Sometimes you just want to sit down, get comfortable, and read a good book. And depending on your favorite genre, you may not want to be going hard during the holiday season. If you’re a mystery lover, you might be looking for a more cozy vibe this Christmas.
And luckily, for all of us, there are plenty of Christmas themed cozy mysteries that we can enjoy this holiday season. However, with so many to choose from you might be wondering what to snag in the middle of the holiday frenzy.
Luckily, we decided to put together a list of five of our current favorite cozy Christmas mysteries. While there are a lot to choose from, we thought narrowing it down to five choices might make things a little bit easier as you look to unwind this Christmas.
5 Cozy Christmas mysteries to read this season
Traitorous Toys (Cozy Corgi Mysteries Book 2) by Mildred Abbott
Set during Christmas, this cozy mystery not only features Corgis, but it also features a recipe for gingerbread. I love when cozy mysteries include things like crafting instructions or recipes. It just adds a little something extra. And I have to say that the Cozy Corgi Mysteries is a favorite series. I love the writer’s style, and I have to say that I’ve read random books in the series, and even with missing a book here and there I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve read. So if you want to skip book one, that’s OK because book 2 will keep you entertained.
As an added bonus, there is another Christmas book in this series. So if you fall in love with this author the way we did, you could potentially read a second cozy mystery from this series.
The Christmas Letter: A Cozy Mystery (A Tess and Tilly Cozy Mystery Book 1) by Kathi Daley
It can be hard to find a cozy Christmas mystery that is the first in a series or a standalone. Typically, the world has already been built and there are a few books in the series before we get to a Christmas mystery. However, that is not the case with The Christmas Letter. This is actually the first book in the series. And, it’s a good start to a new series. I have to say that I very much enjoyed this one.
I think part of the reason I enjoyed it is the fact that there’s a dog as a sidekick. Anytime we have a dog or cat included in a cozy mystery, count me in. I also liked the pacing of this story as well as the humor. It really worked and flowed
A Cup of Holiday Fear: A Bakeshop Mystery (A Bakeshop Mystery, 10) by Ellie Alexander
While this is the 10th book in the series, I will admit that I have not read the first nine books. I skipped right to the Christmas book and I’m not mad at that. It was still a very enjoyable read. I do love a good bakeshop mystery and that’s what we get with this story: some baking and some murder.
I really think the foodie aspect of this story worked for me. And I felt like there was a nice balance between the mystery aspect and what makes this a cozy story. Also, I really like the main character, and because of that I will likely go back and read the first nine books.
Merry Christmas Murder (A Reporter Roland Bean Cozy Mystery) by Rachel Woods
As soon as I saw that this cozy mystery featured a journalist, I was in. And even though there are nine books in this series, it didn’t feel like I was missing anything. In fact, they don’t necessarily have this listed as book one of or book 3 of, but rather have it down as part of the series. And I think that makes a difference.
The fact that the author says that this can be read as a standalone is also something that we appreciate. I think the fact that the story focuses on poor Santa Claus getting shot definitely makes this one heavy on the Christmas vibes. And for some reason, I love it. It was definitely an engaging read and relatively steady in terms of pushing the story and narrative forward.
Murder at the Christmas Cookie Bake-Off (A Beacon Bakeshop Mystery) by Darci Hannah
Once again, we have the second book in a cozy mystery series and we are back with a bakeshop mystery. I really love this one because it also has a dog. And you combined two of my favorite things in one cozy mystery: dogs and baked goods.
I really appreciate the fact that we have a bake off that falls apart because of a judge being murdered. The fact that we have a Christmas know it all really brought home the holiday vibes. And I just found this to be fun and cozy. It literally lives up to being a cozy mystery. This was so much fun, and it had just enough twists and turns to keep me guessing. I love that there was a lot of personality in the story, and we aren’t even talking about the fact that there are recipes included. We love recipes! I definitely need to go back and read the rest of the series, because this book was delightful.