5 Cozy Mysteries to Put on Your To Read List
Cold weather means chunky blankets, fuzzy socks, and a warm beverage. I think that list is made complete with a comforting, cozy mystery to snuggle up with under the blankets.
Cozy mysteries (cozies) with their small-town settings, women who own or work at a small business as the amateur sleuth, and a bit of humor are deeply satisfying, gentle reads.
These 5 books are all coming out in the first part of 2022.
5 cozy mysteries coming out in 2022
Live, Local, and Dead by Nikki Knight
Live, Local, and Dead by Nikki Knight
Live, Local, and Dead is the first in a new cozy series, Vermont Radio Mysteries. While I adore all of the bookshop and bakery mysteries, it was a delight to read one with such a unique setting – a small, indie radio station in a small Vermont town.
DJ Jaye Jordan, a recently divorced, single mom took a buyout offer from an NYC station and buys the aforementioned station, ready to start over. This is going well until in a fit of pique when two ultra-conservatives are protesting the station, she takes one of their muskets and fires it at a snowman revealing the corpse of a national hate-mongering radio show host. Oops.
This sets off a stream of events with Jaye being harassed by the dead host’s fans. It also leads to her reconnecting with her crush from years ago. Who just happens to be the governor.
This is a fun, cozy mystery – Jaye’s relatable as a small biz owner, single mom co-parenting her daughter, navigating a new relationship.
For fans of Cynthia Kuhn, Amy Pershing, and Meri Allen.
Look for this to come out in February 2022.
A Dash of Death by
Michelle Hillen Klump
A Dash of Death by Michelle Hillen Klump
A Dash of Death is the first book in the Cocktails and Catering series by Michelle Hillen Klump. While there are lots of cozy mysteries with a culinary bent, this one focuses on an amateur sleuth who makes bitters – an ingredient in mixed drinks that’s made with botanicals.
Samatha’s lost her job and her fiance and is trying to put her life back together. She decides to repurpose all of the bottles of bitters she created to use as wedding favors and give them away at a local event. Maybe even drum up business.
Instead, someone dies after drinking them. So now she’s a suspect but her former reporter’s skills drive her to investigate and clear her name.
This has a lot of the comforting cozy tropes – a relatable woman with a new small business needs to clear her name with the support of some besties, and small-town shenanigans.
For fans of Susan Wittig Albert, Raquel Reyes, or Tara Lush.
Look for this in February 2022.
Homicide and Halo-Halo by Mia P. Manansala
Homicide and Halo-Halo is the second book in Mia P. Manansala’s Tita Rosie’s Kitchen Mysteries. If you haven’t read the first book, the LibraryReads favorite, Adobo and Arsenic, do yourself a favor and read it now!
Arsenic and Adobo
Things are heating up for Lila Macapagal. Not in her love life, which she insists on keeping nonexistent despite the attention of two very eligible bachelors. Or her professional life, since she can’t bring herself to open her new cafe after the unpleasantness that occurred a few months ago at her aunt’s Filipino restaurant, Tita Rosie’s Kitchen. No, things are heating up quite literally, since summer, her least favorite season, has just started.
To add to her feelings of sticky unease, Lila’s little town of Shady Palms has resurrected the Miss Teen Shady Palms Beauty Pageant, which she won many years ago–a fact that serves as a wedge between Lila and her cousin slash rival, Bernadette. But when the head judge of the pageant is murdered and Bernadette becomes the main suspect, the two must put aside their differences and solve the case–because it looks like one of them might be next.
For fans of Jennifer Chow, Vivien Chien, and Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto.
Due out February 2022.
Under Lock and Skeleton Key by
Gigi Pandian
Under Lock and Skeleton Key by Gigi Pandian
Under Lock & Skeleton Key by Gigi Pandian is an incredible locked-room mystery that enthralled me from start to finish. Tempest Raj is a stage magician from a long line of (some say cursed) performers. A near-deadly mishap during a performance costs her a lucrative Las Vegas contract and few believe her when she says her assistant set her up.
Tempest returns home to regroup, enjoy her grandfather’s incredible Indian fusion cooking, and figure out what went wrong. When she visits her father’s latest project, creating a secret room in a historic house, things take an even darker turn. Tempest’s assistant’s body is found in a sealed-up room. She’s going to need every bit of knowledge gleaned from classic locked room mysteries and all of her stage magician know-how about misdirection to figure out how the body got there and why. More importantly, was Tempest the intended victim? Did she just miss being the latest casualty of the family curse that claims the firstborn of each generation?
For fans of Gigi Pandian’s other series, Allison Brook, and Kirsten Weiss.
Due out March 2022.
Cheddar off Dead by Korina Moss
Cheddar off Dead by Korina Moss
Cheddar off Dead by Korina Moss kicks off a new contemporary culinary cozy centered around Willa who’s just opened a new cheese shop in a small town in Sonoma. When a food critic is murdered, she’s a suspect and tries to find the real killer to clear her name. Korina Moss creates a lovely small town with just enough hidden pasts and untold secrets to keep the suspect list interesting. Willa is relatable as a new business owner, single woman – trying to run a successful business and thinking about romance. The secondary characters are a nice blend of quirky, fun, and possible romantic interests. For fans of Linday Reilly, Amy Pershing, and Joann Fluke. Look for this in March 2022.
In closing
Curl up with a cozy mystery to ward off the cold, wintery chill. These new books are sure to keep you warm while you figure out whodunit. If you’d like other great suggestions, we’ve got options for you
- Explore our online book suggestion resource, NoveList
- Sign up for Recommends our personalized reading suggestion email service
- Speak with a staff member during your next visit
- Listen to the Booklovers Podcast
