Halloween Cozy Mystery Books
The cozy mystery genre is one of my favorites. They are perfect books for reading on a chilly fall night or a cold winter evening. They are usually full of quirky characters, non-gory murders, and hopefully little or no inappropriate relationships or language. I love reading seasonal books during the seasons in which they take place. I’ve got a huge pile of Christmas books that I read during Christmas and sometimes I’ll even add a new one to the pile. I do love my old standbys though.
I haven’t really put that into effect for the Halloween season though and figured this would be a great time to compile a list of Halloween cozy mystery books. I’ve not read most of this list, so if they aren’t great…sorry. I will be adding some of them to my own TBR pile since they look and sound cute.
Halloween Cozy Mystery Books contains affiliate links. This means if you make a purchase, I may receive a commission.
Stirring the Plot
by Daryl Wood Gerber
Halloween in Crystal Cove, California, is a big deal, involving a spooky soiree where the Winsome Witches, a fund-raising group, gather to open up their purse strings and trade superstitions. But party magicians, fortune-tellers, and herbalists are only the beginning of this recipe for disaster…
Jenna Hart has packed The Cookbook Nook chock-full of everything from ghostly texts to witchy potions in anticipation of the annual fund-raiser luncheon. But there’s one unexpected addition to the menu: murder.
When the Head Priestess of the Winsome Witches is found dead under mysterious circumstances, there’s no logical answer and plenty of blame to go around. With her aunt, Vera, unable to call on her ability to foresee the future, Jenna will have to use more than just sleight of hand and a few magic tricks to conjure up the truth…
See Stirring the Plot on Amazon
The Cat Who Talked to Ghosts
by Lilian Jackson Braun
When Mrs. Cobb heard unearthly noises in the antique-filled farmhouse, she called Jim Qwilleran for help. But he was too late. It looked as if his kindly ex-housekeeper had been frightened to death–but by whom? Or what? Now Qwilleran’s moved into the historic farmhouse with his two cat companions–and Koko the Siamese is spooked. Is it a figment of feline imagination–or the clue to a murder in Moose County? And does Qwilleran have a ghost of a chance of solving this haunting mystery?
Find The Cat Who Talked to Ghosts on Amazon
A Catered Halloween
by Isis Crawford
In this Halloween cozy mystery book, sisters Bernadette and Libby Simmons are thrilled they’ve been asked to cater a haunted house fundraiser. But they soon discover that ghosts aren’t the only unwanted guests when a murderer strikes…
With the promise of a hefty commission and some valuable word-of-mouth for their catering business, A Little Taste of Heaven, Bernadette and Libby Simmons agree to cater the charity haunted house being staged at the old Peabody School. The gothic building-complete with towers and turrets-is the perfect setting for a haunted house fundraiser. But what makes the setting even more eerie are the rumors milling about town that the school is haunted by the ghost of Bessie Osgood, a girl who died in an “accident” years before. Bernie and Libby don’t believe in ghosts although they both agree there’s something creepy about the Peabody School. And when wealthy socialite Amethyst Applegate is found dead in the haunted house, the sisters wonder if a murderer might also be lurking about Peabody’s gloomy halls.
Check out A Catered Halloween on Amazon
The Ghost and Mrs. Mewer
by Krista Davis
Wagtail, Virginia, the top pet-friendly getaway in the United States, is gearing up for a howling good Halloween—until a spooky murder shakes the town to its core . . .
Holly Miller doesn’t believe in spirits, but the Sugar Maple Inn is filled with guests who do. The TV series in development, Apparition Apprehenders, has descended on Wagtail’s annual Halloween festivities to investigate supernatural local legends, and Holly has her hands full showing the ghost hunters a scary-fun time.
But the frights turn real when Holly’s Jack Russell, Trixie, and kitten, Twinkletoes, find a young woman drowned in the Wagtail Springs Hotel’s bathhouse—the spot of the town’s most infamous haunting. The crime scene is eerily similar to the creepy legend, convincing Holly that the death wasn’t just accidental. Now she’ll have to race to catch a flesh-and-blood killer—before someone else in town gives up the ghost . . .
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Vampires, Bones, and Treacle Scones
by Kaitlyn Dunnett
Halloween is approaching and newlywed Liss MacCrimmon Ruskin is tapped by the Moosetookalook Small Business Association to organize a community fundraiser. Liss throws herself into plans to turn an abandoned mansion into a “haunted house.”
There are already all kinds of scary stories about the old Chadwick place, which was most recently owned by Blackie O’Hare, a mob hit man from Boston. There are even rumors of buried treasure on the premises. Unfortunately, work on the haunted house is plagued by a series of minor mishaps and by the disappearance and reappearance of various objects. And then, to Liss’ horror, the fake skeleton she’s acquired for a special effect is replaced with a real body—and it’s someone she knows…
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Bedeviled Eggs
by Laura Childs
The ladies at the Cackleberry Club café are busy preparing for Halloween in this Halloween cozy mystery book. But someone’s jumped the gun on the tricks. As mayoral candidate Chuck Peebler leaves the café, he gets struck with a crossbow arrow and is killed instantly. And when another murder occurs on the historical society’s Quilt Trail, the Cackleberry Club needs to sniff out the bad egg-before he strikes again.
The Diva Haunts the House
by Krista Davis
Domestic diva Sophie Winston is getting into the Halloween spirit- her decorations for a community haunted house are so good, it’s scary. Not to be outdone, rival domestic diva Natasha is throwing a spooktacular Halloween party at her house. But when Sophie arrives, she discovers one of Natasha’s guests dead in a Halloween display, and a pale, fanged party goer fleeing the scene.
Could the killer be a real vampire-the same one rumored to have lived in Sophie’s haunted house back when it was a boardinghouse? Good thing a domestic diva never runs out of garlic.
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Fiber and Brimstone
by Laura Childs
It’s Halloween in New Orleans-and the festivities are going to be killer.
With the help of her best friend Ava, Carmela Bertrand is building a giant monster puppet for the Halloween Monsters & Mayhem parade. Things get terrifying earlier than expected when they overhear an argument between Jekyl Hardy and Brett Fowler- and just minutes later they find Fowler’s dead body.
Carmela has known Jekyl for years and can’t believe he’d ever resort to murder, despite the fact that Fowler owed him money. But when another victim is discovered-who also had an unfriendly relationship with Jekyl-Carmela is convinced someone is framing her friend and now must find a way to unmask the real killer. Find out who it is in this Halloween cozy mystery book.
Muffin but Murder
by Victoria Hamilton
Muffin maker Merry Wynter hopes to find a buyer for the castle she’s recently inherited. But when she throws a party to draw interest, she finds someone who’s bought the farm instead…
Merry’s career as a New York City stylist has crumbled, but her passion for muffins has helped her rise upstate in Autumn Vale. Everyone in town loves the tasty treats. Still, she would like to return to her glamorous life. Besides, the upkeep of Wynter Castle is expensive, and Merry’s cup isn’t exactly overflowing.
So in order to bring some prospective buyers into the mix, Merry whisks together a spooky soiree and decorates the castle with dashes of fabric and a sprinkling of spider webs. Friends new and old are invited, and everyone has a blast. But as the revelers empty out, Merry notices one party-goer who isn’t leaving—or breathing. Now Merry must hurry to unmask a killer before her perfect plans turn into a recipe for disaster…
Scared Stiff Halloween Cozy Mystery Book
by Annelise Ryan
When Deputy Coroner Mattie Winston and her boss/best friend, Izzy, are called to the home of waitress and part-time model Shannon Tolliver, they find the ghoulish Halloween decorations a bit too authentic. Among the fake blood and skeletons is the corpse of Shannon herself. Since the whole town knows Shannon recently had a very public spat with her estranged husband, Erik, he’s suspect number 1. But Mattie happens to know Erik truly loved his wife, and is simply incapable of the brutal act – even if he owns the exact same calibre handgun as the murder weapon…Determined to unearth the truth, Mattie puts her scalpel-sharp medical skills to work, and digs a little deeper. What she uncovers is stranger than anyone could have imagined…
Silver Scream
by Mary Daheim
While witches fly and ghosts go by on a Halloween weekend, a Hollywood cast and crew descend upon Hillside Manor. Judith McMonigle Flynn′s worst nightmare is realized when yet another guest, mega-producer Bruno Zepf, drowns in the kitchen sink. When is a murder not a murder, but an accident that could cost Judith her beloved B&B? The police are baffled, so Judith and cousin Renie try to find a killer – any killer will do – to fend off a five-star lawsuit.
Town in a Pumpkin Bash
by B.B. Haywood
“In the quaint seaside village”” of Cape Willington, Maine, Candy Holliday has a mostly idyllic life, tending to the Blueberry Acres farm she runs with her father and occasionally stepping in to solve a murder or two…”
Halloween is fast approaching, and preparations for the Pumpkin Bash, Cape Willington’s annual autumn festival, are well underway. Candy is running this year’s haunted hayride, in the hopes of making some extra cash. But when she discovers a real dead body near some fake tombstones, Candy’s side job becomes a full-blown investigation to find out who turned a holiday attraction into a real horror show. Will Candy’s keen eye for detail unearth buried town secrets? As her search leads her through old graveyards and a haunted house, Candy will discover that not all of the skeletons hidden in this small town’s closets are Halloween decorations… INCLUDES DELICIOUS RECIPES!
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Trick or Treachery
by “Jessica Fletcher” and Donald Bain
Halloween parties are supposed to be scary, of course. But this year, the Cabot Cove event is a real killer — when a real corpse leaves bestselling author Jessica Fletcher no choice…but to scare up a killer.Murder, She Wrote with Jessica Fletcher…
Known to millions of loyal fans through the hit TV show starring Angela Lansbury, this popular sleuth’s got legs — this is #14 in the series and it’s better than ever!
Monster in Miniature
by Margaret Grace
This miniaturist is in BIG trouble…
For a festive Halloween project, Geraldine Porter and her granddaughter, Maddie, set out to create a multi-story haunted dollhouse. But their holiday fun turns to fear when a neighborhood scarecrow turns out to be a bloody corpse.
Night of the Living Thread
by Janet Bolin
Zombies, killer dresses, and ancient curses prove that Halloween in Threadville can be sew spooky…
It’s early October, and hordes of visitors have descended on the tiny, celebrated village of Threadville, Pennsylvania, to attend a Halloween crafts fair, a zombie retreat, and the wedding of Edna Battersby—dear friend to Willow Vanderling, owner of the chic machine embroidery boutique, In Stitches.
As a friendly prank for Edna’s wedding, Willow and the rest of the Threadville gang have fashioned an overly extravagant hoop skirt, complete with lights and music. But in a bizarre turn of events, the garish gown is implicated in a mysterious lakeside murder.
Now Willow must follow a trail of glow-in-the-dark thread, delve into ancient Egyptian curses, and creep through a haunted graveyard to unearth a killer—before she becomes the next fashion victim…
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The Legend of Sleepy Harlow
by Kylie Logan
It takes more than a lurid legend to scare off the League of Literary Ladies…
For Halloween, the Literary Ladies have chosen to read Washington Irving’s spooky classic, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, with its infamous headless horseman. But South Bass Island has its own headless legend—of a Prohibition bootlegger named Charlie “Sleepy” Harlow. Decapitated by rival rumrunners, Harlow appears once a year in spectral form to search for his noggin.
This October, the Elkhart Ghost Getters (EGG) have returned to the island. The group claims that they have film footage of Harlow’s ghost, and are determined to get more. They’re staying at Bea Cartwright’s B and B, but it’s Kate Wilder who isn’t happy to see them after they trashed her winery last year. When the EGG leader turns up dead, Kate becomes the prime suspect. The other League members need to scramble to crack the case.
Purchase The Legend of Sleepy Harlow
I love curling up with a good mystery. This is a great list!
I love reading. These sound so good. It is the perfect time of year to read these. Thank you so much for sharing
They all sound like great reads to cozy up to with a cuppa hot chocolate.