Last Christmas, I gave a shopping list of great cozy mystery series. You can read the list of 10 series here. So this Christmas I’m going to suggest authors perfect for giving to your mystery-loving friends and relatives. Each author’s books are available on audio as well as Kindle and/or print. Since the authors of the previous list are great selections, this list will feature authors not on last year’s list.
Lorraine Bartlett/ Lorna Barrett/ L.L. Bartlett writes three series under three similar names. The Booktown series by Lorna Barrett follows the adventures of Tricia Miles as she owns a mystery bookstore. The Jeff Resnick series by L.L. Bartlett centers around a man who has gained supernatural insight after being beaten nearly to death. The Victoria Square series by Lorraine Bartlett takes place at Artisans Alley in Victoria Square where Katie Bonner takes over the co-op for artists to sell their goods. Bartlett also has several novellas that accompany this series, each focusing on a different individual who works in Victoria Square.
Leslie Budewitz writes two culinary mystery series. The Seattle Spice Shop focuses on a woman remaking herself by purchasing a spice shop in Pike’s Place Market. The Food Lover’s Village Mysteries focus on a woman who has returned to her hometown in Montana to help run her family’s Murphy’s Mercantile and gets involved in murders.
H.Y. Hanna writes the Oxford Tea Room series, centered around Gemma, who owns a tea house in Oxford. Having been in Australia after growing up in and attending university in Oxford, Gemma establishes her tea shop while getting involved in murder mysteries and her college love, now a Detective Inspector.
Julie Hyzy has two completed series that are very popular. The White House Kitchen series follows Ollie, the executive chef at the White House, who gets involved in investigating murders. This series has a lot of flavor of Washington, D.C. and the White House and is very creatively written. Hyzy’s other series, Manor House Mysteries, centers around the curator of Marshfield Manor, a giant estate that serves as a museum of expensive artifacts. This series truly entertains and keeps the reader riveted.
T.E. Kinsey writes a very clever, enjoyable series set in 1908 England. The main characters are Lady Hardcastle and her ladies maid. The pair work together to solve mysteries and deal with the different social classes. The books are full of clever word play and puns that add to the fun of the series. Book four will be released for Kindle on December 12.
Leslie Langtry writes a number of different series. The one available on audio, Merry Wrath, focuses on a CIA operative publicly outed by the U.S. Vice President. So she changes her name, moves to Iowa, and becomes a girl scout troop leader, along with her childhood best friend. This series is highly funny and very creative. I can’t wait for book five to be released on audio.
Molly Macrae is best known for her Haunted Yarn Shoppe series, centered around a woman who inherits her grandmother’s yarn shop. But besides the yarn shop, Kath inherits her grandmother’s nature as “a bit of a ghost” and becomes friends with Geneva, a real ghost full of depression whom only Kath can see. The Highland Bookshop Mystery series follows three American and one Scottish woman who move from Chicago to take over a bookshop and open a tea room and a B&B. The second book, Scones and Scoundrels, will come out January 2.
Jenn McKinlay writes three very creative, fun series. Her Library Lover’s series centers around the family that has been formed by the staff of the library in Briar Creek, Connecticut. The mysteries center around books and the fun people who work at the library. The Cupcake Mystery series follows the adventures of the two women who own the Fairy Tale Cupcake Shop and the friends they collect. This series really sparkles. The Hat Shop series follows an American woman who moves to London to join her cousin at the shop where the cousin makes high- end hats. All books by McKinlay are especially strong in their character development.
Terry Odell writes police procedurals and romantic mysteries. Her procedural series, Mapleton Mysteries, contains very well written mysteries with unique twists and creative plot angles.
Ann B. Ross writes the humorous Miss Julia series about a traditional older woman known for being so uptight about etiquette. From time to time you have to suspend your disbelief about the setting, but assuming you do so, you will laugh very hard. While the series is labeled a mystery, the books are not murder mysteries, with creative other issues that Miss Julia gets involved in investigating.
Julie Seedorf writes silly, satirical mysteries that keep me laughing. Her main series, Fuchsia, Minnesota, centers around Granny, an old lady who works undercover to catch shoplifters and gets involved in murder cases. The first book, Granny Hooks a Crook, is a little hard to get into until the end, but I highly recommend reading this book before the others to get the full introduction. Seedorf just released the second book in her Brilliant, Minnesota series that is truly brilliant, just as in the series title.
Leann Sweeney writes two series, Cats in Trouble and Yellow Rose Mystery. I particularly love The Cats in Trouble books, which center around Jillian Hart, who gets involve in mysteries because of her genuine love of cats. The plots contain a lot of complexity to them, while the characters seem true to life as well. The Yellow Rose Mysteries focus on Kate, who has started a business helping adopted children locate their birth families.
Thank you for the awesome suggestions!! 🙂
You didn’t mention Gemma Halliday. Excellent writer, has several series with spunky female protagonists.
You know, I’ve read only one by her, and it was co-written by someone else, something that seems to be really common in her publishing house. What is strange is that usually books published by her will list one person as the first author on the cover of the book and the other author as first author in listings in Amazon, etc.
I’ll have to check out something written by just her. So far, I have been only moderately impressed by books published by her. You can always identify a Halliday book by its cover! They also tend to follow similar patterns in the life of the protagonist, though most cozies do similar too.
Great new leads. Have read maybe only a third of the list. Love new recommendations.
You might also check last year’s list, which is linked in the first paragraph. It was of series instead of authors, but it works the same way.
Hi,
I’m a homeschool mom and I’m wanting to celebrate Cozy Mystery Day with my 8 1/2 year old son. What are some funny mystery books that he could read? He’s a voracious reader. We sometimes listen to audiobooks.
Thanks,
Stacey
Thanks for the inquiry! I’m not an expert in children’s books, but of course there are Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys. I believe the Boxcar Children books are about your son’s age level. What about the Bobbsey Twins? I really enjoyed those in 3rd grade.
If you are interested in a series that is not specifically for children but still not inappropriate for them, the Meg Langslow series by my favorite mystery author, Donna Andrews, is excellent. There is a little sexual suggestion in the first book, Murder with Peacocks, but the other books don’t have that. The humor comes from fun stories of life rather than jokes, so kids are likely to get them a little better than many series. And the audiobook narrator, Bernadette Dunne, is one of my absolute favorites!
If I think of any other books, I’ll let you know. I’m certain that there are good mysteries for kids that have been written since I was a kid. I didn’t become a mystery fanatic until after graduate school so didn’t really get exposed to much as a child.