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
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
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
by Jeff Abbott
The first Jeff Abbott mystery. Small-town Texas librarian as accidental detective. Edgar winner for a reason.
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
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
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
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
by Megan Abbott
Abbott on a real cold case: the 1949 disappearance of Jean Spangler. Hollywood publicist as accidental detective.
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
by Kerry Greenwood
The first Corinna Chapman mystery. Kerry Greenwood starting a second long-running series. Melbourne baker, found family, contemporary register.
Heavenly Pleasures
by Kerry Greenwood
The second Corinna Chapman mystery. Kerry Greenwood deepening the Melbourne baker series with chocolate-shop poisoning.
Bloody Bonsai
by Peter Abresch
The first James P. Dandy mystery. Retiree as accidental detective at a bonsai convention. Reliably likeable cozy.
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
by Peter Abresch
The third James P. Dandy mystery. Retiree-detective at a canoe expedition. Peter Abresch deepening the formula.
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
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
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
by Lydia Adamson
A theater-adjacent Alice Nestleton cat cozy. Lydia Adamson back in her comfort zone with off-Broadway dressing rooms.
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
by Garrison Allen
The second Penelope Warren cat cozy. A Renaissance Faire, a death, and Mycroft the Abyssinian still attending royally.
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
by Claudia Bishop
A late Hemlock Falls Inn cozy. Claudia Bishop running the formula with affection.
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
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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