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Cat Theme Mysteries : Kittens, Cats, and Cozies

So, you say you love cats… And even more, you love your cozy mysteries with cats… Not just a cat purring at your side while you read your cozies… But a cat (or maybe two or three!) in your cozy mysteries. Then, here is a list of books that might just interest you, the cozy-cat lover…

Avery Aames writes the Cheese Shop Mystery Series, which has a Ragdoll cat (Rags).

Lydia  Adamson writes the Alice Nestleton Mystery Series. Alice is not only an actress, but also a cat sitter. When not acting, she is sleuthing. Adamson also writes a veterinarian/sleuth series (Dr. Nightingale.)

Susan Wittig Albert writes the China Bayles Mystery Series, where Khat (previously known as ‘Pudding’) is a Siamese who adopts China.

Garrison Allen writes the Big Mike Mystery Series.

Annie’s Antique Shop Mystery Series (Snickers is the sleuth’s cat.)

Marian Babson  seems to have a way of entwining cats into almost all of her books! She is definitely a cat lover!

Lorna Barrett (aka L. L. Bartlett) writes the Booktown Mystery Series which has Miss Marple, as in a cat, not a Christie heroine.

With her series named Reigning Cats and Dogs, how could you wonder if Cynthia Baxter has cats in her cozies? Her main character, Jessica Popper, is a veterinarian who truly loves cats (and dogs!)

Bethany Blake: Lucky Paws Petsitting Mystery Series

Ali Brandon (aka Diane A.S. Stuckart)  writes the Black Cat Bookshop Mystery Series which takes place in Brooklyn. Darla Pettistone and Hamlet make a dynamic sleuthing duo.

An author who I absolutely knew I had to include is Lillian Jackson Braun. She writes the Cat Who*** Mysteries, or, as others call them, the Jim Qwilleran Mysteries.  There are over thirty books (in the series) which have been written since the 1960s. Jim Qwilleran is a journalist, and Koko and Yum Yum are his beloved cats, who help him to solve mysteries.

When I first started thinking about doing this blog entry about cozies with the cat theme, there were a few authors who simply leapt to mind. Amongst them was Rita Mae Brown, with her Mrs. Murphy Mysteries. Mrs. Murphy and Pewter are two cats in this cozy “tail” and Tucker is a corgi. The three of them “help” the humans solve crimes.

Lucy Burdette (aka Roberta Isleib): Key West Food Critic Mystery Series stars Hayley Snow and Evinrude, a striped gray cat.

Janet Cantrell (aka Kaye George): Fat Cat Mystery Series – Charity (Chase) Oliver and, Quincy, her cat sleuth in Minneapolis.

Laurie Cass write the Bookmobile Cat Mystery Series. Minnie Hamilton and her rescue cat Eddie are on the bookmobile (and the case!)

Erika Chase writes the Ashton Corners Book Club Mystery Series, in which the main sleuth (Lizzie Turner) has two Siamese cats, Edam and Brie.

Edie Claire writes the Leigh Koslow Mystery Series. While Leigh is not a veterinarian, her father is. Every once in a while Leigh works as a tech at her dad’s office. Also, the second book features a zoo vet and setting.

Blaize Clement & John Clement: Dixie Hemingway Mystery Series 

Susan Conant, widely known for her dog lover series, has a first in her Cat Lover’s Mystery Series! That’s a great addition for the cat fanciers out there.

Cate Conte (aka Liz Mugavero): Cat Café Mystery Series, which stars Maddie James who returns home and is “adopted” by JJ, an orange Tabby.

Krista Davis writes the Domestic Diva Mystery Series, which features Mochie – and owner Sophie Winston.

Claire Donally writes the Sunny & Shadow Mystery Series.

What list of Cat Cozies would be complete without  Carole Nelson Douglas? Douglas writes the Midnight Louie Mysteries, some of which include “his human” Temple Barr. But, Midnight Louie also has some novels without Temple! Carole Nelson Douglas also has a book: White House Pet Detectives: Tales of Crime and Mystery at the White House from a Pet’s Eye View.

K.J. Emrick: Darcy Sweet Mystery Series and its spinoff, the Smudge the Cat Mysteries, both featuring Smudge, a “slightly psychic” cat.

Monica Ferris: Needlecraft Mystery Series – Sophie (large, lazy cat)

Kay Finch: Bad Luck Cat Mystery Series – Hitchcock the cat

Amanda Flower (aka Isabella Alan): Magical Bookshop Mystery Series – Emerson is a tuxedo cat.

Patricia Fry: Klepto Cat Mystery Series

Yasmine Galeron (aka India Ink) includes cats in some of her Chintz ‘n China Mysteries. 

Eva Gates writes about a librarian who keeps a cat at her library in the Lighthouse Library Mystery Series.

Karen Anne Golden: The Cats that….. Mystery Series

Debra H. Goldstein writes the Sarah Blair Mystery Series which features a sleuth who isn’t used to housework and her Siamese cat, RahRah. The books contain quick and easy recipes.

Kerry Greenwood: Phryne Fisher Mystery Series – Ember (black cat)

Kerry Greenwood: Corinna Chapman Mystery Series – Horatio (Tabby), Heckle & Jeckle (mousers in the bakery)

Carolyn Haines: Carolyn wrote the Fear Familiar Mystery Series (written as Caroline Burnes) which features a cat who escapes from a research facility, who then finds himself sleuthing around! Also, years later, Familiar (the cat) has a son named Trouble who is featured in the the Familiar Legacy Mystery Series – which is written by various authors, including Carolyn Haines, Rebecca Barrett, Claire Matturro, and Susan Tanner.

Rebecca M. Hale is a patent lawyer who writes the Cats and Curios Mystery Series. This series features a main character/sleuth who is the owner of an antique shop and also an accountant. She has two pets… cats!

Carolyn Hart‘s Death on Demand has a cat both at home (Dorothy L), as well as in the bookstore (Agatha). AND Hart’s Nela Farley Mystery Series is a paranormal series with a cat.

While attending law school, Gabriella Herkert became aware of a case which involved a woman whose will benefited her cat. (Hmmmm…) The cat became the recipient of a fortune and Herkert (years later) used this case as the basis of her first Animal Instinct Mystery Series novel…

Suzette A. Hill writes the Reverend Oughterard Mystery Series. Bouncer (his dog) and Maurice (his cat) enjoy the British village life, even with all of the mysteries to solve…

Mollie Hunt: Crazy Cat Lady Mystery Series – Lynley Cannon is a retiree who lives in Portland with her rescue cats.

Delia James writes the Witch’s Cat Mystery Series, which stars a witch and her familiar, Alistair.

Miranda James (aka Dean James, Honor Hartman, & Jimmie Ruth Evans) writes the Cat in the Stacks Mystery Series which features a librarian and his very well-behaved cat, Diesel…

Linda O. Johnston writes the Pet Rescue Mystery Series which features an animal advocate who runs a pet rescue agency…

Diane Kelly writes the House-Flipper Mystery Series which stars Whitney Whitaker, a house flipper. Oh, and also, it stars Sawdust, her cat.

Sofie Kelly (aka Sofie Ryan & Darlene Ryan for Young Adults) writes the Magical Cats Mystery Series which features two magical cats and their librarian human…

Laura Levine pens the Jaine Austen Mystery Series which features Jaine and Prozac, her cat…

Richard & Frances Lockridge: Mr. & Mrs. North Mystery Series

T.C. LoTempio: Nick & Nora Mystery Series (book #1 Meow If It’s Murder)

Dixie Lyle: Whiskey, Tango, & Foxtrot Mystery Series

A site reader just reminded me about Valerie S. Malmont‘s Tori Miracle Mystery Series.

Blanche Day Manos pens the Darcy & Flora Mystery Series. (Barbara Burgess co-authored the first two in the series.)

Evan Marshall writes the Jane Stuart & Winky Mystery Series.

Gilbert Morris writes the  Jacques & Cleo, Cat Detective Mystery Series which features Jacques and Cleo, and their human care-taker (they don’t consider her their “owner”!) … and is set in Alabama.

Liz Mugavero: Pawsitively Organic Gourmet Pet Food Mystery Series (includes pet treat recipe)

Shirley Rousseau Murphy‘s Joe Grey cat mystery series…. Just another example of a mystery series with a cat theme!

Shirley Rousseau Murphy and Pat J.J. Murphy write the Lee Fontana Mystery Series which features a parolee and a prison ghost cat in California.

Tim Myers (aka Chris Cavender, Casey Mayes, Elizabeth Bright, & Melissa Glazer) Slow Cooker Mystery Series – Sarah Jacobs has a column in her local paper, instructs on the techniques of slow cooking, and has a cat names Cleo.

Allison Cesario Paton: Mrs. Bundle Mystery Series – This senior citizen/sleuth loves her cat, Cracker.

Carol J. Perry: Witch City Mystery Series – Lee Barrett, a reporter in Salem, Massachusetts inherits O’Ryan, a cat with magical powers.

Linda Reilly writes the Cat Lady Mystery Series.

Sofie Ryan (aka Sofie Kelly & Darlene Ryan for Young Adults) writes the Second Chance Cat Mystery Series, which features the owner of a second-hand shop and her cat, Elvis.

Clea Simon writes the Theda Krakow Mystery Series which features Musetta, Theda’s (and Clea’s real life!) cat… Simon also pens the Dulcie Schwartz Mystery Series. Clea also writes the Witch Cats of Cambridge – which features Becca, a single unemployed woman who studies to become a witch – but who also gets a lot of help from Harriet, Laurel, & Clara – her three cats .

Rosemary Stevens (aka Rosemary Martin): Beau Brummell Mystery Series features the very first Siamese cat in England, Chakkri.

Fran Stewart writes the Biscuit McKee and Marmalade Mystery Series.

Diane A. S. Stuckart (aka Ali Brandon): Tarot Cats Mystery Series – Ruby Sparks is a tarot card reader who gets help from Aphelia & Brandon >>> tarot-reading black cats in Florida.

Leann Sweeney writes the Cats in Trouble Mystery Series.

And, last but not least… Karen Ann Wilson writes the Samantha Holt Mystery series, which features Samantha, a veterinary technician.

Martin H. Greenberg is the editor of several mystery anthologies featuring cats:
Cat Crimes
Cat Crimes 2
Cat Crimes 3
Cat Crimes through Times
Cat Crimes takes a Vacation
Cat Crimes for the Holidays
Black Cats and Broken Mirrors
Danger in D. C. : Cat Crimes in the Nation’s Capital
Murder Most Feline: Cunning Tales of Cats and Crimes
A Treasury of Cat Mysteries
Feline and Famous: Cat Crimes Goes Hollywood
Crafty Cat Crimes: 100 Tiny Cat Tale Mysteries

Miscellaneous Cats Caught in Cozies and Other Mysteries:
Kittens, Cats and Crimes  Anthology, edited by Ed Gorman
Feline Felonies: 43 Cat Crime Stories from the World’s Best Mystery Writers, edited by Abigail Browning
Mystery Cat Tales of Felonies and Felines  Patricia Highsmith et al Ruth Rendell
Mystery Cats..Lillian Jackson Braun, and others
More Mystery Cats… Lillian Jackson Braun, and others
Mystery Cats 3: More Feline Felonies… Lillian Jackson Braun, and other

Not a Mystery, but Sure Does Look Interesting for Cat Lovers:
Do Cats Always Land on Their Feet?: 101 of the Most Perplexing Questions Answered about Feline Unfathomables, Medical Mysteries and Befuddling Behaviors by Marty Becker & Gina Spadafori.

Here’s a list of Favorite Cats in Cozy Mysteries, recommended by Cozy Mystery readers!

♦To access more Cozy Mysteries by Theme click on this link.♦

Comments

    • I’m reading The Big Kitty by Claire Donally. Set in Maine with a likeable heroine, it’s a good read with a very personable cat named Shadow, who, like Midnight Louie has his own sections in the book, not addressing the reader, but giving us insight into what he’s thinking. Really enjoying it. Abby

      Reply

    • I know this is a few years later, but the Joe Grey series is cute. Ok, cute might not be the right word, but I enjoy them.

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            • It’s really really hard to find the Joe Grey series
              The libraries don’t have the ebooks or the hard cover books now
              It’s even harder to find the books on amazon
              I am trying to buy the collection and some are scarce as hen’s teeth
              These are the best books I have ever read

              Reply

  3. Garrison Allen has a cozy mystery series that features Mycroft,"Big Mike", a 25 pound Abyssinian cat who loves to eat lima beans and who helps to solve mysteries with his person, Penelope Warren.

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  4. Thanks, Reba, for telling us about Garrison Allen’s cozy mystery series. I had to look up an "Abyssinian" cat… For those of you (like me) who don’t know the breed… they look like the cats depicted in the Egyptian art from long ago…

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  7. Does anyone know why Lilian Jackson Braun’s new book “The Cat Who Smelled Smoke” has not been published? It was due out in April 2008. Barnes and Noble has no record of it.Thank you.

    Reply

    • This is a few years late, but: for any who are not yet aware:
      It was due to failing health that Mrs. Braun-Bettinger could not finish her final The Cat Who… book. Her husband said that it was her one regret, to let her fans down so. {How sweet, & how sad, is that?!}
      Regretfully, she passed away in 2011. She will be deeply missed!!!!

      Reply

  10. Leann Sweeney’s new Cats in Trouble series comes out in 1909. The first book is The Cat, the Quilt and the Corpse.

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  16. Doug Allyn has a series about a veterinarian with a one eyed cat. The first book is called All Creatures Dark and Dangerous and the second book is called The Burning of Rachel Hayes.

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  18. Amelia Peabody mysteries by Elizabeth Peters…(The character Amelia, an Egyptologist, owns several large overbearing cats that often figure in the books.

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  21. I just discovered your site. All I have to say is THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU. Finally one spot for me to check in on my favorite authors and to find new ones. You have my undying gratitude. I plan on being back over and over again.

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  22. This is my first visit to this website…WoW…I love it. My favorites are the Joe Grey series, the Sneaky Pie Brown series and Lillian Jackson Braun…believe I have read all of those and many others on the list. I will be visiting this site again and again…Thanks so much!

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  29. I love that I found this website! My son is blind but loves Cozy Mysteries with Cats. However, he cannot see to read, we usually get CDs. Does anyone know of an author who fits this criteria?

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  30. I see the last post was awhile ago but I just discovered this web page, & thank you for it!
    A series I enjoy is written by Blaize Clement. (adventures of a pet sitter in the Florida Keys)

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  31. Hi. I don’t know if you know about Blaize Clement. Her main character Dixie Hemingway is a pet sitter. In the course of her pet sitting duties she usually stumbles upon a crime, which she then helps to solve. She has a cat herself, but the cat does not help her solve the crimes.

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    • Oh yes. Wondered why he was missing. His name is Moishe. Is blind in one eye so she called him after an Israeli hero – Moshe Dayan. Except that he was long gone by the time Hannah got the cat but, still..

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  33. Please add the new “A Magical Cats Mystery” series bySofie Kelly .
    Many greetings from Vienna from a new fan of your site!!

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    • I just added Sofie Kelly to the Kittens, Cats, and Cozies cat theme mysteries list, Martina.

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  34. Does anyone know of a book about a fellow who is magically turned into a cat? I believe it’s contemporary in time. The book would have been published more than 9 years ago.

    Anyone with a hint, please let me know! Thanks!

    And I will try out the Sofie Kelly books!

    Reply

    • This may not be the book you are referring to but I have a paranormal book by Mindy Klasky “Magic and the Modern Girl” where the main character Jane Madison, a reference libarian in Washington DC performs her first spell on a black cat statue and turns him into a man whose name is Neko.

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  35. Just found a new author, Ali Brandon, whose book series, Black Cat Bookshop Mystery, comes out in December this year. Her Black cat is named Hamlet. She might be a good author for this site.

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  36. Rita Mae Brown & Sneaky Pie Brown a Mrs. Murphy mystery series is even better than The Cat Who books which I love and miss Lillian Jackson Braun, she was amazing.

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  37. Just to keep your list of cat cozies going I’m adding a couple new authors I didn’t see on the list.
    Caroline Burnes 20 books published with a cat named Familiar

    Yasmine Galenorn she has occasional cat mysteries also.

    Enjoy this site. Thanks

    Reply

    • Thank you, Linda, for telling us about Caroline Burnes! (And, I’ll go add Yasmine Galenorn to the list of Cat theme mystery authors.)

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  38. I cannot believe I just looked at this post. Yes, I do love cats! But I figured since I knew all the Authors who write about cats, I was good and wouldn’t find anything new. But I see you also include Authors who add cats as main characters like Lorna Barrett and Miss Marple in the Book Town Mysteries.
    I have not started my Cheese Shop Mysteries yet, I was not aware she had a cat included but I was happy to see it here; so I guess I did learn something new.
    I would like to add my most favorite Author and my most favorite series: Krista Davis has a cat in her Domestic Diva Series, Mochie, who is based on one of her own actual cats. Mochie has been quite important in some of her plots. She also has a dog named Daisey.
    And of course, Carolyn Hart has the beloved Book Store Cat Agatha and the ever present House Cat Dorothy L in her Annie Darling, Death on Demand Series.
    But I could go on and on. Amazing how many cozy mysteries have cats and dogs. Especially cats, it just seems cats, female sleuths and mysteries make a little formula of their own. But this formula I don’t mind and as Cat Mom I like to see others who appreciate them. And it is funny when you find so many Cozy Mysteries Authors who themselves own cats.

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    • Margaret, I’m glad you finally found the Cat Mystery Theme!

      When I first put up the page (in 2007) I wasn’t aware there were (are) so many authors who write mystery series which feature cats.

      I’ll go add Krista Davis (and Mochie!) to the list, as well as Agatha and Dorothy L From Carolyn Hart’s Death on Demand Mystery Series.

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  39. I love the Midnight Louie books by Carole Nelson Douglas – so glad she’s on the list. I’m a big Damon Runyon fan, so Midnight Louie’s style really appeals to me.

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  40. How about Cat Mysteries on Kindle? I see a new set called the Fancy Cat Mysteries that are Kindle only – set on an Island off the coast of Maine. How cozy can you get?

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  41. You all know that Lillian Jackson Braun died several years ago when she was in her 90s. I read somewhere that she left some plot outlines which her publisher had someone else write the books. Unfortunately, they have probably run out of her notes by now.

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    • That’s interesting, Cherri. In my opinion, when an author passes away who has as many fans as Lilian Jackson Braun has, I don’t think another author is ever quite able to continue the series. But, again, this is just my opinion.

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      • Danna, I agree with you. I think if a Publishing House has a ghost writer take over for a much loved author who passes away, it is an insult to the readers. I have seen when actual manuscripts have been found and released, but outlines are different. I think a real fan could tell the difference in the tone of the writing.
        I always wondered about NANCY DREW, since there were so many different ghost writters, if fans noticed a difference in the writting. Although I was fan as a girl, I only read the books written during my teenage years, so I couldn’t compare with those written in other decades. But some people follow the series for decades. Could an editor do that good of a job and keep the tone the same?
        In my opinion just let Lillian Jackson Braun rest in peace.

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        • Margaret, this reminds me about the new Robert B. Parker mysteries that are either out already or due to be out soon:

          Michael Brandman has written Robert B. Parker’s Killing the Blues (Jesse Stone mystery)
          and
          Ace Atkins will be releasing Robert B. Parker’s Lullaby (Spenser mystery)

          I wonder how Parker’s fans feel about authors taking over the series he created…

          Reply

          • I’m a big fan of Robert B. Parker’s books and I have read both of the books by Michael Brandman and Ace Atkins and thought they were excellent. I enjoyed both of them.

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            • Thanks for the tip, Anne, about both the Michael Brandman and the Ace Atkins continuations of Robert B. Parker’s series.

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            • It completely depends on the level of commitment and the quality of the writing from whomever takes over. Tony Hillerman died recently and his daughter has continued the Leaphorn/Chee series with “Spider Woman’s Daughter”. And did what I thought was an excellent job.

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        • I did not like the later nancy drew books. To me they took away something when they made her modern and my girls liked the originals just as well.

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      • I once read a comment online somewhere that Braun’s husband finished her last book (not sure which one that was) and that it was not very good and did not measure up to Lillian’s standards. I love cats and I loved her books—especially the characters in the town. But I see here that there are a cajillion more cat cozy mysteries to read!

        Reply

    • While you are right about her having died, just letting you know it wasn’t that long ago. It was June 4, 2011. 😉

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  42. J D Crayne has a series of cosies set in a small town in California. Some of them – the Lucky Pierre ones include the cat belonging to a young couple who run a bed and breakfast place.

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    • Thank you, Pauline, for telling us about J. D. Crayne’s Lucky Pierre Mystery Series.

      Reply

    • Thank you, B, for reminding me to add Laura Levine’s Jaine Austen Mystery Series!

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  44. My fav series is by Rita Mae Brown. She has two cats and a corgi who are smart and are the real sleuths. Its funny to see what they think of humans. Also, the books are so descriptive that the town seems like a real place where I’d love to live. She also recently started a mystery series for dogs too. Check it out!

    Reply

    • Giovanna, I’m sorry I don’t know of any cat mysteries for children. Maybe someone else will know of some…

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  46. Hi,

    The themes page for cats … Carole Nelson Douglas link is missing the E at the end of Carole.

    On another note… I really like your web site. I was looking to create a list I could take to the library book sale and you had the authors I needed. May I suggest you create a way to print out an author’s list so it’s easy for users to take them along.

    Thanks.

    Reply

    • Thank you, Don, for bringing this to my attention. I always appreciate it when Cozy Mystery readers let me know about additions and/or corrections I need to make to the site.

      Thanks, again!

      Reply

  48. How about Kinky Friedman’s books? He’s not cozy but his beautiful eulogy to his cat Cuddles makes me cry every time I read it.

    “People may surprise you with unexpected kindness. Dogs have a depth of loyalty that often we seem unworthy of. But the love of a cat is a blessing, a privilege in this world.
    They say when you die and go to heaven all the dogs and cats you’ve ever had in your life come running to meet you.” Read the full version at http://www.utopiarescue.com/epilogue.htm

    Reply

    • Thanks, Janice, I went on that site to see Kinky Friedman’s eulogy and was very impressed with both khis tribute to Cuddles and the organization.

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  49. “The 9 Lives of Catseye Gomez” by Simon Hawke.
    Technically, it’s a scifi / fantasy novel, a spinoff from the author’s ‘Wizard of 4th Street’ series, set in a post apocalyptic future, but the protagonist / sleuth is a cat!
    An intelligent and wise-cracking, genetically engineered, cat; who can not only talk, and read – he adores Raymond Chandler, Mickey Spillane, et al – but he solves murders as well.
    A fabulous book. Highly recommended for any cat-mystery fan.

    Reply

  50. I am a new author who has written a near cozy mystery. It is currently on sale at Amazon and offered for free on August 2nd and 3rd.

    Title: Caise Closed

    Theme: Justin Caise’s cat Sam wakes him early in the moring to deal with an emergency involving Sam’s food bowl.
    Justin quickly resolves the problem only to discover that his wife is dead on the lawn.

    All the evidence and motives point to Justin as the killer. His attorney is at a loss and looks to Justin to take the lead on his own investigation.

    Justin with the help of Sam unravels the real reason for his wife’s murder. A reason that should give pause to anyone who flies on airplanes.

    This is the first in a series.

    Best regards

    Reply

  51. Many years ago I read a mystery that had a cat as a central figure, however do not remember the name of the book or the author. I do know the main character was a female and I believe she studied/was involved with Egyptology. I also think her cats name was Tutankhamun. Any insight would be appreciated! Thanks!

    Reply

    • Nicole, when you mentioned Egyptology, the author who came to my mind was Elizabeth Peters. Her Amelia Peabody is an Egyptologist, but I’m not sure if one of the cats names was Tutankhamun.

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  52. I’m looking for a cat mystery starring an archivist and a cat. A friend read it but doesn’t remember the author or title.

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  53. The Cat in the Stacks series by Miranda James features a Maine Coon cat that goes everywhere with his owner who is an archivist at the local university.

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  54. I’m the author of the Klepto Cat Mystery series, “Catnapped,” “Cat-Eye Witness” and “Sleight of Paw.”

    Coming soon, “Undercover Cat” and “The Colony Cat Caper.”

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  55. Hi everyone,

    My Beau Brummell mysteries feature the very first Siamese cat in England, Chakkri. 😉 It’s up to the reader to decide if Chakkri is simply being a cat or is giving clues to the Beau regarding the murderer.

    The books are cozy and set in Regency England. The first, DEATH ON A SILVER TRAY, won the Agatha Award for Best First Mystery and the RT Award for Best First Mystery.

    The four books in the series are all on Kindle now. I’ve listed them below.

    Best wishes,
    Rosemary Stevens

    DEATH ON A SILVER TRAY
    THE TAINTED SNUFF BOX
    THE BLOODIED CRAVAT
    MURDER IN THE PLEASURE GARDENS

    Reply

  56. As you have kindly included mysteries which include cats as well as those with cat-themes and feline protagonists, I’ll add Monica Ferris and Kerry Greenwood to the list.

    Ms Ferris’ Betsy Devonshire (The Crewel World Mysteries) has a large and lazy cat called Sophie, who spends most of her days in the craft shop with Betsy.
    Both of Kerry Greenwood’s main series have cats in them. Phryne Fisher has a black cat called Ember, and Corinna Chapman has 3! Horatio, her pet tabby, and Heckle & Jeckle (AKA the Mouse Police) who live in Corinna’s bakery and act as ‘Rodent Control Officers’. Several of her neighbours in the building also have cats. (I think the total of regularly-appearing cats in this series comes to eight. Plus the guest appearance by the tiger in Bk 6. Lol!)

    Reply

    • Susan*, you’re totally right! What would the Crewel World needlecraft shop be without Sophie lounging around, looking to get treats? Also, Kerry Greenwood’s Ember, Horation, and Heckle & Jeckle.

      And, while I’m thinking about it, I have to go add Diane Vallere: Mad for Mod’s Madison Night’s Rocky (Shih Tzu) to the Dogs in Cozies list.

      Thank you!

      Reply

  57. Most welcome, Danna. 🙂
    I’m actually just reading Susan Wittig Albert’s ‘China Bayles’ books, and I’ve discovered another cat character that we’ve missed.
    Khat (Previously known as ‘Pudding’…!), the Siamese that adopts China in the first book, ‘Thyme of Death’ and allows her to provide for him thereafter. He’s perhaps not quite so prominent as some of the other cat characters around, but he does get an entire short story based around him in ‘An Unthymely Death’. (‘The Khat Who Became a Hero”.)
    Khat definitely has a personality, though, and I think he belongs in the roster!

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  59. I recently read a short mystery story starring a cat named Honey. It’s called ‘The Cat’s Meow’, by Edwina Millar (never heard of her before; nothing else showing on Amazon by her). Anyone else familiar with this author?

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  60. I am so delighted to find this website. A coworker had mentioned the Joel Grey books to me a few years back after finding out I loved both cats and books, but I did not start reading the first one until about 2 years ago. I enjoyed it, but had sort of gotten out of the habit of reading due to other pursuits. However, I discovered more cozy mysteries with cats in them about a year ago when I needed a pleasant escape from real life and picked up a Sofie Kelly “Magical Cats” book. I’ve been hooked ever since, and have been trying to find other cat involved mysteries. I have found several, but have not seen several on this list. I don’t know why it had not occurred to me before now to see if a website like this was out there. Thank you so much for sharing this wonderful list of cat books! 🙂 I love reading the comments from others also.

    Reply

    • Meridian, I know exactly what you mean about reading the Cozy Mystery readers’ comments. I love reading them, too!

      I’m glad you found your way back to reading. And, you have gone a direction that makes sense to a lot of us here! There just aren’t anything like Cozies! I hope you find several Cat Cozy Mystery series you enjoy reading.

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  61. Love all the information you provide on this site. A couple of other book series that include cats — Lucy Burdette’s Key West series, with food critic Hayley Snow — cat Evinrude

    These are old, but still available from libraries and used book stores:

    Richard and Frances Lockridge’s Mr. and Mrs. North cozies always have a couple of cats, mostly Siamese.

    The Gordons — D.C. (Damn Cat) Randall. These are the books the Disney movie “That Darn Cat” is based on, although in the books DC is a Persian, not a Siamese.

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  62. Danna, another series I forgot to mention — The Cattarina Mysteries by Monica Shaughnessy. They’re told from the point of view of Edgar Allan Poe’s cat. There are 3 so far — The Tell-Tail Heart, The Black Cats, and The Raven of Liberty.

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  63. You guys are so great at answering our questions.

    I love The Cozy Mystery Site.

    I was looking for a book that had a one eyed cat called Winky. I just listened to a synopsis and thought it would be a good read and forgot to bookmark it.

    Thanks
    Shirley

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  64. Love, love, love Laurie Cass’s Bookmobile series, with Eddie the cat! Need more soon!!! And love this site. Have found several other wonderful series thanks to your list. Thank you so much.

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  65. Just discovered a new cozy author with kitties: Karen Anne Golden, who has “The Cats That…” cozy mystery series that features 3 Meezer girls and an Abyssinian girl. I’m currently reading the first in her series, “The Cats That Surfed the Web” and it’s cute & entertaining. As a proud Meezer mom, her depictions of Scout, Lilac & Iris, (the Meezer girls) make me laugh because they are so spot-on.

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  67. Some years ago I found a book which was both a mystery and included Sudoku puzzles. This was shortly after I found Joanne Fluke and smiled to myself of two heroines with red hair and a cat. I liked it but my spouse downloaded onto his kindle and that’s where I read it.

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  68. Please add the “Cat Lady Mystery series” by Linda Reilly. I think she has two titles out already.

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  69. A couple more mystery series featuring cats are Cate Conte’s “Cat Café” series – currently at two books, with a third coming out 25 June of 2019 – and Kathi Daley’s “Whales and Tails” series.
    The “Cat Café” series features Maddie James, a woman who grew up on an island off the Massachusetts coast. She returns home for her grandmother’s funeral, is adopted by “red” tabby JJ, and decides to turn her retired police chief grandfather’s home (with his permission, of course) into a cat café. The first book is titled “Cat About Town.”
    The other series, called “Whales & Tails,” is set on an imaginary island off the Washington coast. Caitlin “Cait” Hart helps her aunt run the Harthaven animal shelter and, a few books into the series, Cait and her best friend start a cat café. Cait and, eventually, a group of her family and friends, keep “stumbling” across mysteries. Each time this occurs they are assisted in solving the mystery by a cat (different each time) who just “shows up” and points them toward clues. There are seventeen books in this series so far. The title of the first book is “Romeow and Juliet.”

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  70. There are a couple of new-ish series which are set on islands and have human protagonists who start cat cafes.
    Cate Conte’s “Cat Cafe” series, set on an island off the coast of Massachusetts, features Maddie James. She returns home for her grandmother’s funeral, is “adopted” by red (orange) tabby JJ, and decides to stay and open a cat cafe in her retired police chief grandfather’s home. With his permission, of course! This series has two titles thus far, “Cat About Town” and “Purrder She Wrote,” and another title is due out this year.
    The “Whales and Tails” series by Kathi Daley features Caitlin “Cait” Hart and is set on (imaginary) Madrona Island off the coast of Washington state. Cait assists her aunt in running the Harthaven Cat Sanctuary? and, eventually, opens a cat cafe with her best friend. In the best tradition of cozy mystery heroines Cait keeps stumbling into mysteries which her family and friends – and a succession of mysterious cats who point them toward clues – assist her in solving. This series is in the high teens (17, I think). The first book is titled “Romeow and Juliet.”

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  71. Please forgive me if I missed it but I don’t see a reference to Leighann Dobbs’ “Mystic Notch” series, which I’ve been reading and very much enjoying. Willa, the sleuth, sees ghosts after an accident and now runs a bookstore. She is accompanied by her cat, Pandora, who – with the other cats of the town – are actually keeping the town safe for humans, completely unbeknownst to the actual humans, of course! Very fun, light read and great for fans of Sofie Kelly’s Magical Cats!

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  72. Looking for suggestions for any good cozy cat series with men. Is LJ Braun’s “The Cat Who …” series the only cat series with men as the cat’s “owner”?

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      • Diesel is a huge Maine Coon cat who dominates the mysteries by Miranda James in the Cat in the Stacks series. He is ‘owned’ by a male librarian and together they solve the mysteries. In the latest title in the series, Diesel gets a sibling, a kitten whom he adores. These are GREAT cozies. BTW, Diesel appears in the other series by James called “the Southern Ladies series”. I hope you enjoy them.

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        • This noble section really has a history! Sad to say, favorite authors have spread their wings–see Kinky Friedman’s wonderful guess at animal friends (the truest friends: If angels are messengers and God is Love, the critter-friendly have ‘entertained angels unawares’… Only maybe some of us are not so unaware!) as first greeters in the Great Beyond of Bliss– since some of the earlier posts were written. Ace Atkins and John Clement have continued their ‘takeovers’ perfectly. Brandman was close, but has gone on to his own fine series; HIS takeover, Loren Coleman, from the Jesse Stones grimly raked away all the cozy features, leaving the works of Mickey Spillane and Chester Himes look Christmas-twinkly by comparison (at least, in the first one; I haven’t gone back!). Other takeovers: Let the buyer beware! If anyone was a little disappointed with THE PAINTED QUEEN, Joan Hess’s finish of Elizabeth Peter’s last effort, know that the great Joan was then an ill-unto-fatal laborer for the sake of her late great, ace-of-aces (in so many genres at once) friend, Peters, in the Amelia Peabody mysteries. See also Joan’s comic homage MUMMY DEAREST. They went to meet up with another mutual-admiration pal, splendid Charlotte MacLeod.

          Love all Dean/Miranda James’s books! Their covers, with those of John Clement’s and David Rosenfeld’s books, are irresistible–and they’re really animal-strong books, not just decorated with fur buddies as a come-on. Diesel’s adopted kitten is names Ramses, on account of the trouble he can get into, like ‘Ramses’ Emerson, son of E. Peters’s great egyptologists. The Southern Ladies’s ward, Benji, has a Labradoodle, Peanut, and the Abyssinian (whom we are free to imagine is a relative of Big Mike from Empty Creek (the late Garrison Allen’s creation), and is named Endora, though she’s a not-at-all-witchy lady, too.

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  73. Julie Chase’s “Kitty Couture” series is a fun read. Lacy Crocker owns a pet store in New Orleans featuring handmade pet clothes and fresh-baked pet treats. It’s also a clean series with little to no language or explicit sex, just a nice developing romance.

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  74. Glad you mentioned the Joe Grey Mysteries, but reducing them to “just another example of a mystery series with a cat theme” does them a real disservice: the *cats* solve the crimes and are the main characters, plus they can think and talk like humans. Hardly just another cat-themed cozy! And the background novel for the series is pure Fantasy (and great Fantasy, at that): The Catswold Portal.

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  75. I recently “stumbled across” a fairly new cozy mystery series which features both a cat AND a dog…Kathy Manos PENN’s “Dickens & Christie” series.
    I haven’t had a chance to actually read any of the four books which have been released thus far, but the previews sound fascinating!
    Retired, and widowed, former Atlanta banker Aleta “Leta” Parker has moved to a restored 1840s former schoolhouse in the English Cotswolds with her dwarf Great Pyrenees dog, Dickens, and her black cat, Christie.
    Leta has a secret. Like Dr. Dolittle, she can “talk to the animals;” however, UNLIKE the good doctor she doesn’t have to “learn their languages” in order to do so.
    The first book of the series, “Bells, Tails & Murder,” came out in February 2020, and the fifth will be released in September of 2021.

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  76. Just an FYI for Cozy lovers out there in case you’re not aware of it. Amazon Unlimited has “box sets” for various authors. I just finished reading the Chelsea Thomas series Apple Orchard Cozy Mysteries. There are 13 books currently available in the series, and they were so good that I read all the books in only 6 days. Yes, when I get immersed in a book I will read for 8 or more hours to finish it. Call me crazy, but I’m sure there are many other readers out there that do the same thing when they just have to find out who the killer is.

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  77. Just encountered a series which fits into both this “cat”egory and the “Pet Professions” one…Eileen WATKINS’ “Cat Groomer” mysteries. The principal human character, Cassie McGlone, has moved to a small town in New Jersey and started a cat boarding and grooming facility. Like most “cozy” protagonists, she keeps becoming involved in solving crimes.
    Haven’t had a chance to read any of them yet – so many books, so little time! – but all of the five books released so far earned between 4.3 and 4.7 out of five-star ratings.
    The first book, “The Persian Always Meows Twice,” was released in 2017, and the sixth will be released early next year.
    In addition to the mystery and the characters’ development, Eileen Watkins also includes snippets of information about various breeds of cat and issues – such as feral cat colonies and hoarding – facing cats and those who love them in the “real” world.

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  78. There’s the new series “Sassy Cat Mysteries” by Jennifer J. Chow, featuring a talking white cat. I just found them after ages of searching, and hopefully adding it to the list will make other people’s searches easier!

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  79. My favorite mysteries which have cats actually talking and solving crimes are not listed here: Nic Saint, and Lacey Dearie.

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  80. Just wondering if anyone knows if the first book in the Joe Grey series by Shirley Rousseau Murphy, Cat on the edge was published in hardcover? Greatly appreciated.

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      • Thank you
        I have the second book plus the rest of the series in hardcover, but no one seems to know about the first book
        The author, Shirley Rousseau Murphy is 94 this year with vision problems, so is not answering emails now
        Just wondering if anyone who read the series would remember?

        I’ve read a lot of the cozy list series but this series is delightful

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  81. I have one that should be included. The Cupcake bakery mystery series by Jenn McKinlay. In I think book 3 or 4, Melanie Cooper adopts a stray kitten, and names him Captain Jack. Because he looks like a pirate. The only reason i thought about it, was I just finished Red Velvet Revenge.

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  82. As an avid reader for many years I have enjoyed many mysteries involving cats.The cozy series are very well written and it’s funny to read about cats solving the crimes that stump the humans. I love all the authors involved and appreciate different ways they incorporate the personalities of the cats. The only problems I am now facing is that not many books are in large print. This is very disappointing as this is my favorite pass time.

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    • Helen, I know many people don’t like electronic devices like Kindles, but as I get older I have found that the fact that they allow me to adjust font size is a very big advantage. That said, I am fortunate enough to have several very tech-savvy family members who can help me.

      Reply

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