Cozy mysteries may have murder and mayhem but at their core, they’re just plain fun. In these fun mysteries, thrills and violence are replaced with humor and wit (and often a great pun or two). If you enjoy pastry-themed puns or witchy tales, try these best cozy mystery books of 2016!
Best Cozy Mystery Books of 2016
Hex on the Beach
Gina LaManna
Release Date: May 1, 2016
Lily Locke is a marketing wizard but she’s never believed in real magic before. That is until her assistant delivers a strange quiz to her, one titled A Magical Assessment for Normal Folks. With it comes the promise of a land she never knew existed. A land where Lily not only discovers her biological family for the first time, but a place where she can make a difference, change lives, and step into the role she’s destined to fulfill. But first, she must admit that she’s a witch. Trusting her powers and intuition is the only way to protect her from whatever magic has been brewing.
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A Spell of Trouble
Leighann Dobbs
Release Date: August 23, 2016
When the town troublemaker drops dead in paranormal New England community Silver Hollow, most think it’s due to natural causes. However, it’s soon revealed that she was murdered and only a truly powerful witch could have done it. Issy and her three cousins become the prime suspects and when the Federal Bureau for Paranormal Investigation gets involved, she starts getting nervous. Even worse than that is when Issy finds herself attracted to one of the agents sent to investigate her.
Buy on AmazonMiss Frost Solves A Cold Case
Kristen Painter
Release Date: March 8, 2016
She may be Jack Frost’s daughter and Santa Claus’s niece but right now Jayne Frost is a private investigator. Under her father’s orders, she’s been sent undercover to the town of Nocturne Falls, a town that celebrates Halloween year-round, to investigate why employees at Santa’s Workshop toy store are disappearing. Uncovering this town’s mysteries will have her encountering a sexy vampire, an old flame and an elevator that’s strictly off-limits. The more Jayne finds out, the more questions she has and the more danger she’s put in. Will she be able to figure out what’s going on? Or will she come up cold?
Buy on AmazonToffee Apple Killer
Summer Prescott
Release Date: November 20, 2016
In the newest tale of the INNcredibly Sweet Series, another murder investigation has found its way to the sleepy beach town of Calgon. This time it’s in the middle of Thanksgiving preparations. While Chas tries to solve the murder of a young woman, Missy struggles to prepare a feast for everyone without anyone’s help. Izzy is struggling from her break-up with Spencer, Echo is ordered to be on bed-rest for the rest of her pregnancy and Spencer is off doing god-knows-what. Just when they think they’re making gains, announcements made at Thanksgiving dinner rock the group to their core, and what’s left unsaid leaves them more than a bit nervous.
The Bluebonnet Betrayal
Release Date: August 2, 2016
Pru moved to England from Texas, and her life is thriving. Along with her long-lost brother, she is working on an exhibit for the Chelsea Flower Show of the beautiful bluebonnets from Texas. Twyla, the president of a Texas gardening club, is technically in charge of the event in London, but Pru is doing most of the work. All of a sudden, Twyla turns up dead, leaving Pru with a mystery to solve. While trying to ensure that the show is a success, Pru works with her detective husband to figure out what happened to Twyla.
Buy on AmazonCharms & Witchdemeanors
Amanda M. Lee
Release Date: May 1, 2016
When a local woman is poisoned at Hemlock Cove’s senior center, Aunt Tillie is the prime suspect. Bay, Thistle, and Clove don’t think their great-aunt is capable, but the police aren’t convinced. Everyone is suspicious but things spiral out of hand when FBI Agent Landon Michaels’ boss believes he can’t be objective where his girlfriend’s family is concerned and sends another agent to lead the investigation. The new agent is making witchy enemies at every turn and with more bodies piling up, the coven must work together to clear their aunt’s name. But when Aunt Tillie won’t talk in fear of Hemlock Cove’s biggest secret being exposed, the witches don’t know what to believe anymore.
Buy on AmazonA Scone To Die For
H.Y. Hanna
Release Date: January 17, 2016
When a tourist is killed by a scone in Gemma Rose’s Oxfordshire tearoom, she finds herself being pulled into a mystery with ramifications reaching all over Oxford. Armed with an insider knowledge of the university, she sets off to solve the mystery in an effort to save her business. Of course, this is all coupled with her old college love Devlin O’Connor making a reappearance, now a dashing CID detective, making things all the more complicated. Will she be able to solve the mystery before her business goes bust? Or will the body count soon include her?
Buy on AmazonPicture Miss Seeton
Heron Carvic
Release Date: May 5, 2016
When Miss Seeton walks out of a performance of Carmen and witnesses a stabbing, she has no recollection of the man who did it. All she can recall is a shadowy figure. But when her next painting is a picture-perfect portrait of the killer, she makes herself the next target. Now, alone at her rustic cottage in Plummergen, she is a sitting duck with her caricature, waiting to be the next victim. Or is she?
Buy on AmazonSweet Hide and Seek
J.A. Whiting
Release Date: September 7, 2016
The Roseland sisters and Mr. Finch have returned home rested and happy after a mini-vacation at a ski resort. Their feelings of peace and calm are cut short when a new bed and breakfast guest arrives with a request that plunges the family into someone’s game of hide and seek. With the help of their two fine felines, the family must figure out what is truth and what are lies.
Buy on AmazonA Pie to Die For
Stacey Alabaster
Release Date: March 19, 2016
Pastry chef Rachael becomes the prime suspect in a murder investigation when a food critic dies after eating one of her pies. Faced with an investigation that doubts her innocence, Rachael must set out to find the killer herself. Joined by her best friend Pippa, Rachael embarks on a journey filled with quirky characters and unexpected twists that may ultimately cost her and Pippa everything.
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