I am still very new to the world of cozy mysteries but once I discovered them (thanks to the Youtuber, Courtagonist) I fell head over heels!
Things you should know if you’ve never tried one before:
- The pun filled titles are perfection and so well suited for what’s to come in the actual story.
- The murder is behind the scenes. No gory details to be expected in these. Our heroine/sleuth is going to more than likely be out minding her own business when she stumbles across the body, kick starting our mystery.
- No one really solves a mystery alone. There is almost always a sidekick. Now, the ‘type’ of sidekick really just depends on the author. It may be a person and it may not.
- There are cozies out there for everyone. There are knitting cozies, tea shop cozies, witchy cozies, bakeshop cozies.
- I haven’t read a cozy yet where there wasn’t a blooming romance in the first or second book that we see grow throughout the rest of the series.
The Magical Bookshop Series by Amanda Flowers
My first recommendation is The Magical Bookshop Series by Amanda Flowers. This series is a little bit newer, with the third book having released back in February of this year. Book one is Crime and Poetry, followed by Pros and Cons and the latest release is Murders and Metaphors. This series follows Violet Waverly and her Grandma Daisy. In book one, Grandma Daisy pretends to be sick to get Violet to leave Chicago and return back home to upstate New York. Grandma Daisy owns the small town’s bookstore, Charming Books and shortly after Violet arrives, a man is found dead, holding a copy of poems by Emily Dickenson from Grandma Daisy’s store. I love the small town setting, the relationship between Violet and her Grandmother and the shop full of books that has it’s own history and it’s own stories to tell. This cozy obviously has magic woven into the story and if you’re the kind of book lover who believes that sometimes the right book ‘finds you,’ I think you’d love this series.
Writer Apprentice series by Julia Buckley
My next recommendation is Julia Buckley’s, Writer Apprentice series. There are currently four books out in this series and it kicks off with A Dark and Stormy Murder. It follows Lena London, and aspiring suspense author who receives the chance of a lifetime when her idol, author Camilla Graham asks Lena to be her assistant. Lena travels to small Blue Lake, Indiana where she will live with Camilla in her old Victorian home and assist her with writing her next mystery but shortly after her arrival, she stumbles across a body on Camilla’s lakefront property. I love so many things about this series, but most importantly, I love seeing snippets of the writings Lena and Camilla work on and the romance between Lena and the town recluse is one of my favorites from a series so far.
Book Retreat Mysteries by Ellery Adams
Lastly, I have the Book Retreat Mysteries by Ellery Adams. This series currently has six books out and takes place in a resort called Storyton Hall in Virginia. Our heroine in this series is single mom Jane Steward. Storyton Hall caters to book lovers and each book in the series has guests who read a certain genre. In Murder in the Mystery Suite, book one, Jane hosts Murder and Mayhem week for fans of the mystery genre. Shortly after the guests get settled in, there is a scavenger hunt followed by the death of its winner, Felix. Felix’s prize book from winning is missing and Jane learns that there is a murderer amongst the group. This series is a lot of fun, especially if you’re a fan of secret libraries and don’t mind following the same core characters but having a different set of side characters in each new book. So far book two, Murder in the Paperback Parlor, has been my favorite which takes place around Valentine’s Day and has guests who are fan of romance.
I hope you found something that sounds interesting. I am such a fan of cozy mysteries now. There are some series I save for certain types of the year but once you find what works for you and an author whose writing carries you away, they can be read all throughout the year!
