Mystery/Thriller

Create Your Perfect Spring Day, and We’ll Tell You What Cozy Mystery to Read

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Cassie Gutman

Staff Writer

Cassie Gutman is happiest when surrounded by books and dogs. Originally from a small, funny-named town near Louisville, Kentucky, she now edits words for a living near Chicago and would like to be paid in ice cream. You can find her on Instagram @happybooklovers or on Twitter @cassiepgutman.

If you’re anything like me, you are ecstatic the weather is starting to turn and it’s finally feeling like spring. Longer days, flower buds on trees, and the grass coming to life are all things that bring so much happiness to me. The change of seasons also always gets me excited to read new books, and cozy mysteries are the perfect books for the season. They’re filled with fun and light mysteries, interesting locations, and plucky protagonists ready to solve the case (and usually end up in some sticky situations along the way).

While there are usually some deaths and murders in cozy mysteries, they’re not graphic or gory, making these the perfect spring reads to take along to outdoor picnics or family gatherings to jump in and out of. There are also cozy mysteries for whatever kind of hobby you’re into: gardening, crafting, hand-lettering stationery, and a whole lot more!

To find your next cozy mystery read, perfect for the changing seasons, design your perfect spring day, and we’ll give you a book that perfectly fits your ideal spring mood — whether it’s gardening all day or staying inside to hide from the rain.

Results

Book cover of Digging Up Dirt

Digging Up Dirt by Pamela Hart

Spring means productivity, and you’re ready to get your hands dirty and dive into all the projects you can find! Follow homeowner, Poppy McGowan, as she embarks on renovations in her house — only for her builder to find bones beneath her floors. When an archaeologist declares the bones a rare find of an extinct animal, a complete stop is placed on the house. But then the archaeologist turns up dead, too, and it’s starting to seem like someone doesn’t want secrets unburied . . .

cover image of The Frangipani Tree Mystery by Ovidia Yu

The Frangipani Tree Mystery by Ovidia Yu

You enjoy stepping away from tech once in a while, and you’re excited to spend time outside this spring among plants and far away from email. Step back in time in The Frangipani Tree Mystery as SuLin, a local Singaporean girl acting as governess for the Acting Governor, finds herself in the middle of several murders. It’s the mid-1930s, and SuLin is trying to evade an arranged marriage she wants no part in, so taking on the role of governess and helping aid the investigation is proving to be an excellent excuse. Plus, she’s pretty good at the whole solving murders thing. 

Book cover for Devil's Chew Toy

Devil’s Chew Toy by Rob Osler

You’re excited for warmer weather because that means you can be out in the sun and with your friends all night long! In Devil’s Chew Toy, Hayden wakes up alone, half-naked, and in a stranger’s bed. He has no idea how he got there or why the police are knocking on the door. When he finds out dancer Camilo Rodriguez has gone missing, Hayden seeks the help of two of Camilo’s closest friends, because the police don’t seem to be taking the disappearance seriously.

Book cover for A Deadly Inside Scoop

A Deadly Inside Scoop by Abby Collette

You can’t wait for the weather to be warm enough to dig into your favorite treat — ice cream! Spring is just getting started and you’re ready for as much sunshine as you can soak up. Follow Bronwyn in A Deadly Inside Scoop as she sets out to revitalize her family’s ice cream shop. On the eve of the grand reopening, however, a dead body is found nearby, and her father is the number one suspect.

Book cover for Shady Hollow

Shady Hollow by Juneau Black

You’d prefer Halloween over spring any day and can’t wait until jack-o’-lantern season. Your spring plans are a little bit different from most people’s, and you are A-OK with that. Shady Hollow is a place where woodland creatures live in harmony and happiness — that is, until a cranky toad winds up dead. Vera Vixen, a fox, is new to Shady Hollow, but she’s always had a knack for investigating, so she sets out to solve the case herself — soon discovering there are a lot more lives in danger than ever before.

Book cover for Murder By Page One

Murder by Page One by Olivia Matthews

You’re excited to spend the spring reading and relaxing and visiting your favorite bookstores. Murder By Page One follows a New Yorker librarian named Marvey who has recently moved from the big city to small-town Georgia and doesn’t expect anything interesting to happen to her now that she’s left New York. But then she stumbles upon a dead body in a bookstore…

Book cover for Murder Can Mess Up Your Masterpiece

Murder Can Mess Up Your Masterpiece by Rose Pressey

Just because winter is over doesn’t mean you’re about to stop your crafting! Knitting isn’t only for cold weather, and you’re just getting started thinking of all the fun spring things you can make. In Murder Can Mess Up Your Masterpiece, painter Celeste Cabot is excited to sell her art at the upcoming craft fair. But when a customer returns a painting, claiming that it’s haunted, Celeste finds her sales plummeting. But that’s not the worst of it. She discovers there really is a ghost — and discovers her newfound psychic abilities to communicate with those on the other side. She’ll need to use everything she has when the manager of the craft fair is found dead so the wrong person doesn’t end up behind bars.

Check out even more cozy mystery recommendations to satisfy your amateur sleuth reading needs!