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Cozy Mystery Series - First Book of a Series
For cozy mystery lovers. FIRST in the series only, so we can get as many on here as possible.
In case you are confused about what makes a mystery a "cozy", here is a hint from cozy-mystery.com. "*** Cozy mysteries are considered “gentle” books… no graphic violence, no profanity, and no explicit sex. Most often, the crime takes place “off stage” and death is usually very quick. Prolonged torture is not a staple in cozy mysteries! The victim is usually a character who had terrible vices or who treated others very badly. Dare I say…. the victim “deserved to die?” And, there are usually connections between the victims (if indeed there are multiple victims… which usually, in a cozy mystery, there are!), even though the reader is not aware of the obvious connections until the amateur sleuth solves the crimes.'
In case you are confused about what makes a series, it means MORE THAN ONE. A lone book with a sequel planned also counts.
In case you are confused about first, that means only the FIRST book in the series. NO OTHER BOOKS IN THE SERIES SHOULD BE ADDED.
In case you are confused about what makes a mystery a "cozy", here is a hint from cozy-mystery.com. "*** Cozy mysteries are considered “gentle” books… no graphic violence, no profanity, and no explicit sex. Most often, the crime takes place “off stage” and death is usually very quick. Prolonged torture is not a staple in cozy mysteries! The victim is usually a character who had terrible vices or who treated others very badly. Dare I say…. the victim “deserved to die?” And, there are usually connections between the victims (if indeed there are multiple victims… which usually, in a cozy mystery, there are!), even though the reader is not aware of the obvious connections until the amateur sleuth solves the crimes.'
In case you are confused about what makes a series, it means MORE THAN ONE. A lone book with a sequel planned also counts.
In case you are confused about first, that means only the FIRST book in the series. NO OTHER BOOKS IN THE SERIES SHOULD BE ADDED.
Score
A book’s total score is based on multiple factors, including the number of people who have voted for it and how highly those voters ranked the book.
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| 52 |
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| 54 |
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| 55 |
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| 56 |
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| 57 |
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| 58 |
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| 59 |
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| 59 |
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3.91 avg rating — 41,385 ratings
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| 61 |
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3.86 avg rating — 11,476 ratings
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| 62 |
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3.97 avg rating — 16,365 ratings
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| 63 |
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4.15 avg rating — 10,081 ratings
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| 64 |
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3.66 avg rating — 6,023 ratings
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| 65 |
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| 66 |
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3.72 avg rating — 4,490 ratings
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| 66 |
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| 69 |
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| 71 |
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| 72 |
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| 73 |
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3.90 avg rating — 7,861 ratings
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| 83 |
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3.86 avg rating — 190,610 ratings
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| 84 |
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3.68 avg rating — 3,297 ratings
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| 86 |
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3.81 avg rating — 3,615 ratings
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| 87 |
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3.80 avg rating — 11,647 ratings
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| 88 |
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3.91 avg rating — 2,936 ratings
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| 89 |
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| 90 |
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3.84 avg rating — 4,576 ratings
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| 91 |
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3.96 avg rating — 4,615 ratings
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| 92 |
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| 93 |
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3.89 avg rating — 4,219 ratings
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| 94 |
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Miss Zukas and the Library Murders (Miss Zukas, #1)
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| 95 |
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| 96 |
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3.70 avg rating — 1,697 ratings
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| 97 |
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| 98 |
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The Case of the Gilded Fly (Gervase Fen, #1)
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3.51 avg rating — 3,533 ratings
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| 99 |
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3.67 avg rating — 4,631 ratings
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| 100 |
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Curiosity Killed the Cat Sitter (A Dixie Hemingway Mystery, #1)
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Cindy
10622 books
158 friends
158 friends
Luann
4895 books
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Sarah
1197 books
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Carrie
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jacky
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More voters…
Comments Showing 1-50 of 73 (73 new)
message 1:
by
Cindy
(new)
Oct 27, 2008 10:51PM
I don't think I would call Harlan Coben a cozy writer.
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Is everyone who voted on this list a member of the "Cozy Mysteries" group? I recommend it!
There are a lot of books on here that are more just mystery, not a cozy.
No it isn't! It's considered Classics or British mystery.
Margaret MaronOne Coffee WithBaby Doll GamesLast Lessons of SummerSouthern DiscomfortWinter's ChildUncommon ClayDeath in Blue FoldersStorm TrackKiller Market
Edmund Crispin's books are also not remotely cozy, brillinat though they are!
How is The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime a cozy mystery? A) It's not a series and B) It's not a mystery.
Neither is mine and I added it by mistake
Aww, they´re not? Someone reccomended them to me because I´m done with Agatha Christie and Ngaio Marsh, so I thought they were cozies :(
Also, please just put the first in the series! There are a lot on here that are repeats.
I don't see Doss on here. His books -The Shaman Laughs ect are alot of fun-alot like Hillerman (the West,Native American religious beliefs) but incredibly funny. I'm not sure which was first in the series,but I'd reccommend it to anyone. Hillerman is gone now,and I'm sorry to say that Doss is getting up there in years too.
Boof wrote: "How is The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime a cozy mystery? A) It's not a series and B) It's not a mystery."I have the same question.
This book doesn't belong here.
Thanks, Cindy, for starting this list, it's always nice to look over others' lists to see if there's a series I've missed. But geezluh-weeze, don't folks READ INSTRUCTIONS???!!! *Most* of the books listed here are NOT #1 in series, plus many aren't even IN a series, and lots are definitely not cosy mysteries (i.e., "Dune" and "Robots of Dawn"???) Yes, they have mysterious elements, but "cosy series"...?! I don't think so; both are classic SciFi. And it looks as though somebody has added in every title that Evanovich has ever published, including all stand-alones, novellettes and collections, and EVERY book in every series. And pretty nearly "ditto" for Alexander McCall Smith, Sara Paretsky's VI series, Meg Cabot, Rhys Bowen, and several others. That's inexcusable, especially since most book listings give the number of a book in a series along with the title.
If you cleared out all the books here that don't meet the list criteria (First book in a cozy/cosy series) you'll wind up with at most 200 books in the list so far.
I agree with a previous poster that Harlan Coben is not cosy or cozy, however you spell it; neither are Kathy Reichs, Carl Hiasen, Don Winslow (much too dark), Harlan Ellison, Isaac Asimov (SciFi/Fantasy, yes Asimov did write cosy mysteries but none are listed here), Helen MacInnes (spy thrillers).
BTW, can someone tell me how "An Oral History of the Zombie Wars" qualifies as "cozy"??? And, no, Sherlock Holmes is NOT "cozy", nor is Edmund Crispin nor most writers prior to 1960. They are "traditional". Similar, not the same as "cosy" or "cozy" as defined these days, including whoops - almost forgot - Agatha Christie!!. Most current cozy authors may be trying to work in a style similar to hers, but Christie's books were, many of them, quite shocking and with new stylistic twists in their day, also many of them are surprisingly dark as well, just below the surface. IMO that's not "cozy".
Right, so I deleted a bunch, but I'm not even close to done. Just a warning, follow the instructions or your votes will be deleted.
Cindy wrote: "Right, so I deleted a bunch, but I'm not even close to done. Just a warning, follow the instructions or your votes will be deleted."Hi Cindy:
Whew!! Thought you were going to *banish* me for chutzpah!! (grin) Like many others, I adore lists, and cosy-style mysteries are some of my favorites, although the majority of my reading is of older and/or classic mysteries, especially by female authors. Actually, I thought your original instructions QUITE clear! Sorry to rant on so, but I guess I'm still filled with a quality taught very heavily in my youth: "neatness counts!" (grin) and this style of mystery often gets a bad rap for its sweetness'n'light - I'm all in favor of presenting a better face for use cosy mystery lovers to the world at large, that dark and unpredictable place, that mostly doesn't intrude on my favorite series' settings, well, maybe a little bit in the BEST ones. Speaking of which, what, no Shirley Rousseau Murphy!!!!! eeek. (off now, to add her first, CAT ON THE EDGE 1996 - while CATSWOLD PORTAL was published first - 1992 - and *is* a prequel of sorts, it only sets up the fantasy world, it's not actually the first "Joe Grey" mystery novel).
Again, many thanks for all your hard work re. cosies, it's very much appreciated!
Hey Cindy, I don't know if anyone mentioned it, I must confess I did not read all the comments, but in case they didn't J.D. Robb's "In Death" series is not a 'cozy' mystery series, it's fantastic beyond a doubt, but it can also be very graphic, crude, and highly sexual as well. It is more of a police procedural as the lead character and a majority of other characters are cops, and it is mostly about their cases. It's kind of a cozy police procedural, but still to put it on this list is highly misleading. I know several other cozy mystery fans who would be offended by much of the content in the "In Death" series.Thanks for putting together this list!
Thanks for the comment. I will remove it.
Removed more books for being later in a series. Only the FIRST book in the series is eligible for this list.
I want to add most of these books to my "To Read" "First Book in Cozy Mystery Series" shelf. Can anyone tell me how to bookmark this list within Goodreads? Or add them all at once? Thx!
I've removed Unnatural Habits (Phryne Fisher #19).
I removed a bunch of books that were either not the first in a series, not in a series or not even a cozy mystery. However the list still needs a more careful look cause I think there must be still a lot of books that don't belong but are not so obvious.
I would not call The Big Sleep cozy (currently 176), unless I am confused about the definition of the genre.
Please read
.. it is a wonderful cozy. One of my favorites.
I deleted a few more that weren't part of a series.
Removed Cutting Right to the Chase as it's NOT A PART OF A SERIES.
Removed Tax Cut because it's NOT THE FIRST BOOK in a series.
Removed two by Colette Sinclaire as BEING NONFICTION.
Ana wrote: "Aww, they´re not? Someone reccomended them to me because I´m done with Agatha Christie and Ngaio Marsh, so I thought they were cozies :("I can highly recommend Louise Penny's first book, Still Life, for fans of Agatha Christie.
There is a series of books by Peggy Webb called the Southern Cousins Mystery Series. In the series the main character has a dog named Elvis that helps solve the crimes. The first in the series is called Elvis and the Deeply Departed !!! I bought another at the store in Tupelo, MS where she invited an Elvis impersonator and had cake and soda for everyone while she signed. I had my picture taken with the Elvis impersonator !!! The next book I bought was for a friend who used to love the Grateful Dead and it was called Elvis and the Grateful Dead!!! The dog named Elvis in the stories has an Elvis complex! He solves crimes but thinks he is Elvis ! It is funny but a good mystery. Y'all might consider this collection.
Is anyone still monitoring this list? I see a lot of books that do not qualify. I looked at some of the comments and I think it might help if you put in the instructions 'no pre-1960 series'. (potential issue for the few starting pre-1960 and continuing on).Here's what I saw on the first page:
Traditional
The Mysterious Affair at Styles
The Secret Adversary
Murder at the Vicarage
A Study in Scarlet
Whose Body?
Fer-de-Lance
The Case of the Gilded Fly
Violent/Dark
The Blessing Way
Desert Heat
Indemnity Only
Not sure if these are 'cozy' (too much violence?)
A is for Alibi
A Morbid Taste for Bones
The Beekeeper's Apprentice
If no one is maintaining the list I could do it if you can give me editing power.
It's a good list and much smaller than similar lists. I like mysteries in general, but I'm keeping my eye open for cozy ones because I can read them in bed and not have my heart pounding.
While I loved Sookie Stackhouse, isn't there too much sex to be considered a cozy mystery?
Maureen wrote: "While I loved Sookie Stackhouse, isn't there too much sex to be considered a cozy mystery?"Sookie Stackhouse books are "Paranormal" not cozy.
Thanks for the list. Though a lot of the books mentioned are not the first in a series, I picked up on a lot of new authors to try.
Is Gwyneth Williams your pen name? I will look for it.
A lot of mysteries are two or more types. Although Miss Marple is the quintessential cozy detective, Christie is usually classed as Golden Age. So I guess Sookie could be both. I know there's a lot of cozy/foodie mysteries.On the other hand, I really don't think Kinsey Millhone is cozy at all. She's a PI and her stuff is hardboiled or action. Any book that has the detective regularly beat up is by (my)definition categorically not cozy.
I'm not sure I properly understood Lori's first sentence but she is certainly correct in the distinctions she makes. I am a total and utter fan of Sue Grafton but cozy she ain't!
Sorry about that, didn't preview. :( Post is fixed. :)
One for the Money is not cozy and it is top of the list!! :(
If you like quiet, English type cozies try Kerry Greenwood's delightful Phryne Fisher delightful female detective unlike any other I have ever read. "Cocaine Blues" is the first. The series takes place in Australia starting in 1928. Read in sequence.
Cozy mysteries, also referred to simply as "cozies", are a subgenre of crime fiction in which sex and violence are downplayed or treated humorously, and the crime and detection take place in a small, socially intimate community. The term was first coined in the late 20th century when various writers produced work in an attempt to re-create the Golden Age of Detective Fiction.[1]
Lori wrote: "Is anyone still monitoring this list? I see a lot of books that do not qualify. I looked at some of the comments and I think it might help if you put in the instructions 'no pre-1960 series'. (pote..."I agree with your list; especially Blessing Way which is a Navajo police procedural rather than a cozy.
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