Now that it’s fall, it is time for the tradition of rounding up cozy mystery books with a fall theme! For me, fall means witches on my TV and in my books, and sweating while putting up Halloween decor because I don’t live where the trees turn colors as it gets crisp outside. But while my turtlenecks are faux, my fall spirit is not!
If you also like your reading to have some seasonal flair, here are three cozy mysteries, each with a different autumn vibe.
Crazy Spooky Love (Melody Bittersweet #1) by Josie Silve
For fans of ghost and the genre blend of cozy mystery with romance!
In her late twenties, Melody Bittersweet doesn’t want to work for the family business—the family women are all mediums who see/talk to ghosts— so she uses the backroom to open a new business: ghostbusting! Her first job is to get rid of a trio of ghosts that are keeping a house from selling. But she wasn’t planning on there being a murder to solve, nor for her ex—and business rival—to be on the case, along with a local reporter, set to prove that seeing ghosts is a con.
If you enjoy this series starter, you only have until October to wait for the sequel: Kooky Spooky Love!
Guilt and Ginataan (Tita Rosie’s Kitchen Mystery #5) by Mia P. Manansala
For fans of foodie cozy mysteries and fall festivals!
The Shady Palms Corn Festival sure sounds like a fun event! Lila Macapagal, owner of the Brew-ha Café, is looking forward to the large corn maze, and also the revenue it can bring. But the fun takes a wrong turn (heh) when her best friend is found inside the maze holding a knife beside a dead body, which just happens to be the mayor’s wife… Good thing this isn’t Lila’s first amateur sleuthing case and she’s got a crew to help!
If you want to start at the beginning of this series, pick up Arsenic and Adobo!
In the Company of Witches (Evenfall Witches B&B #1) by Auralee Wallace
For fans of witches and murder mysteries!
With all the talk about a sequel for the film Practical Magical (Lee Pace!), I had to end this list with a book that has the film’s spirit in the family dynamic.
The Warren family has a long witchy history: Brynn Warren can talk to ghosts, a power she’s refused to use since her husband died years ago; her aunts, Nora and Izzy, run a B&B (her uncle lives in the attic) and have spent a long time secretly using their powers to help the townspeople. But when a demanding guest at the B&B dies and Nora becomes the suspect, Brynn is forced to process her grief, make peace with her powers, and clear her aunt’s name!
And you can follow it up with the sequel, When the Crow’s Away!
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Browse the books recommended in Unusual Suspects’ previous newsletters on this shelf and see upcoming 2025 releases. Check out this Unusual Suspects Pinterest board and get Tailored Book Recommendations! Until next time, come talk books with me on Bluesky, Goodreads, Litsy, and Multitudes Contained.
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