4 Perfect Mysteries for Curling Up With on a Chilly Night
by MK French
Mysteries can come in so many flavors. Today, I have 3 that would work well for Halloween reading, as they have at least a bit of a supernatural flavor to them. If you are over all the Halloween reading lists and suggestions, then the last one on the list is for you, as it is just a fun historical rom-com mystery.
Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. Free books were provided for an honest review.
The Unfathomable Curse by Courtney Smyth
September 2025; Titan Books; 978-1835412213
ebook, print (496 pages); supernatural mystery
Cornelia's money is finally running out now that she's estranged from her family after the events of the Undead Complex. The Wrackton Digger is stealing bodies from the cemetery, and the Wickermere Reaper has emerged as a new serial killer. When the Reaper snatches Cornelia’s twin sisters as their next victims, she must return to her family’s home, and seat of the Ghoul Council, to conduct the search. The Undetectables have a ticking clock to save the twins, and still must find the Wrackton Digger. They are determined to do it and save the people they love.
This is the third book in the Undetectables series, and you absolutely have to read the first two novels first. We backtrack a bit at first, so we see how Cornelia grew up, and it really explains a lot. The current-day investigation proceeds slowly as the entire team is pulled into the body snatching case, then into the missing twins. The missing person case has a short timeline and an intense emotional cost for Cornelia, and we see the Council adhering to policy and procedures at all costs, sometimes actively blocking the Undetectables from getting any accurate information to find the twins. More bodies go missing, splitting the attention of allies and upping the tension as the book progresses.
The final third of the book has a lot of information and betrayals, reversals, and the curse being laid. It allows a ghost to take over a living body completely, and the former soul is lost forever. The curse is one that witches fear and is impossible to get out of. The two cases are solved by the end, though we only have the motive for one of them. There will undoubtedly be another book in this series, because there are unanswered questions and a new ticking clock for the team to deal with.
Buy The Unfathomable Curse at Amazon
All of Us Murderers by KJ Charles
October 2025; Poisoned Pen Press; 978-1464227523
audio, ebook, print (352 pages); historical romance mystery
Zeb Wyckham is summoned to a wealthy relative's remote Gothic manor along with his estranged brother, his sneering cousin, and his bitter ex-lover Gideon Grey. The group is told that the family fortune will go to whoever marries his young ward, setting off a violent scramble for her hand. There's no way out, even if Zeb wants to leave. Lackaday House is locked tight, and something unnatural may be watching them. Zeb has nowhere to turn but to Gideon for help. Can they deal with each other and still survive Lackaday House?
Zeb's family is truly awful. We're warned ahead of time how characters put down someone with ADHD, and Zeb clearly has all the signs we now recognize are part of it. He can't focus or keep a job, talks about seemingly random things, and can't stay organized. He is generally honest, compared to the brother who cheated him and thinks himself better than others, the sister in law who had an affair, the cousin who thinks he's better at Art and puts down everything that he doesn't understand, or the other cousin who is older and distant. Zeb has no interest in the money or the marriage, though no one believes that. It's a tense situation even without the ghost sightings, so from the start felt sorry for him and needed him to have a happily ever after.
The second half of the book really escalates quickly, and it's Zeb's genuine attitude toward others that shines through. It's not that he's good in comparison to his terrible family, but that he genuinely tries to be a good person. He doesn't want to hurt others and wants to help wronged people however they need, not to make himself feel better. It's likely because he's so distracted that he forgets things and realizes how much that hurts others' feelings, but he's got a sense of honor that he tries to uphold. Reconnecting with Gideon clears the air, and the two work together to survive. It was a tense ending, and one that I enjoyed as fitting for everyone involved.
Buy All of Us Murderers at Amazon
Dead & Breakfast by Kat Hillis & Rosiee Thor
October 2025; Berkley; 978-0593952719
audio, ebook, print (336 pages); cozy mystery
Arthur and Sal are married vampires who have moved into a new town to open a bed and breakfast. They have reasons for all their quirky behavior, and their new home isn't necessarily paranormal-friendly. When the mayor is found dead in their begonias with two puncture wounds in his neck, they need the help of a werewolf barista, the elven town coroner, and a very human city manager. Arthur and Sal must prove they aren’t literally out for blood by catching the real killer.
Salvatore is a flamboyant and dramatic vampire blamed for the mayor's death outside their home. He's not Arthur's sire, but he had introduced him to the paranormal world in the 1950s. The two have moved from place to place, whether for being queer or paranormal or both. There's a paranormal branch of the FBI who are called in to investigate after the prejudiced sheriff takes in Salvatore for questioning. Arthur must work with the others to prove Sal's innocence before the feds come, since he's afraid of what will happen. He doesn't trust any of them, so you know that means the team is all friends by the end of the book.
This is a cozy mystery that features the paranormal, and the stars of the novel are the quirky vampires. They're fun to follow as Arthur looks for clues the sheriff doesn't think to look for, and the town citizens are questioned. They're campy and genuinely want to make a home in town. It's an entertaining story, full of characters and modern small-town charm.
Buy Dead & Breakfast at Amazon
And Then There Was The One by Martha Waters
October 2025; Atria Books; 978-1668069578
audio, ebook, print (352 pages); rom-com mystery
In 1930s England, Georgiana Radcliffe solved four murders in a single year. She's certain that the chairman of the village council is the town’s fifth murder, but everyone else thinks he died of a heart attack. Reaching out to a London detective leads his posh womanizer assistant, Sebastian Fletcher-Ford, to appear instead. The two are instantly on edge around each other, but have no option but to work together. There is more to the case and to each other than they first thought.
Readers of Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers understand the allure of a quaint English village and a murder mystery. After having four such murders, Georgie's irritated by the "murder tourists" visiting the town as well as the lack of concern local police have for a heart attack in an otherwise healthy 65-year-old man. Fletcher-Ford is the exact kind of man that irritates Georgie, especially when he suggests hiding his purpose in town by saying he's a friend of the family. It kinda makes Georgie the grumpy of a grumpy/sunshine trope, so we have an idea where we're going with their relationship.
The start of the book is rather in keeping with the Agatha Christie style of mystery, along with a description of the village and its people. It's definitely a quaint and cozy place, with fun members of the town that Georgie suspects and questions, along with Fletcher-Ford. Along the way, the two grow closer and learn more about each other. Of course, they fall in love, but they're also seriously looking into the circumstances around the chairman's death. There are the secrets within the village that Georgie hadn't known about, other smaller crimes, and lots of details that we find in cozy mysteries. This novel works as both a romance and a cozy mystery, so it's a perfect fit for fans of both genres.
Buy And Then There Was The One at Amazon
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Mysteries can come in so many flavors. Today, I have 3 that would work well for Halloween reading, as they have at least a bit of a supernatural flavor to them. If you are over all the Halloween reading lists and suggestions, then the last one on the list is for you, as it is just a fun historical rom-com mystery.
Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. Free books were provided for an honest review.
The Unfathomable Curse by Courtney Smyth
September 2025; Titan Books; 978-1835412213ebook, print (496 pages); supernatural mystery
Cornelia's money is finally running out now that she's estranged from her family after the events of the Undead Complex. The Wrackton Digger is stealing bodies from the cemetery, and the Wickermere Reaper has emerged as a new serial killer. When the Reaper snatches Cornelia’s twin sisters as their next victims, she must return to her family’s home, and seat of the Ghoul Council, to conduct the search. The Undetectables have a ticking clock to save the twins, and still must find the Wrackton Digger. They are determined to do it and save the people they love.
This is the third book in the Undetectables series, and you absolutely have to read the first two novels first. We backtrack a bit at first, so we see how Cornelia grew up, and it really explains a lot. The current-day investigation proceeds slowly as the entire team is pulled into the body snatching case, then into the missing twins. The missing person case has a short timeline and an intense emotional cost for Cornelia, and we see the Council adhering to policy and procedures at all costs, sometimes actively blocking the Undetectables from getting any accurate information to find the twins. More bodies go missing, splitting the attention of allies and upping the tension as the book progresses.
The final third of the book has a lot of information and betrayals, reversals, and the curse being laid. It allows a ghost to take over a living body completely, and the former soul is lost forever. The curse is one that witches fear and is impossible to get out of. The two cases are solved by the end, though we only have the motive for one of them. There will undoubtedly be another book in this series, because there are unanswered questions and a new ticking clock for the team to deal with.
Buy The Unfathomable Curse at Amazon
All of Us Murderers by KJ Charles
October 2025; Poisoned Pen Press; 978-1464227523audio, ebook, print (352 pages); historical romance mystery
Zeb Wyckham is summoned to a wealthy relative's remote Gothic manor along with his estranged brother, his sneering cousin, and his bitter ex-lover Gideon Grey. The group is told that the family fortune will go to whoever marries his young ward, setting off a violent scramble for her hand. There's no way out, even if Zeb wants to leave. Lackaday House is locked tight, and something unnatural may be watching them. Zeb has nowhere to turn but to Gideon for help. Can they deal with each other and still survive Lackaday House?
Zeb's family is truly awful. We're warned ahead of time how characters put down someone with ADHD, and Zeb clearly has all the signs we now recognize are part of it. He can't focus or keep a job, talks about seemingly random things, and can't stay organized. He is generally honest, compared to the brother who cheated him and thinks himself better than others, the sister in law who had an affair, the cousin who thinks he's better at Art and puts down everything that he doesn't understand, or the other cousin who is older and distant. Zeb has no interest in the money or the marriage, though no one believes that. It's a tense situation even without the ghost sightings, so from the start felt sorry for him and needed him to have a happily ever after.
The second half of the book really escalates quickly, and it's Zeb's genuine attitude toward others that shines through. It's not that he's good in comparison to his terrible family, but that he genuinely tries to be a good person. He doesn't want to hurt others and wants to help wronged people however they need, not to make himself feel better. It's likely because he's so distracted that he forgets things and realizes how much that hurts others' feelings, but he's got a sense of honor that he tries to uphold. Reconnecting with Gideon clears the air, and the two work together to survive. It was a tense ending, and one that I enjoyed as fitting for everyone involved.
Buy All of Us Murderers at Amazon
Dead & Breakfast by Kat Hillis & Rosiee Thor
October 2025; Berkley; 978-0593952719audio, ebook, print (336 pages); cozy mystery
Arthur and Sal are married vampires who have moved into a new town to open a bed and breakfast. They have reasons for all their quirky behavior, and their new home isn't necessarily paranormal-friendly. When the mayor is found dead in their begonias with two puncture wounds in his neck, they need the help of a werewolf barista, the elven town coroner, and a very human city manager. Arthur and Sal must prove they aren’t literally out for blood by catching the real killer.
Salvatore is a flamboyant and dramatic vampire blamed for the mayor's death outside their home. He's not Arthur's sire, but he had introduced him to the paranormal world in the 1950s. The two have moved from place to place, whether for being queer or paranormal or both. There's a paranormal branch of the FBI who are called in to investigate after the prejudiced sheriff takes in Salvatore for questioning. Arthur must work with the others to prove Sal's innocence before the feds come, since he's afraid of what will happen. He doesn't trust any of them, so you know that means the team is all friends by the end of the book.
This is a cozy mystery that features the paranormal, and the stars of the novel are the quirky vampires. They're fun to follow as Arthur looks for clues the sheriff doesn't think to look for, and the town citizens are questioned. They're campy and genuinely want to make a home in town. It's an entertaining story, full of characters and modern small-town charm.
Buy Dead & Breakfast at Amazon
And Then There Was The One by Martha Waters
October 2025; Atria Books; 978-1668069578audio, ebook, print (352 pages); rom-com mystery
In 1930s England, Georgiana Radcliffe solved four murders in a single year. She's certain that the chairman of the village council is the town’s fifth murder, but everyone else thinks he died of a heart attack. Reaching out to a London detective leads his posh womanizer assistant, Sebastian Fletcher-Ford, to appear instead. The two are instantly on edge around each other, but have no option but to work together. There is more to the case and to each other than they first thought.
Readers of Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers understand the allure of a quaint English village and a murder mystery. After having four such murders, Georgie's irritated by the "murder tourists" visiting the town as well as the lack of concern local police have for a heart attack in an otherwise healthy 65-year-old man. Fletcher-Ford is the exact kind of man that irritates Georgie, especially when he suggests hiding his purpose in town by saying he's a friend of the family. It kinda makes Georgie the grumpy of a grumpy/sunshine trope, so we have an idea where we're going with their relationship.
The start of the book is rather in keeping with the Agatha Christie style of mystery, along with a description of the village and its people. It's definitely a quaint and cozy place, with fun members of the town that Georgie suspects and questions, along with Fletcher-Ford. Along the way, the two grow closer and learn more about each other. Of course, they fall in love, but they're also seriously looking into the circumstances around the chairman's death. There are the secrets within the village that Georgie hadn't known about, other smaller crimes, and lots of details that we find in cozy mysteries. This novel works as both a romance and a cozy mystery, so it's a perfect fit for fans of both genres.
Buy And Then There Was The One at Amazon
Born and raised in New York City, M.K. French started writing stories when very young, dreaming of different worlds and places to visit. She always had an interest in folklore, fairy tales, and the macabre, which has definitely influenced her work. She currently lives in the Midwest with her husband, three young children, and a golden retriever.
Enjoyed this post? Never miss out on future posts by following us. Get even more book news in your inbox, sign up for our newsletter today! Or Follow Girl Who Reads with Bloglovin.Girl Who Reads is an Amazon advertising affiliate; a small commission is earned when purchases are made at Amazon using any Amazon links on this site. Thank you for supporting Girl Who Reads.
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