So you’ve got a cozy mystery lover on your Christmas shopping list? Never fear! We at Fangirl Nation Magazine are here to help! Below is a list, in no particular order, of cozy mysteries published in 2018 that our staff experts particularly enjoyed. The links will take you to the Kindle listing of each book on Amazon.
The Whispered Word by Ellery Adams: The sequel to the highly acclaimed The Secret, Book, & Scone Society, the books in this 2-book series celebrate the friendship and support of women for each other against the background of a well- crafted mystery. A mysterious young woman wearing a hospital wrist band appears at the book store of Nora Pennington and seems to have a connection to a woman the four women of the Secret, Book, and Scone Society discover drowned. The police seem ready to rule the death a suicide, but Nora feels certain it is murder.
Murder in the Locked Library by Ellery Adams: Workers are finally digging to create a spa at the Storyton Hall retreat when they unearth a long-dead skeleton and the remains of a rare book. Filled with depth and inspiration, this 4th book in the Book Retreat Mystery Series will delight readers of genres besides just cozy mysteries.
Toucan Keep a Secret by Donna Andrews: Meg Langslow spots a light from her church’s columberium, where she discovers the body of a member of the church’s congregation. This humorous 23rd book in the series takes us into a mystery from the past as well as the mystery of who killed the parishioner in the present.
Lark! The Herald Angels Sing by Donna Andrews: Meg Langslow finds the body of a real baby in her church’s live nativity manger, which soon leads her to investigate a murder and enlist the women of Caerphilly to save the day. Book 24 of the series has proven to be fuil of laughter and delight.
Class Reunions Are Murder by Libby Klein: Poppy McAllister attends her high school reunion, when the bully of her class gets murdered and the bully’s closest friend pulls out a badge and arrests Poppy. This inaugural book by the author contains lots of humor and has proven very popular among fans of cozies.
Midnight Snacks Are Murder by Libby Klein: The 2nd book in the Poppy McAllister series sees Poppy’s Aunt Ginny getting suspected of murder while sleepwalking. Thus, Poppy seeks to solve the mystery.
A Picture of Murder by T E Kinsey: It is 1909, and Lady Hardcastle and her lady’s maid, Florence, host some film folk who are showing a controversial film about a witch when the group starts to get killed off one by one. This is book 4 in a series full of humor and wit, with plenty of clever word play, and which is always fun to read.
The Otter of Death by Betty Webb: When zookeeper Teddy Bentley participates in the annual otter count, her special otter friend, Maureen, brings her a cell phone with a picture of a murder in progress. This plunges her into a murder case that has significant effects on her personal life. The highly original Gunn Zoo series, of which this is book five, uses the backdrop of a zoo to convey fascinating material about animals and zoo life while giving readers fascinating mysteries to try to solve.
Six Cats A’Slayin’ by Miranda James: Charlie Harris finds a box with five kittens on his doorstep, giving Diesel a new job as kitty sitter. In the meantime, Charlie’s annoying new neighbor who tries to act as the high-class glamour girl hosts a big Christmas party at which she dies in a seizure. This 10th book in the Cat in the Stacks series is the best- selling book by James yet!
The Corpse at the Crystal Palace by Carola Dunn: Daisy Fletcher, neé Dalrymple, takes her children and various relatives to Queen Victoria’s Crystal Palace museum when a surplus of nannies make an appearance. Then Daisy discovers one nanny dead in the ladies’ room, causing her Detective Chief Inspector husband, Alec, to investigate. This long- awaited 23rd book in the Daisy Dalrymple series, set in the 1920s, reunites readers with many beloved friends from previous books.
Read Herring Hunt by V.M. Burns: Mystery bookstore owner and historical mystery writer Samantha Washington has to help college football star and bookstore employee/ tenant Dawson Alexander when he is accused of his ex-girlfriend’s murder. In the meantime, Samantha writes her own mystery book. This sequel to The Plot Is Murder, followed by two more books in the series, has a fun twist in posing two mysteries: the contemporary one and the historical mystery written by Samantha.
Premeditated Peppermint by Amanda Flower: Noted candymaker Bailey King is busy in the Swissman Sweets candy shop she runs with her Amish grandmother when her egotistical ex- boyfriend, Eric, walks in with the intention of featuring their shop and a reunion with Bailey on his cooking reality show. But when his executive producer is strangled and Eric becomes the chief suspect, Bailey decides to help him out. The Amish Candy Shop Mystery Series, of which this is the 3rd book, features a fascinating glimpse into Amish vs. English cultures as well as interesting details on making candy and an exciting mystery.
Mystery Loves Company by Sheri Cobb South: Bow Street Runner John Pickett returns from his honeymoon with his noble-born wife when he discovers that life dependent upon his rich wife is more a challenge than he dreamed. He finds connection with Lady Washburn, a commoner who married above her, when she asks for help because she believes her husband is trying to kill her. This series, set in early 19th century London, features interesting mysteries combined with romance.
Peril by Post by Sheri Cobb South: John Pickett goes to the Lake District in response to an anonymous letter, but before he can meet the writer, the man is killed.
Death below Stairs by Jennifer Ashley: Kat Calloway gets a job as head cook in the household of Lord Rankin when her kitchen maid is murdered. Getting the help of the mysterious Daniel McAdam, Kat investigates and discovers that the case goes as far as a plot against Queen Victoria.
Scandal above Stairs by Jennifer Ashley: Cook Kat Holloway gets involved in a mystery when Lady Cynthia alerts her to the fact that antiquities are being stolen from the nobility. Enlisting the help of Daniel McAdam to investigate, they get involved even more deeply when someone is killed.
Crime and Punctuation by Kailyn Dunnett: Upon being recently widowed, Mikki Lincoln moves back to her hometown and purchases the home she grew up in, opening an editing business. Then Tiffany Scott brings Mikki a manuscript of a real- life local murder from 20 years earlier posed as fiction. Before Mikki reads much of the book, Tiffany gets murdered, and Mikki determines to reach the truth.
Apple Struedel Alibi by H.Y. Hanna: Gemma Doyle discovers that the four senior citizen “Old Biddies” who help out in her tea room in Oxford have entered her into a contest for the best scones in Europe, and Gemma’s scones have won for England. When her detective inspector boyfriend has to cancel his vacation with her yet again, Gemma goes to Vienna for the awards, only to learn that the Old Biddies are joining her in the trip. Then an art critic gets murdered at their B&B, plunging them into yet another investigation.
The Dough Must Go On by H.Y. Hanna: Gemma gets asked to cater for Britain’s hot new talent show, but when the Old Biddies enter and Gemma’s cat Muesli becomes a star, life goes wild for Gemma. And this is before she finds a frozen body. Book 9 in the Oxford Tea Room series is sure to delight!
Pawprints and Predicaments by Bethany Blake: Daphne Templeton takes part in a polar bear plunge when she finds a body in the frigid water. A mysterious Saint Bernard helps to rescue the woman, but it is too late, as she has been murdered. The Lucky Paws Petsitting Mystery series features loveable animals and interesting characters. This is book 3 in what is so far a 5-book series.
Murder at the Mansion by Sheila Connolly: Kate Hamilton has thought she was free of her hometown of Ashboro, MD when she gets asked to save the town, pitting Kate against her high school bully, Cordelia. Kate ends up researching a Victorian house in Ashboro and the Civil War history of its builder and town founder. But when Kate finds Cordelia murdered, her historical investigation becomes more pressing. This is the first book in the new Victorian Village Mystery Series.
As the Christmas Cookie Crumbles by Leslie Budewitz: Erin Murphy has made friends with Merrily, a formerly troubled woman turning her life around. But Merrily gets accused of theft until she is found dead with Christmas lights strung around her neck, leaving Erin to find the killer before Christmas Eve.
Harvest of Secrets by Ellen Crosby: The search for the killer of an aristocratic French winemaker who was Lucie Montgomery’s first crush and the discovery of dark family secrets put Lucie on a collision course with a murderer. This is book 9 in the Wine Country Mysteries Series.
Rituals of the Dead by Jennifer Alserson: Zelda Richardson is doing an internship at the Tropenmuseum in Amsterdam when the curators open a box of artifacts recently uncovered after having been stored away in 1962. When they discover the journal of a famous anthropologist who disappeared the same year as the crates were sent to Amsterdam, it reopens the case of his death. The book fascinatingly jumps back and forth between the present and 1962 in Dutch New Guinea.
What a great list! I am honored and thrilled to see Rituals of the Dead on it. Happy holidays!