It’s All in the Name

What is the first thing you think of when you hear about a book being a cozy mystery?

A bake shop? A lighthouse? Cats and dogs on the book’s cover? Food and recipes along with a good story? All of those would be great answers. And you always get a happy ending with any cozy mystery. But for me, the first thing I think of when I hear a book is a cozy mystery is the awesome titles.

Let’s face it, when it comes to creativity in writing there is nothing quite like the title of a cozy mystery. The play on words for every title is enough to grab your attention right away. Who could possibly stop themselves from taking a look at a book with a title like Death by Tart Attack?

You have to wonder what comes first for some of these awesome novels. Does the author come up with a title and then figure out a way to build a book around it? One day author Amy M. Reade thinks The Worst Noel, and from there a book idea is born.

With all of this in mind, I’ve put together my top 10 list of the best cozy mystery titles. It’s so tough to decide which is the best that I’m simply going to go with alphabetical order. And for full disclosure, I have not read all of these books. But based on the title of each one, you know they’re going to be added to my must-read list. There are so many more great titles than these 10, but here we go with my own favorites.

A Tale of Two Cookies by Eve Calder

This book is part of the Cookie House Mystery series and centers around Kate McGuire, a pastry chef in Coral Cay, Florida. In this particular installment of the series, one of Kate’s friends has her groom disappear on the eve of their destination wedding and it is up to Kate to solve the disappearance. And, of course, she has help from her friend Maxi, as well as the town dog, Oliver. There had to be a dog, right?

Claws for Concern by Miranda James

This book is part of the Cat in Stacks series and centers around Charlie Harris and his Maine Coon cat, Diesel. Charlie is a librarian at Athena College in Mississippi and at the town’s small public library. In this book, a mysterious stranger starts snooping around Charlie’s family’s past and he and Diesel are about to find out why. As a side note, this series also delivers awesome titles such as Hiss Me Deadly, The Pawful Truth, and Twelve Angry Librarians.

Egg Drop Dead by Laura Childs

The book is the seventh in the Cackleberry Club Mystery series. In Kindred, Tennessee, Suzanne, Toni and Petra are close friends and the owners of the Cackleberry Club Cafe. The trio find themselves not only dishing up delicious food, but solving murders as well. In this book, they’re out to find who killed Tony, a local farmer and one of their suppliers. Other great titles in this series include Eggs Benedict Arnold, Stake & Eggs, and Eggs in a Casket.

From Beer to Eternity by Sherry Harris

This is the first book in the Chloe Jackson Sea Glass Saloon series and features Chloe Jackson, who has moved from Chicago to the Florida Panhandle to help her late friend’s mother run the Sea Glass Saloon. When Vivi Slidell, the retiree who runs the saloon, is the number one suspect in a murder, Chloe steps in to help clear her name. The fourth and latest book in the series is titled Rum and Choke.

In Farm’s Way by Amanda Flower

The third book in the Farm to Table mysteries, protagonist Shiloh Bellamy is out to clear her accused friend of the crime when a local brewmaster is found dead at the county Ice Fishing Derby. Shiloh left a big city job to return to Michigan in an attempt to help save the family farm, bringing along her adorable city-slicker pug. The first two books in the series are Farm to Trouble and Put Out to Pasture.

Last but not Leashed by Eileen Brady

This book is the second in the Dr. Kate Turner Vet series. The book is animal-themed since the protagonist is a veterinarian. When not one, but two bodies are found just before the New Year begins, Kate puts all of her life’s distractions aside and hunts for the murderer. The first book in the series, Saddled with Murder, also centers around the Christmas season and her furry friends help solve the crime.

Peppermint Barked by Leslie Budewitz

The sixth and latest book in the Spice Shop Mystery series centers around Pepper Reece, who runs a spice shop in Seattle’s Pike Place Market. When a friend is attacked and hurt, Pepper looks into finding out who was involved in the attack. The book is set around the Christmas holiday season and includes a rich cast of characters. The first book in the series, Assault and Pepper, as well as Guilty as Cinnamon, are also top rate titles.

‘Twas the Knife Before Christmas by Jacqueline Frost

This book in the Christmas Tree Farm mystery series includes not only heroine Holly White, but a cat named Cindy Lou Who. And it’s set in Mistletoe, Maine. The book is the second in a series that kicked off with Twelve Slays of Christmas. Holly’s best friend, Caroline, is accused of murder when someone she was seen arguing with turns up dead in a larger than life candy bowl filled with peppermints in the town square. Holly is on the case and trying to wrap it up just days before Christmas.

Thyme of Death by Susan Wittig Albert

This book was the first in the China Bayles Herbal Mysteries series that has reached 28 books. China left her job as a criminal attorney in Houston to start an herb shop in the small town of Pecan Springs between Austin and San Antonio in Texas. When her friend is found murdered, she enlists the help of New Age shop owner Ruby Wilcox, as well as her ex-cop boyfriend Mike McQuaid to hunt down the killer. After this case is solved, there are 27 more herb-themed crimes for readers. 

Up to no Gouda by Linda Reilly

This is the first of three books in the, wait for it…. Grilled Cheese Mystery series! Carly Hale’s husband has died so she returns to her roots in Balsam Dell, Vermont and fulfills a lifelong dream by opening Carly’s Grilled Cheese Eatery. All is well until her ex-boyfriend and town bully, Lyle, is found dead in the dumpster behind her shop. When one of Carly’s employees is named the prime suspect in the murder, she sets out to find the real killer. The next two books in the series, No Parm No Foul and Cheddar Late than Never, keep the awesome titles coming.

These titles are just a few of the many great titles you’ll find while looking for a cozy mystery in the Mercer County Library System. Some of the titles that just missed out on making this particular top 10 were: Arsenic and Adobo, The Quiche of Death, Hummus and Homicide, Crime and Poetry, Cremains of the Day, The Librarian Always Rings Twice, and Santa’s Little Yelpers.

Feel free to let us know some of your favorite cozy mystery titles in the comment section.

- by Bob Nuse, Hopewell Branch