Current Cozy Crime Reads
New Cozy Mysteries Being Reviewed in November and December
There are lots of great new cozies being read and reviewed in November and December, including several new cozy mystery series. Check them out for yourself and see what you think. If they interest you, you can pre-order them, request them at your local library, bookmark them for later, or add them to your “to-be-read list” so you can read them when you’re ready.
Haunting and Homicide
Mystery type: Paranormal cozy mystery
Series: A Ghost Tour Mystery (Book 1)
Written by: Ava Burke
Published by: Crooked Lane Books
Release date: January 21, 2025
Available for pre-order now
Tallulah “Lou” Thatcher can see dead people. This is quite helpful in New Orleans, Louisiana where she hosts ghost tours in the historic Garden District. When a rival tour guide Lou has been feuding with is found murdered with a dagger from Lou's shop, she becomes the primary suspect. Now it's up to her (and her ghostly sidekicks) to solve the mystery before she ends up dead herself.
This new series sounds really fun. New Orleans is known for its hauntings and "Cities of the Dead," so it feels like the perfect location for a plot that revolves around ghost tours. The sleuth's ability to see ghosts will surely be helpful when solving murder mysteries!
Disclosure: I received an advanced reader copy of this book from Net Galley and Crooked Lane Books in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Death Among the Stitches
Mystery type: Culinary cozy mystery
Series: A Crochet and Crumpets Mystery (Book 1)
Written by: Betty Hechtman
Published by: Severn House
Release date: January 7, 2025
Available for pre-order now
Annie Hart just inherited a yarn and tea shop in a small Indiana town. She is surprised to learn that the previous shop owner was strangled with her own yarn. Annie decides to have a cuppa or two with the local yarn artists to find out who crafted a murder plot.
The author of this new series really knows how to "spin a yarn." She wrote the Crochet Mysteries and the Yarn Retreat Mysteries, both of which are quite delightful. I have high hopes for this new series, which mixes tea and culinary delights into the fun.
Disclosure: I received an advanced reader copy of this book from Net Galley and Severn House in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Schooled in Murder
Mystery type: Cozy mystery
Series: A Campus Sleuth Mystery (Book 1)
Written by: Victoria Gilbert
Published by: Crooked Lane Books
Release date: January 7, 2025
Available for pre-order now
Jennifer "Jen" Dalton is a mystery author and educator at Clarion University in Virginia. When an uppity professor is murdered and one of Jen's students disappears and gets blamed for the crime, Jen decides to use her skills to investigate and find out what really happened on campus.
This book has been on my wishlist since I first heard about it. The author, Victoria Gilbert, is an experienced cozy author with several successful series, including the Blue Ridge Library Mysteries. The sleuth and hook in Schooled in Murder sound really good to me and remind me (in the best way) of the Murder, She Wrote TV series and the Mystery 101 movies.
Disclosure: I received an advanced reader copy of this book from Net Galley and Crooked Lane Books in exchange for a fair and honest review.
The Coffee House Murders
Mystery type: Historical cozy mystery (set in 1666)
Series: A Samuel Pepys Mystery (Book 3)
Written by: Ellis Blackwood
Published by: Vintage Mystery Press
Release date: October 31, 2024
Diarist Samuel Pepys and his intrepid personal inquisitors, Abby Harcourt and Jacob Standish find themselves with a puzzling suspect list when they investigate the death of an unlikable writer found murdered in a London coffee house. Their investigation leads them to Westminster Palace and a world of hidden secrets.
The books in this series are very well-reviewed. Each book is a stand-alone mystery wrapped in history, so I am hopping in on book three with plans to backtrack to books one and two at a later date.
Disclosure: I received a gifted copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.
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