1

by
4.04 avg rating — 212,152 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
2

by
3.68 avg rating — 71,484 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
3

by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 501,578 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
4

by
3.82 avg rating — 178,333 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
5

by
3.81 avg rating — 275,323 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
6

by
3.90 avg rating — 282,178 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
7

by
4.26 avg rating — 342,072 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
8

by
3.95 avg rating — 14,855 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
9

by
3.82 avg rating — 40,863 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
10

by
3.72 avg rating — 44,815 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
11

by
3.87 avg rating — 33,535 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
12

by
3.68 avg rating — 14,326 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
13

by
3.83 avg rating — 22,536 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
14

by
3.97 avg rating — 559,787 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
15

by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 78,820 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
16

by
3.69 avg rating — 37,377 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
17

by
4.27 avg rating — 1,598,044 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
18

by
3.66 avg rating — 20,131 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
19

by
3.93 avg rating — 122,794 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
20

by
3.90 avg rating — 13,892 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
21

by
3.74 avg rating — 12,656 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
22

by
3.65 avg rating — 21,169 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
23

by
3.76 avg rating — 91,878 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
24

by
3.96 avg rating — 15,289 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
25

by
3.89 avg rating — 8,808 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
26

by
4.16 avg rating — 30,995 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
27

by
3.87 avg rating — 66,341 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
28

by
4.20 avg rating — 724,981 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
29

by
3.89 avg rating — 12,631 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
30

by
3.91 avg rating — 39,676 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
31

by
3.70 avg rating — 7,448 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
32

by
4.02 avg rating — 7,532 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
33

by
3.85 avg rating — 9,036 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
34

by
3.87 avg rating — 23,958 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
35

by
3.78 avg rating — 24,474 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
36

by
3.90 avg rating — 27,744 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
37

by
3.85 avg rating — 31,139 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
38

by
3.86 avg rating — 11,610 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
39

by
3.76 avg rating — 12,548 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
40

by
3.83 avg rating — 9,161 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
41

by
3.91 avg rating — 8,638 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
42

by
3.84 avg rating — 12,668 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
43

by
3.78 avg rating — 28,709 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
44

by
4.03 avg rating — 95,847 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
45

by
3.79 avg rating — 62,564 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
46

by
3.92 avg rating — 19,954 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
47

by
3.80 avg rating — 7,427 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
48

by
3.81 avg rating — 6,720 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
49

by
3.91 avg rating — 23,958 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
50

by
4.05 avg rating — 577,679 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
51

by
3.84 avg rating — 29,142 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
52

by
3.80 avg rating — 6,683 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
53

by
3.99 avg rating — 87,237 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
54

by
3.82 avg rating — 21,791 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
55

by
3.75 avg rating — 6,073 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
55

by
3.87 avg rating — 37,657 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
57

by
3.70 avg rating — 11,916 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
58

by
3.84 avg rating — 33,468 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
59

by
3.93 avg rating — 7,289 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
60

by
3.86 avg rating — 20,055 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
61

by
3.73 avg rating — 21,672 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
62

by
3.97 avg rating — 3,433 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
63

by
3.76 avg rating — 25,902 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
64

by
3.77 avg rating — 1,994 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
65

by
3.82 avg rating — 8,049 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
66

by
3.85 avg rating — 18,158 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
67

by
3.70 avg rating — 5,923 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
68

by
3.95 avg rating — 3,382,741 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
69

by
3.81 avg rating — 15,383 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
70

by
3.84 avg rating — 17,080 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
71

by
3.88 avg rating — 15,031 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
72

by
3.91 avg rating — 7,775 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
73

by
3.79 avg rating — 15,403 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
74

by
3.83 avg rating — 13,443 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
75

by
4.49 avg rating — 215 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
76

by
3.97 avg rating — 3,952 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
77

by
3.57 avg rating — 8,368 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
78

by
3.84 avg rating — 31,930 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
79

by
3.73 avg rating — 26,704 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
80

by
3.78 avg rating — 3,865 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
81

by
3.84 avg rating — 23,829 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
82

by
4.18 avg rating — 12,862 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
83

by
3.84 avg rating — 5,137 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
84

by
3.84 avg rating — 4,676 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
85

by
4.53 avg rating — 545 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
86

by
4.08 avg rating — 6,645 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
87

by
3.77 avg rating — 4,750 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
88

by
3.91 avg rating — 15,766 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
89

by
3.97 avg rating — 37,188 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
90

by
3.77 avg rating — 59,882 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
91

by
3.83 avg rating — 1,972 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
92

by
3.89 avg rating — 15,658 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
93

by
3.97 avg rating — 31,117 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
94

by
3.74 avg rating — 4,404 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
95

by
3.98 avg rating — 60,679 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
96

by
3.74 avg rating — 17,396 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
97

by
3.79 avg rating — 1,606 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
98

by
3.88 avg rating — 5,230 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
99

by
3.89 avg rating — 16,484 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
100

by
4.21 avg rating — 407 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
2,532 books · 2,677 voters · list created December 14th, 2009 by Jo ☾.
882 likes · 
Lists are re-scored approximately every 5 minutes.


Ashley 5168 books
540 friends
L.L. 132 books
446 friends
Diana 9 books
433 friends
ஐ Katya (Book Queen)ஐ 8301 books
193 friends
Suzanne 19 books
16 friends
Cleone 0 books
5 friends
Marsha 0 books
0 friends
Clover 266 books
617 friends

More voters…


Comments Showing 1-35 of 35 (35 new)

dateUp arrow    newest »

message 1: by Jamese (new)

Jamese there have been a lot of votes on here


message 2: by Andréa (new)

Andréa I love so many of the books on this list, but a lot of them don't fit my idea of cozy mysteries.

For me, cozies are separate from what I think of as rom.com. mysteries, in which the humor and romance are as important, if not more so, than the mystery element (such as Janet Evanovich's books, much as I love them). I also view cozies as separate from the more suspenseful mysteries in which a happy ending isn't a sure thing. And, in general, while I love YA books there aren't many YA mysteries that I would consider cozies.


message 3: by Sherilyn (new)

Sherilyn But what about the Louise Penney and CS Harris novels --They absolutely should be included.


message 4: by Deborah (new)

Deborah Benjamin The Death of Perry Many Paws is the first in a series of cozy humorous mysteries featuring 'women of a certain age' and a small town filled with people you want to visit again and again. It has a five star rating on Amazon. It's available on Kindle also. It's a definitive cozy mystery.


message 5: by S.F. (new)

S.F. Bose I'd add Larissa Reinhart too. Love her Cherry Tucker series.


message 6: by Rebecca (new)

Rebecca gaah it annoys me that a Janet Evanovich book is number one on this list. I get that they're popular BUT people so often vote for books because they like them, and not because they actually are the best fit for the list description! The thing is people who are looking at the list want to read books that fit the description.

Anyways - if the definition of cozy mystery is the same as the one on the website referenced (http://www.cozy-mystery.com/Definitio...), then "no graphic violence, no profanity, and no explicit sex." There definitely is graphic violence in the Stephanie Plum books, and the romance is pretty explicit. I would say her books are more about thrill, humor, and sex than about a cozy mystery! (It's maybe more of a humorous mystery...)

Basically, I hadn't quite found a description for the books that I really like to read until just now, and Cozy Mystery is definitely it! So I was excited to find this list...and then disappointed to see Stephanie Plum right at the top because that is definitely NOT what I'm looking for, personally!


message 7: by Kathey (new)

Kathey The Connie Shelton series are great Cozy mysteries. Both Charlie Parker and Samantha Sweet are interesting and they have been getting better and better through the years.


message 8: by Cheronica (new)

Cheronica Rebecca wrote: "gaah it annoys me that a Janet Evanovich book is number one on this list. I get that they're popular BUT people so often vote for books because they like them, and not because they actually are the..."

Though I really love the Stephanie Plum books I have to agree with you. I mostly listen to the audio editions of those book and often find myself cringing at the cursing and skipping ahead to avoid the sexual talk. They are not cozy mysteries at all.


message 9: by Kathey (new)

Kathey I agree that this is not the listing I would hope for so I guess I'll have to start posting to it rather than to Amazon Kindle listings. Since Cozies are by nature series books, perhaps it would be better to list only the series name. That would leave room to include a wider selection of books. There are great cozy series not mentioned. I do agree that Stephanie Plum, while well written is not a cozy.


message 10: by Summer (new)

Summer Prescott On the top of the list pictured, there is a tab to add other books that you don't see on the list. I added my favorites and when other reader's saw the books on there, they moved up through the ranks.


BookLovingLady (deceased Jan. 25, 2023...) Someone added Shakespeare's Hamlet (#1048). Odd choice, if you ask me...


message 12: by Sorento62 (new)

Sorento62 That IS funny about Hamlet. LOL


message 13: by Smyle (new)

Smyle Demisana Rebecca wrote: "gaah it annoys me that a Janet Evanovich book is number one on this list. I get that they're popular BUT people so often vote for books because they like them, and not because they actually are the..."
and this is the truth..... No offense but yeah, this is the truth


message 14: by Edie (new)

Edie I would add "Fool's Puzzle" by Earlene Fowler, "Caught Dead in Philadelphia" by Gillian Roberts, "Board Stiff" by Kendel Lynn, "Frontpage Fatality" by LynDee Walker "Murder 101" by Maggie Barbieri and Diners, Dives, and Dead Ends by Terri Austin


message 15: by Andréa (new)

Andréa Edie wrote: "I would add "Fool's Puzzle" by Earlene Fowler, "Caught Dead in Philadelphia" by Gillian Roberts, "Board Stiff" by Kendel Lynn, "Frontpage Fatality" by LynDee Walker "Murder 101" by Maggie Barbieri ..."

Edie, you can add your choices to the list by clicking on the "Add Books to This List" tab at the top of the list.


message 16: by Helen (new)

Helen It's funny how everyone is different, Janet Evanovich's books have totally fitted the 'cozy read' category for me. They are a very light reading style; nothing heavy to digest - and totally for fun.


message 17: by BookLovingLady (deceased Jan. 25, 2023...) (last edited Jun 30, 2017 08:18AM) (new)

BookLovingLady (deceased Jan. 25, 2023...) Helen wrote: "It's funny how everyone is different, Janet Evanovich's books have totally fitted the 'cozy read' category for me. They are a very light reading style; nothing heavy to digest - and totally for fun."

I totally agree :-) Janet Evanovich with Stephanie Plum and Agatha Christie with Miss Marple. Lovely books for me, and like you said, nothing too heavy - and totally for fun.


message 18: by Helen (last edited Jul 17, 2017 05:27AM) (new)

Helen Unfortunately, I've watched Miss Marple televised too many times to be able to read the books with the requisite anticipation. But on the topic of Janet Evanovich, Plum Spooky has to be the book that has given me the most laughs in the last ten years. How about other readers in Readerland, did anyone else besides me particularly fall about over that one? (I have fond memories of it.....)


message 19: by Helen (new)

Helen Booklovinglady wrote: "Someone added Shakespeare's Hamlet (#1048). Odd choice, if you ask me..."

Agree. Book asking/touching on some of the the deepest questions of the human condition in a timeless fashion = 'cozy read'. Well if philosophical conundrums have that nostalgic aura about them for you.. that somewhat comfy and homey feel...


message 20: by Helen (new)

Helen Smyle wrote: "Rebecca wrote: "gaah it annoys me that a Janet Evanovich book is number one on this list. I get that they're popular BUT people so often vote for books because they like them, and not because they ..."

Well, each to their own, but at the time, after jousting with university level texts and questions, reading Plum Spooky was like jumping into a wonderfully warm bubble bath and sipping on a spritzer.


message 21: by Donna (last edited Mar 20, 2018 12:11AM) (new)

Donna Davis I question whether Nevada Barr's Anna Pigeon series (Track of the Cat, presently at #158) should be here. She's a forest ranger, which is a kind of cop. Jo, do you want me to pull it down? She also appears twice in the 300s.

The system found and removed 7 duplicates.


message 22: by Agnieszka (last edited Apr 16, 2018 07:35AM) (new)

Agnieszka The following books are not cozy mysteries:
Angels & Demons (Robert Langdon, #1) (#140) conspiracy thriller and contains graphic violence
The Cuckoo's Calling (Cormoran Strike, #1) (#382) mystery thriller
1st to Die (Women's Murder Club #1) (#419) - hard-boiled Crime Thriller with lots of graphic violence (physical, emotional and sexual)
Jayne Ann Krentz: Fired Up (The Arcane Society #7) (#656) / Dream Eyes (Dark Legacy, #2) (#686) / Lost and Found (#746) / Gift of Fire (Gift, #2) (#749) - the author writes romantic suspense (nothing for the faint of heart)

I suspect this one is not a cozy as well, but didn't read it yet:
Elly Griffiths: The Crossing Places (#412) / The House at Sea's End & A Room Full of Bones (Ruth Galloway, #4) (both #746) - as far as I know this author writes Mystery (Crime)-Thrillers
The Face of Deception (Eve Duncan, #1) (#640) - according to my friends from Thriller group it's a rather dark and disturbing Thriller


message 23: by Donna (new)

Donna Davis Agnieszka wrote: "The following books are not cozy mysteries:
Angels & Demons (Robert Langdon, #1) (#140) conspiracy thriller and contains graphic violence
The Cuckoo's Calling (Cormoran Strike, #1) (#382) mystery t..."


I see the problem, but I also can see that in some ways the list has either gotten away from its original purpose, or else is just very difficult to define. I voted for Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series, yet I must be the first to admit that these are not cozies; they are too steamy and often too raunchy to be so defined. And then for those that use "cozy" as a code that means suitable for precocious young readers, or for religious folks, I wonder whether the titles that have cozy-looking art on the cover, but also include witchcraft in their titles, are suitable candidates.

When push comes to shove, I have to admit these issues are not my issues, and so I will leave it up to listmaker Jo and other librarians to tease out what goes and what stays here. Looks like a stinker of a job.


message 24: by BookLovingLady (deceased Jan. 25, 2023...) (last edited Mar 19, 2020 11:26PM) (new)

BookLovingLady (deceased Jan. 25, 2023...) Donna wrote: "I voted for Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series, yet I must be the first to admit that these are not cozies; they are too steamy and often too raunchy to be so defined...."

To me, 'cozy' mysteries are the ones I can really snuggle up with. It depends on what one likes and one's idea of 'cozy', I guess. Like you, I too am very fond of the Stephanie Plum series and consider them 'cozy' mysteries. To me, like I said earlier, it is important that cozies provide a 'light' read.

According to Wikipedia "cozy mysteries, also referred to as "cozies", are a subgenre of crime fiction in which sex and violence are downplayed or treated humorously, and the crime and detection take place in a small, socially intimate community. Cozies thus stand in contrast to hardboiled fiction, which feature violence and sexuality more explicitly and centrally to the plot." So not only in my opinion, but also in Wikipedia's, the Stephanie Plum novels definitely fit on this list, as they are humorous.

But like you said, I'll leave it up to the creator of the list to decide what is cozy and what's not.


message 25: by Paula (new)

Paula I'm with you on this. Cozy is supposed to be the very definition of no sex, no violence, no language! We need a new list, designed for those of us who want true Cozies.


message 26: by Lois (new)

Lois I agree with you, Paula. The series that I enjoy usually include a murder, but not a vivid description of violence. There is usually a some romance, but no steamy or raunchy segments. Curious what some of your favorites are. I've enjoyed Cleo Coyle (both series), Philip Craig, Amanda Flower (Candy Shop and Bookshop), Barbara Connolly, and Earlene Flower, to name a few.


message 27: by Paula (last edited Mar 24, 2020 06:02PM) (new)

Paula I'm afraid I won't be much help. Most of what I read is nonfiction. When I do read fiction it is usually classic, or literary. Mystery writers I'd class as literary are among my favorites: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, G. K. Chesterton (Father Brown), Daphne du Maurier, Graham Greene, and so forth. When I do read something light (and who doesn't love to sometimes?) it is generally a mystery, and a cozy mystery if I can find it. My very favorite is Dorothy Sayers, followed by Agatha Christie. I also have enjoyed books by Josephine Tey, Patricia Wentworth, Margery Allingham, and Dorothy Gilman (Mrs. Pollifax series). I will have to try some of your favorites. Thanks so much for the suggestions!


message 28: by Lois (new)

Lois thank you for the suggestions. I will give some of them a try.


message 29: by ~☆~Autumn (new)

~☆~Autumn Andréa wrote: "I love so many of the books on this list, but a lot of them don't fit my idea of cozy mysteries.

For me, cozies are separate from what I think of as rom.com. mysteries, in which the humor and roma..."


I was wondering about that as I didn't think I liked cozy mysteries and yet some of my favorite books are on here.


message 30: by Lois (new)

Lois I enjoy the cozy mystery genre and a few weeks ago (3-24-2020) commented about what I thought was included in most of them. I think some books on this list don't fit my definition. If you are curious about cozy mysteries, there is a well done site called Cozy Mystery List that lists books by author. Here is the url; https://www.cozy-mystery.com/ . I hope it is useful for you.


message 31: by Courtney (last edited Aug 23, 2020 11:38AM) (new)

Courtney H I really wish this list was limited to only the first book in a series so that it is easier to discern the top series. As it stands there are many books from the same series which clutters a "true ranking" of SERIES as the list name indicates. In the top 100 list results there are only 66 separate series represented by my count. Rather frustrating for someone looking for a true list of series rather than books or characters.


message 33: by Greg (new)

Greg Eventually, every list on goodreads WILL contain every single book ever published. It's a law of physics, I forget which one. To those of you monitoring these lists, thanks so much, but the universe and authors who haven't sold many books are against you.


message 34: by Greg (new)

Greg Courtney wrote: "I really wish this list was limited to only the first book in a series so that it is easier to discern the top series. As it stands there are many books from the same series which clutters a "true ..."

Courtney, at the library or in a bookstore, I'd like 'series' books to be noted on the spine, maybe "FIC S" for fiction, series. Cause sometimes I just want a stand-alone, and they are getting harder and harder to find.


message 35: by Akvariella (new)

Akvariella test


back to top



Related News

For devoted bookworms, the new year is an exciting time. Specifics on the year’s upcoming books start making the rounds, along with release...

Anyone can add books to this list.