Last week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic was listing our most anticipated books releasing during the second half of 2023. Since cozy mysteries are my go-to comfort reads, I thought they deserved a list of their own. Here are eight upcoming titles that recently caught my eye. Are you looking forward to any of these?
THE BODY IN THE BACK GARDEN by Mark Waddell
Coming August 22nd: “In this queer cozy series debut perfect for fans of Ellen Byron and Ellery Adams, Luke Tremblay is about to discover that Crescent Cove has more than its fair share of secrets…and some might be deadlier than others.”
MURDER AT A CAPE BOOKSTORE by Maddie Day
Coming August 22nd: “In Agatha Award and Macavity Award-winning author Maddie Day’s fifth cozy Capers Book Club Mystery, it’s mud season in Cape Cod, and when an ill wind blows in a murder with a twist in the tale, bicycle shop owner Mackenzie “Mac” Almeida and her crime-solving book group are ready to leaf through the clues…”
BOARD TO DEATH by CJ Connor
Coming August 22nd: “The first in an ultra-charming new “quozy” mystery series starring Ben Rosencrantz, a queer 30-something English professor (and closet scifi fan) who’s returned to his hometown of Salt Lake City to run his family’s board game shop in the trendy Sugar House neighborhood — a community hotspot for players of all ages…and for killer collectors!”
DEATH BY A THOUSAND SIPS by Gretchen Rue
Coming September 5th: “Phoebe Winchester is back on the case in Raven Creek when a body is discovered at an estate sale in Gretchen Rue’s second book in the Witches’ Brew mystery series, perfect for fans of Laura Childs and Cleo Coyle.”
MURDER BY THE SEASHORE by Samara Yew
Coming October 17th: “Perfect for fans of Jenn McKinlay and Ellery Adams, Scarlett Gardner’s dream was to open a bookshop in Southern California, but it soon becomes a nightmare when she finds the dead body of a customer — and becomes the prime suspect.”
MURDER UNCORKED by Maddie Day
Coming October 24th: “Raise a glass to Cece Barton, a widowed single mom and recent L.A.-to-California-wine-country transplant who suddenly finds herself at the center of a murder investigation in this sparkling new mystery series from Agatha Award-winning author Maddie Day.”
DEATH BY DEMO by Callie Carpenter
Coming December 5th: “Perfect for fans of Kate Carlisle and Diane Kelly, after her ex-husband tears down their marriage, the last thing Jaime wants is to renovate a worn-down historic home. But when a body is discovered behind a wall — she realizes she’ll have to catch the killer before she builds herself up again.”
DEADLY TO THE CORE by by Joyce Tremel
Coming January 16th: “Perfect for fans of Amanda Flower and Julie Anne Lindsey, when Kate Mulligan inherits her great uncle’s fruit orchard, she quickly realizes that apples aren’t the only thing that can have rotten cores.”