial policies.
Sources:
- Julianne Buonocore, president of the Literary Lifestyle; interview, May 2024
- Sloane Bernard, book influencer behind the @sloane_reads Instagram account; interview May 2024
- Jean Stehle, librarian and a book influencer; interview, May 2024
- Lynn Morrison, author of 20-plus cozy mysteries, including the bestselling Dora and Rex series and The Missing Diamond; interview, May 2024
