As the leaves turn golden and the scent of cinnamon creeps into every corner of the house, there’s no better time to curl up with a cozy mystery.
Autumn isn’t just a season, it’s a mood, and these ten upcoming titles capture it with charm, suspense, and a touch of whimsy. Whether you’re drawn to haunted inns, poisoned pastries, or bookshops with secrets, this list is your passport to small-town intrigue, amateur sleuths, and plots that twist like windblown leaves.
These stories don’t just entertain, they invite you into worlds where every cup of tea might hide a clue, and every pumpkin patch could be a crime scene. Ready to fall into mystery?
1. Whiskey Business: A Mixology Lounge Mystery by Adrian Andover
Reece Parker isn’t just a mixologist, he’s a man on a mission to rebuild his life, freshly single and pouring his energy into Subplot, a literary-themed underground cocktail lounge in the heart of Hope Mills, Pennsylvania.
But when a whiskey club meeting ends with a corpse behind the bar, his fresh start quickly spirals into a murder investigation. The victim’s connection to the lounge is murky, and the local police, led by his ex’s brother, aren’t exactly unbiased. With his reputation on the rocks and the lounge’s future in jeopardy, Reece dives into a maze of suspects that includes whiskey connoisseurs, literary snobs, and patrons nursing more grudges than drinks.
What makes this debut unforgettable isn’t just the clever concept of a speakeasy-meets-library, but the way it blends humor, heart, and high-stakes sleuthing. Reece isn’t just chasing a killer; he’s trying to piece his life back together.
The cast is delightfully eccentric, the dialogue snappy, and the mystery rich with literary references and mixology lore. Perfect for readers who love LGBTQ+ representation, small-town dynamics, and protagonists who are vulnerable yet determined. And yes, there are cocktail recipes, because solving a murder is thirsty work.
Why we recommend it: Who doesn’t want murder served with a twist of literary flair and a splash of emotional recovery? This one’s for readers who like their mysteries shaken, not stirred, with queer rep, cocktail lore, and just enough heartbreak to keep it real.
2. Death Whisk by Catherine Bruns
Sally Muccio thought she was in for a cozy escape: cookies, cocoa, and a free overnight stay at Bella Vita, the elegant inn recently renovated by one of her father’s oldest friends. Invited to bake for the open house, Sally instead finds herself in the middle of a literal storm. When the power goes out and the inn’s owner, Guido Sorrentino, is found dead, the weekend takes a sharp turn into thriller territory.
With the police stalling and her father unexpectedly caught in the crosshairs, Sally has no choice but to dust off her sleuthing skills.
The deeper she digs, the stranger things get: rumors of organized crime, cryptic behavior, and a victim who may have seen it coming. Bruns serves up a mystery full of bitter relatives, buried secrets, and cookies that, for once, aren’t the most dangerous thing in the room.
A perfect cozy for readers who love stubborn heroines, snowy settings, and stories best enjoyed with something warm in hand.
Why we recommend it: It’s cozy, it’s snowy, and it’s got biscotti and mob rumors: what more could you possibly want? Ideal for fans of culinary sleuths who don’t crumble under pressure and know that sometimes the deadliest thing in the room isn’t the dessert.
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3. The French Bookshop Murder by Greg Mosse
In the sleepy village of Sainte-Catherine, a charming bookshop becomes the center of a mystery when a tourist is found dead in the local church. Zoe Pascal, a British expat and the shop’s new owner, is the last person to have seen him alive, and the first to suspect foul play
As whispers spread and secrets surface, Zoe must navigate a community that guards its past as fiercely as its pastries. The clues point to a manuscript, a missing priest, and a truth that’s been buried longer than anyone cares to admit.
What makes this mystery irresistible is its atmosphere: the bookshop isn’t just a backdrop, it’s a character in its own right.
Mosse crafts a puzzle that rewards close attention, ideal for fans of slow-burn mysteries and European settings. If you’ve ever dreamed of solving a crime with a café au lait in hand, this one’s for you.
Why we recommend it: If you’ve ever fantasized about solving a murder in a bookshop while sipping coffee and judging everyone’s reading choices, this is your moment. A must-read for lovers of slow-burn mysteries, literary clues, and croissants with a side of crime.
4. A Perilous Plot by Lorna Barrett
Tricia Miles, owner of the Haven’t Got a Clue bookstore, is no stranger to family drama, but when her mother arrives with an urn supposedly containing her late husband’s ashes, things take a bizarre turn. The urn is filled with cat litter and a stolen Rolex, and her mother promptly disappears.
When she’s found tied up in Tricia’s attic, the mystery deepens: was the urn a message, a threat, or something far stranger? As Tricia investigates, she uncovers secrets that could change everything she thought she knew about her family.
This new installment in the Booktown Mystery series plays with the tension between nostalgia and truth. Barrett knows how to weave small-town charm with genuine suspense, and A Perilous Plot is proof. The characters are familiar but never stale, and the stakes feel personal without tipping into melodrama.
Ideal for readers who love mysteries that explore community dynamics, buried histories, and the danger of asking the wrong questions.
Why we recommend it: Small towns always have big secrets: this one comes with cat litter, scandal, and a heroine who knows her way around both books and bodies. Perfect for readers who like their cozies with a dash of family intrigue and a whole lot of fall vibes.
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5. Ghosts, Gags, & Glazed Donuts!: A Sweetie’s Latte Cozy Mystery by Shelley Weiss
Sweetie’s Latte Café is known for its seasonal donuts and pun-filled menu, but this fall, it’s also serving up a side of the supernatural.
When a ghost tour guide is found dead in Moon’s Landing’s most haunted house, barista Lindsay Zimmer finds herself at the center of a mystery steeped in local legend. The clues are as bizarre as they are spooky: a broken chandelier, a suspicious donut, and a town history that refuses to stay buried.
With her regulars panicking and her café turning into a paranormal hotspot, Lindsay must solve the case before the next ghost tour ends in disaster.
Weiss delivers a mystery that’s equal parts absurd and affectionate, embracing the kitschy charm of Halloween while still crafting a solid whodunit. The café setting is a delight: quirky regulars, irresistible treats, and enough caffeine to fuel a ghost hunt.
Perfect for readers who love humor, holiday-themed cozies, and heroines who won’t be rattled by things that go bump in the night.
Why we recommend it: Haunted donuts and ghost tours gone wrong are exactly what spooky season ordered. This is for readers who love their mysteries with a sugar glaze, a side of sass, and zero tolerance for ghostly nonsense.
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Subscribe to our weekly newsletter6. Murder at Blackwood Inn by Penny Warner
Carissa Blackwood thought she’d hit rock bottom: a failed marriage, a stalled career, and a sudden move to the coastal town of Pelican Point, California. But when she agrees to help her two eccentric aunts run the Blackwood Inn, a Victorian estate inherited from their occult-obsessed father, her life takes a decidedly paranormal turn.
Between crystals, poisonous gardens, and candlelit séances, things get complicated when a local man dies from one of Aunt Hazel’s herbs. And when one of Aunt Runa’s charms is found at the scene, the mystery takes on a supernatural edge.
Warner blends cozy mystery with gothic flair, crafting an atmosphere full of flickering lights, ghostly whispers, and family secrets.
Carissa, skeptical but intuitive, moves through old journals, town gossip, and ghostly appearances from her grandfather, racing to clear her aunts’ names before someone else checks out permanently. Perfect for readers who love magical herbs, haunted houses, and heroines who refuse to be intimidated by the living or the dead.
Why we recommend it: Sometimes the best mysteries come with poison gardens, ghost grandpas, and aunts who dabble in the arcane. This one’s for readers who like their cozies with a gothic twist and aren’t afraid of a little spectral sass.
7. Murder in Miniature by Katie Tietjen
Maple Bishop isn’t your typical postwar housewife.
In 1947 Vermont, she’s a self-taught forensic consultant with a passion for miniatures and a knack for solving crimes. When a man is found dead under suspicious circumstances, the sheriff asks Maple to reconstruct the crime scene using her scale-model replicas. But beneath the snow lie deeper secrets: wartime grudges, hidden identities, and tensions that the cold never managed to freeze.
Tietjen’s debut blends historical fiction and cozy mystery with precision and grace. Inspired by forensic pioneer Frances Glessner Lee, Maple’s miniatures aren’t just decorative; they’re tools of truth.
The postwar setting adds emotional depth, exploring the quiet courage of those rebuilding themselves while reconstructing a crime. Ideal for readers who love vintage charm, cerebral puzzles, and heroines who don’t need to raise their voice to be heard.
Why we recommend it: Tiny furniture and postwar secrets make a surprisingly lethal combination. Recommended for fans of historical cozies, forensic finesse, and heroines who build justice one dollhouse room at a time.
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8. Wallflowers in the Window by Kathi Daley
Autumn in Holiday Bay, Maine, is a season of change, and for Abby Sullivan, the recurring protagonist of the Inn at Holiday Bay series, it’s also a season of shadows. When a local girl vanishes after soccer practice, Abby suspects more than teenage rebellion.
The missing girl was part of a youth team with tangled loyalties and buried secrets, and the deeper Abby digs, the more she uncovers: a coach with a past, parents with grudges, and a town that prefers silence to scandal.
Daley blends emotional depth with small-town suspense, crafting a mystery that’s as much about community as it is about crime. Abby’s quiet resilience and intuitive sleuthing make her the kind of heroine who listens before she leaps. Perfect for readers who love coastal cozies, layered friendships, and mysteries that bloom slowly but sting when they land.
Why we recommend it: Grief, gossip, and pressed petals hide more than you think. A quiet stunner for readers who love slow-blooming mysteries, emotional depth, and protagonists who solve crimes with empathy as much as logic.
9. Killer Candy Corn: A Sea Glass Beach Mystery by Amelia Pine
Fall in Sea Glass Beach is all cinnamon breezes and candy-colored storefronts, until Milo Love, a local ghost hunter, is found dead in a vat of candy corn. Paige Andrews, owner of the town’s vintage boutique, is pulled into the mystery when her best friend becomes the prime suspect.
Between haunted houses, cursed costumes, and a Harvest Festival that’s one séance short of chaos, Paige must untangle a web of secrets before the killer strikes again.
Pine stirs up a cozy mystery with a dash of paranormal and a swirl of small-town charm. Paige is a heroine with flair and fire, and her investigation is as stylish as her window displays. With quirky locals, spooky legends, and a cat named Hex who may or may not be psychic, Killer Candy Corn is a seasonal delight for readers who like their cozies sweet, spooky, and just a little strange.
Why we recommend it: Nothing says “fall vibes” like murder in a vat of pumpkin fudge. A must for cozy fans who crave sugar, salt air, and sleuths who wield spatulas like swords.
10. The Impossible Fortune by Richard Osman
The Thursday Murder Club is back, same crew, new chaos!
When Elizabeth is approached by Nick Silver, a nervous best man with a criminal past and a confession that could get him killed, the gang is pulled into a mystery involving a missing person, a secret code, and a fortune in cryptocurrency that may or may not exist. As Joyce, Ron, Ibrahim, and Elizabeth follow the trail, they navigate luxury hotels, encrypted messages, and a kidnapping that’s anything but straightforward.
Osman delivers another masterclass in cozy crime: razor-sharp dialogue, emotional depth, and a plot that dances between danger and delight. The gang’s chemistry is as irresistible as ever, and their sleuthing, equal parts charm and cunning, proves that age is no barrier to brilliance.
For readers who love clever mysteries, unlikely heroes, and endings that feel earned, The Impossible Fortune is a treasure worth chasing.
Why we recommend it: Coded confessions and retirees who still know how to stir up trouble. Perfect for fans of cozy crime with brains, heart, and a dash of mischief.
There’s something about autumn that invites mystery. Maybe it’s the early dusk, the rustle of leaves, or the way the world seems to quiet down just enough for secrets to surface.
These ten cozy fall mysteries offer more than just clever plots; they offer atmosphere, character, and a sense of place that makes each story feel like a visit to a world you’d gladly get lost in. Whether you’re drawn to haunted inns, seaside candy shops, or bookshops with buried truths, this list is your invitation to explore the softer side of suspense. So brew a cup of something warm, wrap yourself in a blanket, and let the sleuthing begin.
