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Genre

The best Cozy Mystery books

Small-town mysteries with low body counts and high cat populations. Comfort food that happens to feature a corpse.

61 reviews in this genre.

Editor's picks

Highest-rated cozy mystery on the shelf

Endless Night

Endless Night

by Agatha Christie

Agatha Christie's 1967 standalone. Her most modern and most genuinely unsettling novel. The book she said she wrote in six weeks.

The Thursday Murder Club

The Thursday Murder Club

by Richard Osman

The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman 2020 review. Four Kent retirees who discuss cold cases weekly land an actual murder in their retirement village. Canonical contemporary British cozy mystery.

Do Unto Others

Do Unto Others

by Jeff Abbott

The first Jeff Abbott mystery. Small-town Texas librarian as accidental detective. Edgar winner for a reason.

The Only Good Yankee

The Only Good Yankee

by Jeff Abbott

The second Jordan Poteet mystery. Jeff Abbott loosening up and writing his small Texas town with full confidence.

Promises of Home

Promises of Home

by Jeff Abbott

The third Jordan Poteet mystery. Jeff Abbott bringing back a former friend to the small Texas town and turning the screws.

Distant Blood

Distant Blood

by Jeff Abbott

The fourth and final Jordan Poteet mystery. Jeff Abbott closing out the small-town Texas librarian series with appropriate weight.

Die a Little

Die a Little

by Megan Abbott

Abbott's debut, which announced what her career was going to be about. 1950s LA, two women, and a slow domestic poisoning.

The Song Is You

The Song Is You

by Megan Abbott

Abbott on a real cold case: the 1949 disappearance of Jean Spangler. Hollywood publicist as accidental detective.

Axel of Evil

Axel of Evil

by Alina Adams

Axel of Evil by Alina Adams 2005 review. The third Figure Skating Mystery sends Bex Levy to Moscow for a competition where one of the favorites is murdered, again.

Death Drop

Death Drop

by Alina Adams

Death Drop by Alina Adams 2007 review. The fourth Figure Skating Mystery takes Bex Levy backstage at a New York Stars on Ice tour where one of the skaters has been hospitalized after a sabotaged spin.

On Thin Ice

On Thin Ice

by Alina Adams

On Thin Ice by Alina Adams 2004 review. The first Figure Skating Mystery sends Russian-American researcher Bex Levy to investigate a Sandra Bullock-style backstage skating murder.

Pelagia and the Black Monk

Pelagia and the Black Monk

by Boris Akunin

The second Sister Pelagia mystery. A ghost on a Volga island, an Athanasian monastery, and Akunin in full Dostoyevsky mode.

Sister Pelagia and the White Bulldog

Sister Pelagia and the White Bulldog

by Boris Akunin

A nun-detective in 19th century Russia investigating a poisoned dog. Funnier and warmer than that summary suggests.

Dead Man's Bones

Dead Man's Bones

by Susan Wittig Albert

A mid-series China Bayles mystery. Herb mysteries are a niche and Susan Wittig Albert is the queen of it.

Bleeding Hearts

Bleeding Hearts

by Susan Wittig Albert

The 14th China Bayles. A house fire, a missing manuscript, and a community college English department at its most cozy and its most poisonous.

Spanish Dagger

Spanish Dagger

by Susan Wittig Albert

The 15th China Bayles. China's sister returns to Pecan Springs and the family history thread Susan Wittig Albert has been quietly setting up for years pays off.

Nightshade

Nightshade

by Susan Wittig Albert

The 16th China Bayles. China's family history collides with a cold-case murder in Pecan Springs. Sue Wittig Albert in her late prime.

WormWood

WormWood

by Susan Wittig Albert

The 17th China Bayles. Susan Wittig Albert taking her herbalist sleuth into the Kentucky Shaker community at Pleasant Hill. Quietly fascinating.

Holly Blues

Holly Blues

by Susan Wittig Albert

The 18th China Bayles. Holiday-themed and unusually serious. McQuaid's ex-wife is back in town and the investigation hits closer to home than the series usually allows.

Mourning Gloria

Mourning Gloria

by Susan Wittig Albert

The 19th China Bayles. A car fire on a country road, a body that should not be there, and Susan Wittig Albert at her most quietly devastating.

The Dog Who Knew Too Much

The Dog Who Knew Too Much

by Carol Lea Benjamin

The second Rachel Alexander mystery. Carol Lea Benjamin writing a New York dog-trainer turned PI. The dog material is the genuine article.

A Hell Of A Dog

A Hell Of A Dog

by Carol Lea Benjamin

A Hell Of A Dog by Carol Lea Benjamin review. The 3rd Rachel Alexander mystery. A dog-training conference, a possible murder, and the most insider dog material in any PI series.

Lady Vanishes

Lady Vanishes

by Carol Lea Benjamin

Lady Vanishes by Carol Lea Benjamin review. The 4th Rachel Alexander mystery. A missing dog, a Manhattan upper-class family, and Benjamin at her most carefully observed.

The Wrong Dog

The Wrong Dog

by Carol Lea Benjamin

The Wrong Dog by Carol Lea Benjamin review. The 5th Rachel Alexander mystery. A genetic-cloning case and the most morally complicated entry in the dog-mystery sequence.

The Long Good Dog

The Long Good Dog

by Carol Lea Benjamin

The Long Good Dog by Carol Lea Benjamin review. The 6th Rachel Alexander novel. A Westminster Kennel Club case and Benjamin's most carefully observed dog-show writing.

Ordeal by Innocence

Ordeal by Innocence

by Agatha Christie

Christie's 1958 standalone. A man returns to a family two years after one of them was hanged for a murder he could have alibi'd. Bleak, careful, unusually adult.

Dead Heat

Dead Heat

by Dick Francis

Dead Heat by Dick Francis 2007 review. Chef Max Moreton survives a gala poisoning at the Newmarket races and has to figure out who is killing his guests and why.

Earthly Delights

Earthly Delights

by Kerry Greenwood

The first Corinna Chapman mystery. Kerry Greenwood starting a second long-running series. Melbourne baker, found family, contemporary register.

Heavenly Pleasures

Heavenly Pleasures

by Kerry Greenwood

The second Corinna Chapman mystery. Kerry Greenwood deepening the Melbourne baker series with chocolate-shop poisoning.

Bloody Bonsai

Bloody Bonsai

by Peter Abresch

The first James P. Dandy mystery. Retiree as accidental detective at a bonsai convention. Reliably likeable cozy.

Killing Thyme

Killing Thyme

by Peter Abresch

The second James P. Dandy mystery. Retiree-detective at a culinary conference in the Smokies. Peter Abresch warming up the formula.

Tip A Canoe

Tip A Canoe

by Peter Abresch

The third James P. Dandy mystery. Retiree-detective at a canoe expedition. Peter Abresch deepening the formula.

Murder on Ice

Murder on Ice

by Alina Adams

The first Alina Adams figure-skating mystery. ABC researcher solving rink murders. Skating fan service done well.

Skate Crime

Skate Crime

by Alina Adams

A late Alina Adams figure-skating mystery. The formula running smoothly. Skating fans will be happy.

A Cat on a Beach Blanket

A Cat on a Beach Blanket

by Lydia Adamson

A summer-themed Alice Nestleton cat cozy. Lydia Adamson writing the formula on the East End of Long Island, with the usual loyal cats.

A Cat on Stage Left

A Cat on Stage Left

by Lydia Adamson

A theater-adjacent Alice Nestleton cat cozy. Lydia Adamson back in her comfort zone with off-Broadway dressing rooms.

Desert Cat

Desert Cat

by Garrison Allen

The first Penelope Warren cat cozy. An Empress Josephine of an Abyssinian, a desert town, and Garrison Allen's reliable cozy template.

Royal Cat

Royal Cat

by Garrison Allen

The second Penelope Warren cat cozy. A Renaissance Faire, a death, and Mycroft the Abyssinian still attending royally.

Stable Cat

Stable Cat

by Garrison Allen

The third Penelope Warren cat cozy. Garrison Allen takes Penelope and Mycroft to a horse-racing track. Reliable cozy comfort.

Baseball Cat

Baseball Cat

by Garrison Allen

The fourth Penelope Warren cat cozy. Garrison Allen putting his Marine bookstore owner at a desert spring training camp. Reliable cozy comfort.

Movie Cat

Movie Cat

by Garrison Allen

The sixth Penelope Warren cat cozy. Garrison Allen takes Penelope and Mycroft to a Hollywood film shoot in the desert. Series in late-comfortable form.

Books, Bullets and Blooms

Books, Bullets and Blooms

by Cindy Bell

Books, Bullets and Blooms by Cindy Bell review. The 6th Sage Gardens cozy mystery. A retirement-community murder, a long-running ensemble, formulaic comfort.

A Deadly Serious Gardening Contest

A Deadly Serious Gardening Contest

by Cindy Bell

A Deadly Serious Gardening Contest by Cindy Bell review. The 7th Sage Gardens cozy. Retirement-community garden show, predictable comfort, the cozy formula in late form.

A Bridal Bouquet and a Body

A Bridal Bouquet and a Body

by Cindy Bell

A Bridal Bouquet and a Body by Cindy Bell review. The 8th Sage Gardens cozy. A wedding-themed retirement-community murder. The form running on its established energy.

Fall Guy

Fall Guy

by Carol Lea Benjamin

Fall Guy by Carol Lea Benjamin review. A standalone Benjamin novel outside the Rachel Alexander series. Pleasant change of register, useful for readers who want her voice in a different form.

Toast Mortem

Toast Mortem

by Claudia Bishop

A late Hemlock Falls Inn cozy. Claudia Bishop running the formula with affection.

Dread on Arrival

Dread on Arrival

by Claudia Bishop

Another Hemlock Falls Inn cozy. Claudia Bishop with the formula running smoothly through another upstate New York season.

A Fete Worse Than Death

A Fete Worse Than Death

by Claudia Bishop

A Fete Worse Than Death by Claudia Bishop review. The 18th Hemlock Falls cozy. A village summer fete, a body in the pie tent, and the formula running smoothly.

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