12 best cozy mysteries for armchair detectives to read in 2023

Mother-Daughter Murder Night by Nina Simon

Read Mother-Daughter Murder Night for… Gilmore Girls meets murder mystery in a fun new book for 2023.

If you love books with Gilmore Girls vibes, this lighthearted whodunnit brings together family drama and murder mystery with a grandmother-mother-daughter trio of amateur sleuths. Doesn’t that sound fantastic?

When high-powered businesswoman Lana Rubicon finds herself far from her L.A. real estate empire, trapped in a sleepy coastal town with her daughter Beth and teenage granddaughter Jack, she hopes she won’t die of boredom.

But when they happen upon a body in the lake, the Rubicon women are thrown into chaos and investigation to liven up their schedules.

Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto

Read Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers for… a lighthearted new cozy mystery for 2023 about a charming tea shop owner turned murder detective.

This is the heartwarming story of Vera Wong, a lady of a certain age who owns a dark and dingy tea shop in San Francisco’s Chinatown. Faced with few customers and a lot of free time, she turns her attention to other hobbies, like stalking her son online.

Then one morning, Vera discovers a body in the tea shop. Although she has little faith in the police, as a suspicious mother she has plenty of experience in figuring things out. Helping herself to a little of the evidence before the police arrive, Vera gets to work on her investigation.

The Last Devil to Die (Thursday Murder Club Mysteries #4) by Richard Osman

Read The Last Devil to Die for… the newest addition to Richard Osman’s bestselling mystery series.

With his super cozy Thursday Murder Club series, Richard Osman is one of the best authors of comfy mysteries to read today. Luckily for detective novel fiends, he also publishes new books regularly.

The Last Devil to Die is one of the best new cozy mysteries of 2023, continuing the series with some shocking news that’s reached the Club. An old friend in the antiques business has been killed, and a mysterious package he was protecting has gone missing.

It’s time for the gang to spring into action, readying themselves for the path ahead – a path where they’ll encounter art forgers, online fraudsters, and a lot of trouble on their tail.

The Mystery Guest (Molly the Maid #2) by Nita Prose

Read The Mystery Guest for… the second book in Nita Prose’s Molly the Maid series, which you can get your hands on in November 2023.

Following the success of The Maid, this fun follow-up (which is perfect to read as a standalone) offers more coziness and less darkness than Nita Prose’s 2022 bestseller.

Within the wonderfully decadent walls of the five-star Regency Grand Hotel, Molly Gray has risen through the ranks to the honourable title of Head Maid.

But just as it seems like everything is on track, Molly’s old friend, the world-famous mystery author J.D. Grimthorpe, drops dead on the hotel’s tea room floor.

Suspects abound, and Molly knows that only she can uncover the culprit’s identity and protect the hotel’s pristine reputation.

The Running Grave (Cormoran Strike #7) by Robert Galbraith

Read The Running Grave for… the latest addition to one of the best book series with modern Sherlock Holmes vibes.

If you love detective mystery books, there’s a chance you’re a fan of Robert Galbraith’s (aka J.K. Rowling’s) Cormoran Strike series.

Set between Strike’s dingy London office, the wider city, and frequent trips to the English countryside, this series shines through the duo of Private Detective Cormoran Strike and Robin Ellacott, his temporary secretary turned business partner (turned love interest).

In The Running Grave, the seventh page-turning installment for September 2023, Cormoran and Robin are tasked with rescuing a man trapped in the dangerous cult behind the surface of a seemingly peaceable church.

Doing what she does best, Robin must go incognito to discover the group’s secrets, but in doing so, she’s put in grave danger. If you want to start at the beginning of the series, Book 1 is The Cuckoo’s Calling.

Murder and Mamon (Tita Rosie’s Kitchen Mystery #4) by Mia P. Manansala

Read Murder and Mamon for… the latest adventures of Lila Macapagal and her “Calendar Crew” of godmothers, April, Mae, and June, due for release in October 2023.

Murder and Mamon is the latest addition to Mia P. Manansala’s wonderfully witty mystery series (beginning with Arsenic and Adobo) that brings together cozy family dynamics with mouthwatering food and Filipino culture.

Lila Macapagal’s aunties’ new laundromat is all ready for its grand opening, but there’s just one little snag: there’s a body on the floor next to a chilling message.

Lila and her network must group together, stick their noses into everyone’s business, and figure out who has a vendetta against the aunties before they strike again.

From a Far and Lovely Country (No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency #24) by Alexander McCall Smith

Read From a Far and Lovely Country for… the latest installment in Alexander McCall Smith’s delightfully cozy mystery series, due for publication in October 2023.

Mysteries can’t get much cozier than Alexander McCall Smith’s. Here in Book 24 of his most popular mystery series, Botswana’s premier detective agency is as busy as ever and Mma Ramotswe’s keen eye is still in fierce demand.

Ruby Roy and the Murder in the Falls by Rima Ray

Read Ruby Roy and the Murder in the Falls for… part quirky cozy mystery, part off-beat comedy, brought together with a relatable and reluctant amateur female sleuth.

A goofy and absent-minded twenty-nine-year-old professor at Baron University, Dr Ruby Roy has never been able to tame her overactive imagination and stay out of trouble.

Ruby seems to be followed by embarrassment wherever she goes, and her reputation isn’t helped when she discovers her Chair’s dead body in his office. What on earth happened to him? And who did it?

Suddenly all of the Sherlock Holmes and Poirot books Ruby has obsessed over for years can come in handy. With the help of her very own Watson (her husband Cleo), she’s determined to solve the mystery before her own life is put at risk.

Disaster at the Vendome Theater (A Provençal Mystery #10) by M. L. Longworth

Read Disaster at the Vendome Theater for… the latest book in M. L. Longworth’s Provençal Mystery series for 2022.

Pick up a copy of Disaster at the Vendome Theater and escape into the most sun-kissed (and wine-soaked) mystery series you can get your hands on.

When successful lawyer Jean-Marc Sauvet accepts a small role in the local theater’s summer production of Marcel Pagnol’s Cigalon, he has no idea that one of France’s legendary film stars will be on stage with him.

However, when chaos reigns backstage and one of the main actors goes missing for good, it’s up to the soon-to-be-a-father Verlaque and his police commissioner, Bruno Paulik, to untangle the mystery.

A World of Curiosities (Chief Inspector Gamache Novel #18) by Louise Penny

Read A World of Curiosities for… the latest addition to Louise Penny’s cozy mystery series from 2022 for perfect reading this fall.

Louise Penny’s Armand Gamache series is my quintessential autumn reading, full of cozy mornings in the coffee shops of Three Pines, frequent get-togethers, and a neighbourhood banding together when danger (frequently) strikes.

In A World of Curiosities (Book 18), the residents of Three Pines are reemerging from a long winter. But a young man and woman have also come back to life, reappearing in the Sûreté investigators’ lives after years away and causing memories of a tragic case to come flooding back

You can read Louise Penny’s books as standalones, otherwise start at the beginning with Still Life.

The Enigma of Garlic (44 Scotland Street #16) by Alexander McCall Smith

Read The Enigma of Garlic for… the latest book in McCall Smith’s 44 Scotland Street collection, offering weddings, reunions, and the best laid plans about to go fully awry.

How many cozy mysteries can one man write? Published in April 2023, The Enigma of Garlic is the newest installment of 44 Scotland Street.

Retreat into these lighthearted books for McCall Smith’s wonderfully charming, witty, and cozy series about the hilarious hijinks of the residents on a (usually) peaceful street in Edinburgh’s New Town.

To start at the beginning, pick up a copy of 44 Scotland Street. You can also look forward to the next book in the 44 Scotland Street series, The Stellar Debut of Galactica Macfee, due for release in May 2024.

A Most Agreeable Murder by Julia Seales

Read A Most Agreeable Murder for… a laugh-out-loud satirical murder mystery with Bridgerton meets Only Murders in the Building vibes.

In this fun and fast read set in Regency-era England, we meet feisty Beatrice Steele, a young woman who’s never quite got the hang of what proper society wants from her. Her needlework is lacking, she has no musical ability, and she certainly won’t make up for it with her art.

But when a wealthy bachelor drops dead at a ball, Beatrice takes on the decidedly improper role of detective, rising above decorum and decency to pursue answers.

For more of the best books for cozy reading, you might like…

• 10 of the best cozy books to snuggle up with on a quiet night in
• 8 best books like Only Murders in the Building for more cozy mystery
• 14 best cozy fantasy books to escape into this fall
• 11 best lighthearted books for fun and happy reading
• Or, for something a little darker, here are the 15 best new thrillers of 2023 to keep you hooked