cozy mystery

  • Five on a Theme: Cozy Mysteries

    It’s chilly and the days are growing shorter, which means it’s perfect timing for a mystery! Last month we talked about cozy horror; this month we are talking about cozy mysteries. This is arguably the most familiar of the “cozy” subgenres. Bookish Brews defines cozy mysteries as “a sub-genre of crime fiction, where sex, violence,… Continue reading

  • Murder: What’s Age Got to Do With It?

    The beginning of autumn always makes me want to curl up with a good book and a steaming mug of tea and nothing is cozier to me than a cozy mystery. With protagonists ranging from “your average 30 something whose life has been upended and must return home” to (usually) “single women who inherit mysterious… Continue reading

  • Cozy Mysteries of the Magical Variety

    In the wake of Halloween, All Saint’s Eve, Samhain, and Dia De Los Muertos, there’s quite a bit of magic lingering in the air. The leaves have turned, the weather is harsher, and the nights are chilling. Many peoples view this time of year as the time to honor their ancestors as the veil between… Continue reading

  • Fall into a Cozy Mystery, 2021

    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… Continue reading

  • A hobby on the side: businesswomen solving crimes

    Running a small business seems like it would be enough to keep anyone busy, but the women in these cozy mysteries also must solve murders that hit close to home in order to clear themselves or their loved ones of suspicion. Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P. ManansalaReeling after a bad breakup, Lila Macapagal moves… Continue reading

  • Curl Up With a Cozy Cat Mystery

    As night descends sooner and sooner and light autumn rain patters on your windowsill, you may want to consider which books to read with your hot tea as you snuggle in a warm, fleece-lined blanket. Here are five cozy cat mystery series to curl up with. Cat in the Stacks Mysteries by Miranda JamesTake a… Continue reading

  • Amateurs Getting It Done

    As an avid mystery reader, one aspect of the genre I love the most is knowing that however tumultuous the situation is at the beginning, by the end of the novel the state of affairs will be set right again. Real life is never so certain. Here are three mystery novels wherein regular everyday people… Continue reading

  • The Yule Log Times Three!

    Each of us has a picture that pops into our minds whenever we hear about the yule log. Whether it’s a log on the fire during Winter Solstice, a decadent dessert, or a cozy mystery. Here are a few items in our collection to celebrate the yule log in its many forms! For apartment dwellers… Continue reading

  • Adventures in Pet Sitting!

    The last months of summer are usually a whirlwind of getting out of town. For some of us that means finding a pet sitter. Maybe it’s a friendly neighbor or a local boarder or maybe it’s you! This August I hung out for two weeks with two adorable cat brothers who act more like dogs… Continue reading

  • Mystery Challenge: Cozy Mysteries

    ~by Lori T. Are you reading along with the Mystery Challenge? Grab your choice of a hot beverage, a warm throw, a good snack, and a cozy mystery. Cozy Mysteries are for people that prefer a mystery without graphic descriptions of  blood and violence. These type of mysteries are books where the main character or someone… Continue reading

  • Crime: Murder can be scary!

    Hallowe’en is the time for dipping into ghost and horror stories, but there is plenty of spooky crime fiction out there too. Continue reading

  • Crime: Is Dorothy L. Sayers still worth reading?

    “Is Dorothy L. Sayers still worth reading?” Well I’ve been reading her lately (in anticipation of the Taproot Theatre’s upcoming production of Gaudy Night), and my unsurprising answer is yes, but why? After all, her hero – Edwardian aristocrat Lord Peter Wimsey – seems at first blush to be just the kind of plummy, pompous plutocrat that we’ve… Continue reading

  • An Alphabet of Crime: Margery Allingham

    I made a couple of New Year’s resolutions involving crime this year: to start up a regular weekly crime column here in ShelfTalk, and to alphabetically read my way through the mystery section at the Central Library, two authors/letters each month. My colleague Linda has done this twice, up to the letter G anyway, and so I… Continue reading

  • Staff Favorites: Three mysteries for spring

    Three Bags Full: A Sheep Detective Story by Leonie Swann “Act naturally,” bleated the sheep attempting to evade notice. Standing around munching grass seems to be the most natural thing for sheep to do, but solving a murder mystery? When this Irish flock’s favored shepherd shows up dead in a field, our intrepid sheep detectives,… Continue reading

  • Suburban sleuths

    Not all private detectives smoke pipes, carry arms and drive little red sports cars. Some suburban moms and dads solve murders before and after carpooling in vans and oversize station wagons. Authors Jeffrey Cohen, Susan Isaacs, Valerie Wolzien and Jon Katz are four authors have created suburban sleuths.  Jeffrey Cohen writes humorous mysteries set in New… Continue reading

  • Cozy up with a Northwest mystery author

    Seattle author Mary Daheim’s “Alpine” mystery series takes place in a gorgeous town in the Cascade Mountains where newspaper editor Emma Lord solves murders and still meets her weekly deadlines. Wondering where to start with this series? Daheim brilliantly titles these in alphabetical order, starting with The Alpine Advocate, The Alpine Betrayal and so on… Continue reading