We’re just about at the end of December, so it’s time to discuss our favorite Cozies that we’ve read this month!
If you read a Cozy mystery this month and want to recommend it to the rest of us, be sure to post it here! For this month, I read the first entry of Catherine Bruns’s Cookies & Chance Mystery Series. For the reasons I want to recommend it, be sure to check out the blog entry!
So, what have you been reading that you can recommend in December? Please be sure to tell us why you liked these Cozies so much. I know we’re all always on the lookout for more particularly good Cozy Mystery authors! (If you have a lot of Cozies you think are great, please post the ones you like the most at the top of the list.)
As always, please do not tell us about the Cozy Mysteries you did not like.
What really good Cozy Mystery did you read during December 2021 that you want the rest of us to know about, and why did you enjoy it?
Ellie Alexander (aka Kate Dyer-Seeley): Sloan Krause Mystery Series
Winnie Archer (aka Melissa Bourbon & Misa Ramirez): Bread Shop Mystery Series
M. C. Beaton (aka Marion Chesney): Hamish Macbeth Mystery Series
Ginger Bolton: Deputy Donut Mystery Series
Allison Brook (aka Marilyn Levinson): Haunted Library Mystery Series
Catherine Bruns: Cookies & Chance Mystery Series
V.M. Burns: Mystery Bookstore Mystery Series
Julia Buckley: Hungarian Tea House Mystery Series AND Undercover Dish Mystery Series
Kate Carlisle: Fixer-Upper Mystery Series
Maddie Day (aka Edith Maxwell & Tace Baker): Cozy Capers Book Group Mystery Series
Maria DiRico (aka Ellen Byron): Catering Hall Mystery Series
Peggy Ehrhart: Knit & Nibble Mystery Series
Jessica Ellicott (aka Jessie Crockett & Jessica Estevao): Beryl and Edwina Mystery Series
Lauren Elliot: Beyond the Page Bookstore Mystery (first entry Murder By the Book)
Kathy Lynn Emerson (aka Kaitlyn Dunnett): The Valentine Veilleux Mysteries
Sharon Farrow (aka 1/2 of D.E. Ireland): Berry Basket Mystery Series
Sarah Fox: Literary Pub Mystery Series
Jacqueline Frost (aka Julie Chase, Julie Anne Lindsey, & Bree Baker): Christmas Tree Mystery Series
Victoria Gilbert: Blue Ridge Library Mystery Series
Kerry Greenwood: Corinna Chapman Mystery Series
Darci Hannah: Beacon Bakeshop Mystery Series (first entry Murder at the Beacon Bakeshop)
Miranda James (aka Dean James, Jimmie Ruth Evans, & Honor Hartman): Cat in the Stacks Mystery Series
Julie Anne Lindsey (aka Jacqueline Frost, Julie Chase, & Bree Baker): Cider Shop Mystery Series
Jess Lourey: Murder By the Month Mystery Series
Julie Mulhern: Country Club Murders Mystery Series (first entry The Deep End)
Deanna Raybourn: Veronica Speedwell Mystery Series
I will list the authors and series that have been recommended, but I urge you to read the comments below so you can see the reasons other Cozy Mystery readers thought these were their best reads of the month.
♦To access more Cozy Mystery Books Recommendations, click on this link♦
P.S. I usually don’t comment on your recommendations since they speak for themselves.
mrc037 says
I read an older cozy this month that I rate as the best book I have ever read. It is “Earthly Delights” By Kerry Greenwood.
Based in Melbourne, Australia, Corinna Chapman owns a bakery, and is drawn into two mysteries involving murders, and with the help of her lover, who she meets along the way, she solves both.
The book is filled with cynical humor that will keep you chuckling along the way, warm friendship, developing relationships, many totally zany characters, and the craziest ending you have ever read. It also delves into the seamier side of life, the pathos of drug abuse and ruined lives, and the phoenix-like rise out of misery by one boy with Corinna’s help.
The book was written in 1992 and is hard to find, but there is a Kindle edition available. I hope that you will read the book and will enjoy it as much as I do. There are six more books in the series.
Jenni Cornell says
I know they’re not new, but I love Jess Lourey’s Murder by the Month. Funny and well written, and she just put out a prequel novella.
Kimberley Cornwell says
Lyin’ Eyes, Julie Mulhern author. This series never disappoints!!
jeanne buffy says
I enjoyed the first Jessica Ellicott mystery Murder in an English Village with Beryl and Edwina.
Fortney, Sally says
I read The Valentine Veilleux Mysteries by Kathy Lynn Emerson. They were short stories about a photographer who mostly traveled in her RV except for the last story. I liked that she often found the solution in the photos that she had taken.
Also read It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Murder by Maria DiRico. I enjoyed the family drama for 2 characters and the over the top Christmas displays.
Have a Happy New Year!
Rob (Robin-don't use it though) Jarrad says
Still enjoying my Peggy Ehrhart Knit and Nibble series. Also Miranda James Cat in the Stacks has a new one out. If you like cats and Cozies, the new What the Cat Dragged In with Charlie Harris and Diesel is shaping up to be the best so far (but not to take anything away from the others-they are excellent and the reason I’m still reading this series. It’s that good and I’m not a cat person, for sure.
Hope you all have a Happy New Year, safe and Healthy too. God Bless
Rob J
Melanie says
I read more books this month than I ever have…I had a lot of Christmas themed books to fit into this month…and these are the ones I feel are worth recommending:
Literary Pub Mystery Series by Sarah Fox
I read the second book in the series, “An Ale of Two Cities”. It takes place during the Christmas season, and the fictional town of Shady Creek, Vermont’s annual Winter Carnival. The series’ protagonist, Sadie Coleman, finds herself investigating the murder of a celebrity chef during the festival’s ice sculpting competition.
The setting in this series is one of the most picturesque and charming of any of the series I’ve read…both the town and the pub that Sadie owns, which is a converted old gristmill. There are several amusing moments in this book. As with the first book, many of them involve Sadie’s neighbor and fellow business owner, Grayson Blake, who seems to always annoy Sadie, but also sends her heart racing. There is also a hockey tournament as part of the festivities, involving Grayson’s Spirit Hill Brewery, as well as Sadie’s pub, the Inkwell. This is becoming a favorite series of mine, and I’m looking forward to reading the third and fourth books that are available (the fourth book was recently released).
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Sloan Krause Mystery Series by Ellie Alexander
This month I read “Beyond a Reasonable Stout” and “Without a Brew” (books 3 & 4). This series keeps getting better and better! In addition to the murder mystery in each book, there is a side mystery storyline arc involving Sloan’s past, which became quite compelling throughout the course of these two books. I’m really interested in finding out where it’s all heading.
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Christmas Tree Farm Mystery Series by Jacqueline Frost
I read the recently released third book in the series, “Slashing Through the Snow”. If anybody is looking for a Christmas cozy that completely immerses them in holiday cheer…this is the series! Holly White is running the newly opened inn on her family’s Christmas tree farm in Mistletoe, Maine. After a body is found on the inn’s porch, long-time family friend, Dolores “Cookie” Cutter, becomes the primary suspect…so Holly is determined to ensure that Cookie doesn’t spend Christmas behind bars. This is a lot of fun, and I especially loved the ending!
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Berry Basket Mystery Series by Sharon Farrow
I read the “Hollyberry Homicide”…the fifth, and latest book in the series (released last year). Marlee Jacob runs a berry themed shop in Oriole Point, Michigan. After 95 year old, Everett Hostetter dies, Marlee is recruited to take his place in the annual local production of A Christmas Carol…in the role of Jacob Marley (of course…after all, when she was born on Christmas Eve 31 years prior, that’s who her parents named her after). But soon, Marlee suspects that Everett may not have died of natural causes.
“Hollyberry Homicide” is filled with Christmas spirit…and more than just the spirits that visit Ebenezer Scrooge! I really enjoy this series, and I hope it continues!
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Hungarian Tea House Mystery Series by Julia Buckley
I read the third (and most recently released) book in this series, “Death On The Night Of Lost Lizards”. Hana Keller works with her mother and grandmother at their family run tea house. The women in the family also share varying psychic abilities. When a local professor is found murdered in his office on campus, Hannah decides to help her detective boyfriend Erik piece together the clues to nab the killer.
The tea house setting is charming. As the series name implies, the books are rich in Hungarian culture…food, traditions, lore, etc. Hannah has a wonderful group of family and friends…characters that are well-developed with interesting, varying personalities. Julia Buckley knows how to write intriguing mysteries that make me not want to put her books down.
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Beacon Bakeshop Mystery Series by Darci Hannah
I read the second book in the series, “Murder at the Christmas Cookie Bake-Off”. It’s Lindsey Bakewell’s first Christmas in Beacon Harbor, and she wants it to be perfect. But when she (along with the entire town) gets roped into a cookie competition, and Lindsey finds the body of the judge, her “sugarplum visions” (Lindsey’s words) of a perfect Christmas seem out of reach.
This is a fun series, with just a hint of paranormal. Lindsey owns a lighthouse on Lake Michigan that she bought and renovated in the first book…which serves as her residence as well as her bakery. The lighthouse seems to be haunted by a sea captain, who was a previous inhabitant. Lindsey has an adorable, albeit rambunctious Newfoundland named Wellington (“Welly”) to keep her company, and a hunky neighbor/boyfriend, Rory, who is a former Navy Seal. Her parents and best friend are also back, visiting for the holidays…so there’s many familiar faces…and a few new ones as well.
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Cider Shop Mystery Series by Julie Anne Lindsey
I read the first book, “Apple Cider Slaying”. Winnie Montgomery runs the family apple orchard in Blossom Valley, West Virginia with her grandmother, Granny Smythe. Winnie has plans to open a cider shop on the property to provide year round revenue, but while she’s showing the property to an investment banker, she finds the body of her neighbor in the cider press…and her grandmother is the main suspect.
This book was so enjoyable! I really liked Winnie… she’s strong, independent, smart and funny. I love the dynamic between her and Granny. I’m looking forward to the next one. I have the next two books sitting on my TBR pile, and I hope there’s more to come!
MJ says
WOW! I give a resounding ‘second’ to ALL of Melanie’s recommendations! 🙂
Ellen Byron says
My friend Gigi Pandian – a wonderful author herself – recommended Deanna Raybourne’s Veronica Speedwell historic mystery series. By the end of the holiday break, I think I’ll have read them all!
Hanna says
I am completing M. C. Beaton Hamish Macbeth Series and have enjoyed all of them. Macbeth simple approach to policing rural areas open to human foibles, refusing to arrest individuals for simple mistakes and refusing promotions and moving to a bigger city is part of the charm. In recent books the author points out how small fishing villages lost their income in order to comply with the EU limits. And how smuggling along the coast full of caves has been proliferating.
I also have been reading Sharon Farrow’s Berry Basket mysteries. Oriole Point, Michigan sounds a delightful place to visit, at least in the summer during special events, and the characters are interesting. She has an easy style and one moves quickly through the story. Along the way, we also learn about all the different berries and their health benefits.
Janice G says
I have two books to recommend this month. Death on the Shelf is the newest book in the Haunted Library series by Allison Brook. Carrie is helping with her best friend’s wedding, but the affair is interrupted when the husband of the bride’s cousin dies during the reception. Carrie and her boyfriend Dylan investigate. At the same time, Carrie is asked by the library ghost Evelyn to locate her brother and get him to come back to town. I don’t usually like ghost stories but this series uses the concept in a very gentle way.
I was surprised to get a notice on Amazon that Julia Buckley published a fourth book in the Undercover Mystery series that last appeared in 2016. A Fatal Fettucine picks up just after the last book in the series. Lilah and her police detective boyfriend Jay are still going strong and have a loving relationship – they remind me of Hana and Erik in her Hungarian Teashop series. Lilah’s sister-in-law Serafina introduces them to an Italian professor at the local university who is writing a book about an infamous serial killer in Italy who has been inactive in recent years. The professor has developed leads to suggest that the killer has moved to America and may be connected to a study abroad program at the university. He asks for Jay’s assistance in putting together the case. There is also an interesting side story involving Lilah’s former chef boyfriend. The book is self published and dedicated to the fans who wanted to read more of the series. I hope that more books will be forthcoming.
D. Victor H. says
I read the V.M. Burns Mystery Bookstore Series and thoroughly enjoyed it! Loved the novel-within-a-novel approach, and the English historical novels being “written” inside the books were quite reminiscent of Rhys Bowen’s HER ROYAL SPYNESS books. (Love them!)
Deb says
I love cozies and now my kids are old enough to read them too. Do you know of any series that have a male protagonist? I thing my son would like these sort of mysteries, but so many regular mysteries have too much for me to be comfortable with it. Any suggestions welcome!
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Deb, a number of years ago, I compiled a list with reader help that would probably be a good starting point if you’re just looking for male sleuths: Male Amateur Sleuths.
Personally, some of my favorites would be Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot and Margery Allingham’s Albert Campion Mystery Series, but I am a big fan of the classics and these might be slightly rougher reads for a younger reader.
Depending on your son’s age, you might instead consider Mystery Books for Pre Teens or Authors with Mysteries for Adults Who Write Children’s Or Young Adult Mystery Series – Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 for those articles. The latter in particular might be good transition series for a younger reader.
Good luck in getting your children interested in reading Cozies!
Melanie says
Hi Deb – There is a 3-book series by author D.M. Quincy called the Atlas Catesby Mystery Series, that has a male sleuth. It’s a historical series…set in England during the Regency era. I’ve read the first two and really liked them (the third is on my TBR pile).
Susy S says
December was an off month for me, with only completing eight books. this included the new books from four of my favorite authors: ‘Absence of Mallets’ by Kate Carlisle, ‘Renewed for Murder’ by Victoria Gilbert, ‘Murder at the Lobstah Shack’ by Maddie Day and ‘A Murder Yule Regret’ by Winnie Archer.
I also read The Ghost Camper’s Tall Tale by Elizabeth Pantley and most of the Deputy Donut series by Ginger Bolton.
I agree with several other comments and really like the books by Maria DiRico (and Ellen Byron), Miranda James (and the adult books written as Dean James), Ellie Alexander, Jacqueline Frost, Julia Buckley, Darci Hannah, and Julie Anne Lindsey.
Hope everyone has plenty of books to read in 2022 and all the time needed to read them!
MJ says
December Recommendations — 2021
I’m late with this because it’s been a busy month. Surprisingly, I started three books of series I normally read and didn’t like them at all!! 🙁 I quit reading them after about 30 pages. I may go back to them and try again. Perhaps it was just my ‘frame of mind’ at the time.
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Deck the Donuts — Ginger Bolton
This is really a holiday read. But since it’s so ‘wintery’ it can also be enjoyed in Jan. or Feb.
Emily and her father-in-law own a donut shop in this small Wisconsin community. A tour bus crash leaves the tourists stranded. They are housed in various home throughout the town. The bus driver was injured, hospitalized, then went missing and was murdered.
This series is often recommended at this site – perhaps because the main characters are intelligent and enjoyable. Their witty dialogue keeps the ready entertained.
There is one huge disconnect, though. The stranded tourists are only a couple of hours away from their homes. Why they don’t rent a car (or have a relative/friend come and get them) and drive back home rather than stay stranded for a week is beyond me.
FINALLY there is some resolution to the romance angle in this series. To understand the character relationships, start with book one. You will enjoy them all.
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To the Tomb of Murder – Lauren Elliot
Addie Greyborne manages a bookstore – Beyond the Page. It’s set in a coastal MA community a few weeks before Thanksgiving.
There’s a historical aspect to this story — a themed Civil War baking competition.
Addie’s cousin’s (Kalea) fiancé is murdered. Of course, Kalea is the main suspect.
This story is well-paced with diverse angles. The characters, especially Addie, are developed with depth. The camaraderie is obvious and enjoyable. New characters added really round out the story. The subplots are also quite entertaining.
It’s a good series, but should be read from the beginning.
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Wishing you all a healthy and happy 2022!! 🙂
Susy S says
MJ, I have been enjoying the Ginger Bolton series. I received “Deck the Donuts” for Christmas and should finish “A Reasonable Donut” today.
I am almost afraid to read my first book by Lauren Elliot as it sounds like I could get hooked on her, and she has an extensive backlist. That would seriously impact my ability to keep my single New Years resolution, which was to reduce my TBR shelve by at least 10% (which requires reading at least 100 more books than I acquire). I didn’t even reduce it by 1% in 2021, so I know it will be challenge.
Regina W says
I read so many books in the month of December but I’ll just recommend In Peppermint Peril by Joy Avon. It truly was a good read and I really enjoyed the book and I love Callie’s feistiness and her Aunt Iphy has a way of getting information and being in the know.
Kathleen W says
Happened to fall into the first in the series of Kate Turner, DVM mysteries. Perhaps it is my obsession with animals and their care, but I found the story engaging from the beginning. Although I had a good idea of the identity of the murderer about halfway through the book, I couldn’t discern the motive, so found the resolution satisfying.