One of the things I always look forward to later in the year are the holiday themed Cozy Mystery releases. This upcoming October we’re going to have a really great crop – too many to cover in one post! So today I’ll just be discussing the five Halloween and other “fall harvest” themed mysteries that will be coming out in October.

First will be the next entry in the Murder, She Wrote Mystery Series. The Ghost and Mrs. Fletcher, written by Donald Bain, Renée Paley-Bain, & “Jessica Fletcher”, will be the 45th in the series, and once again will star the famous television detective/murder mystery author, Jessica Fletcher. When a crusty old local carpenter dies after a premonition that his time is near, Jessica will need to use her now-long years of mystery writing and detecting to put a so-called spirit to rest >>> or determine the specter’s true nature. Donald Bain also writes the Margaret Truman Capital Crimes Mystery Series.

Next up will be Ghost of a Potion, the third entry in Heather Blake‘s Magic Potion Mystery Series. When local architect Haywood Dodd dies before making a big announcement at a costume party, his ghost goes to local magic potion seller and medium, Carly Bell Hartwell, for help. She’ll need to discover his true killer, not only for Dodd and her own peace of mind, but also to clear the current suspect >>> her boyfriend’s mother. Blake also writes the Wishcraft Mystery Series, starring a wish-granting witch, as well as the Lucy Valentine Mystery Series (starring a matchmaker with the ability to find lost objects) and the Nina Quinn Mystery Series (starring a Landscaper) under the pseudonym Heather Webber.

The next Cozy is Sheila Connolly‘s A Gala Event, the 9th book in her Orchard Mystery Series, a Fall Harvest themed mystery. Orchard owner Meg Corey is looking forward to the end of the harvesting season more than ever since it will let her focus more on planning her upcoming wedding, but when former convict Aaron Eastman returns to town, he manages to talk her into helping clear his name by investigating a now 25 years old case of arson. Connolly also writes the Museum Mystery Series, starring a museum fundraiser, the County Cork Mystery Series, starring a Bostonian living in Ireland, the Relatively Dead Mystery Series, starring a woman who sees ghosts, and finally (as Sarah Atwell) the Glassblowing Mystery Series.

What Halloween would be complete without a resident skeleton? The Skeleton Haunts a House is the third book in Leigh Perry‘s Family Skeleton Mystery Series. This series stars Georgia Thackery and her live-in, skeleton-possessing ghost friend, Sid. Sid enjoys Halloween as an opportunity to get out of the house without freaking people out, so he doesn’t mind disguising himself as a dog to attend a local Halloween party. But when a (second) corpse turns up, he and Georgia will need to solve the murder quickly to avoid Sid’s own existence becoming known! Leigh Perry has also written extensively under the name Toni L.P. Kelner, and under that name is the author of the Where Are They Now? Mystery Series, the Laura Fleming Mystery Series, and she is also the editor to multiple mystery anthologies.

The last of our Halloween themed Cozies is Kathi Daley‘s Ghostly Graveyard, the 17th in her Zoe Donovan Mystery Series. In this entry, Zoe will discover a body across the grave of a local legend, one who began a hundred year old tale that is still told in the area today. Kathi Daley also writes the TJ Jensen Paradise Lake Mystery Series, starring a high school teacher and coach, the Whales and Tails Mystery Series, starring the owner of a bar/bookstore/cat themed lounge area, and the young adult Seacliff High Mystery Series.

As always, you can see these Halloween themed mystery books (and many, many more!) on the Halloween page on my site:

Halloween Holiday Mysteries

Since there were so many holiday themed Cozy Mystery releases upcoming in September, I decided to split them up into two posts. Last time I talked about Halloween Cozy Mystery releases for September, while this month I’ll be discussing the three Christmas-themed Cozy releases we can look forward to!

First on our Christmas-themed Cozy Mystery list will be Barbara Allan‘s Antiques St. Nicked, a novella in the Trash ‘n’ Treasures Mystery Series. This next entry in the continuing mystery adventures of Brandy Borne and her lovable Shi Tzu (Sushi) will occur during the annual Holiday Stroll activities in Serenity, a scenic small town. When a Santa’s workshop employee turns up dead and his donation bag empty, it will be up to Brandy and her mother Vivian to solve the case of both the murder and the missing presents!

The next book on our Christmas-in-September list will be The Bark Before Christmas, the 18th book in Laurien Berenson‘s Melanie Travis Mystery Series. This entry in the series will see the return of Melanie, who will once again need to balance the her part-time job, full time mothering for two children, and the care for half a dozen darling poodles while solving a festive murder! When a Santa at her school’s big fundraiser turns up dead and a prize poodle missing, she’ll need to use all of her now-formidable sleuthing experience to get to the bottom of the case!

Last but certainly not least will be Nancy Coco‘s All I Want for Christmas is Fudge, the  fourth in her Candy-Coated Mystery Series… though the description sounds like it might actually be a novella, not a full-fledged entry in the series. When fudge shop owner Allie McMurphy’s old friend Jenn arrives back in town to celebrate the holidays, neither woman expects Jenn to end up the target of a police investigation. But when Santa turns up dead in a ditch, it will be up to the girls to hunt down the killer and clear Jenn’s name! Nancy Coco also writes the Baker’s Treat Mystery Series and Perfect Proposals Mystery Series under the pseudonym Nancy J. Parra.

Wow, these look like some really festive Cozies! It sounds like being Santa might be a more dangerous job than you might think!

If you’re just too eager to get started on your Christmas Cozy Mystery reading, check out the many books we’ve already got to choose from when you’re feeling like nothing but a festive holiday mystery will do on this page of my site: Christmas Themed Cozies (There are so many of them that I had to cut the Christmas themed mysteries into six pages!)

The first half of the year is always a little “light” on Cozies with holiday themes, but those days will soon be ending! I’ve already discussed the soon-to-be-released August holiday Cozies in an earlier post, so it’s about time to talk about next month’s releases, the September holiday releases. Well, upcoming in September we have so many Holiday Cozy releases that I’ll be splitting them up into two posts – with this first post dedicated to the three new Halloweeen-themed Cozy Mysteries we can look forward to in the month of September! (Broken record alert: I love holiday Cozies!)

First up will be Scrapbook of the Dead, by Mollie Cox Bryan. This will be the fifth in her Cumberland Creek Mystery Series, starring Annie Chamovitz, a former journalist and current stay-at-home mom who finds herself drawn into murder as often as into her favorite pastime, scrapbooking. This isn’t the first Holiday-themed book in the series – two have already featured holidays, including Christmas and the much less used St. Patrick’s Day. This time Annie will need to solve the murders of a pair of sisters, each found clutching scrapbook pages.

 Kathi Daley will also have a Halloween themed mystery coming out – The Legend of Tabby Hollow, which will be the fifth in the Whales and Tails Mystery Series. This book will see the return of Caitlin Hart, owner of a bar, bookstore, and cat lounge, as well as a cat sanctuary employee and multiple animal owner living on a fictional island in the San Juan Islands off the coast of Washington State. When a body is found in a nearby hollow, she will once again need to help assist in the investigation! Kathi Daley also writes the Zoe Donovan series, starring an animal rehabilitator, and the TJ Jensen Paradise Lake series, starring a high school teacher and coach.

Finally, on the Halloween-themed mystery list, we have Shelley Freydont‘s Trick or Deceit. You can tell that Freydont must really love Halloween, because this will be the second time it’s featured in her holiday-themed Celebration Bay Mystery Series. (Actually, the first Halloween themed mystery in this series is more of a Harvest themed mystery.) This series stars Liv Montgomery, an event planner in New York, who will once again need to figure out the mysterious death at one of her events, this time a Haunted House! Freydont also writes the Victorian themed Newport Gilded Age Mystery Series, the Sudoku Mystery Series, and the Lindy Haggerty Series starring an ex-dancer in New Jersey.

Can’t wait! If like me, you’re just too impatient to wait for September, you can check out plenty more Halloween themed Cozy Mysteries at the following page on the site: Halloween Theme Mysteries