As the weather turns and the rains begin, I love nothing better than to curl up with a good book. Cozy mysteries are a genre I’ve recently discovered, only to lament that I hadn’t started reading them sooner! Don’t let the pun-filled titles deter you from this warm, light, and friendly genre, which is often thematic. There are series set in book stores, series set in coffee shops, series centered on dogs and cats, and even foodie series: whatever hobby you are into, there’s probably a cozy mystery series for you! These are some of the cozies I’ve enjoyed and recommended recently.
Margaret Loudon’s Open Book series starts with Murder in the Margins and is set in a quintessential small British Hamlet. Our main character is an American woman on a grant-based writing trip, working part time at the Open Book Bookshop. The delightful cast of side characters and the quaint setting will reel you into this cozy, bookish series.
Esme Addison, a new writer in the cozy genre, made quite a splash with the magical mermaid-themed Enchanted Bay series, starting with A Spell for Trouble. This series has a high dose of magic, with Polish mermaid witches and corporate vampires both searching for a mystical artifact. Our main character is new to this magical part of her family and therefore offers the reader a grounded point from which to leap into the world of Enchanted Bay.
Author Amanda Flower has a slew of cozy series under her pen, but has recently published two new entries in the Magical Bookshop Series that started with Crime and Poetry. The magic is a bit lighter in this series, 
with books that fly off the shelves and hit our main character over the head (sometimes literally) with their messages. The bookshop really seems to enjoy solving murders.
Another new author to the cozy genre, Angela Sanders pens a delightful library-themed series in Bait and Witch, a lightly magical cozy set in western Oregon. Our main character is on the run from some bad guys and takes a job as a librarian in a town set to lose its library. An ode to how librarians always seem to know just the right book to recommend and to the value of libraries in communities, Bait 
and Witch is a delight.
Sally Goldenbaum’s long running Seaside Knitters Mystery series is the perfect escape to a quaint seaside town that feels real enough to visit on vacation. Starting with Death by Cashmere, the shop owner and eccentric knitters of Seaside Knitting Studio solve murders, one stitch at a time.
PNW native Ellie Alexander is the author of the popular Bakeshop Mysteries, and she has a new series set in Washington’s Bavarian themed town of Leavenworth. 
The Sloan Krause Mysteries starts with Death on Tap and features amateur sleuth Sloan Krause solving murders and brewing delicious craft beer on the side.
To discover more delightful cozy mysteries, go to the library’s main webpage and in the search field type: cozy mystery to find hundreds of other titles. Enjoy your cozy!
~ Posted by Veronica H.
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