I have found so many that ask for too much suspension of belief: cats that can communicate psychically and help solve mysteries, women who snoop in pushy ways (after recently inheriting a bookshop, hotel, mansion, restaurant).
I don’t need romance with the local sheriff either. I did find the old tv series Murder She Wrote just fine, so something along those lines.
I just started one of Tonya Kappes’ gazillion editions with a protagonist called Mae West…. Had to slow the audio reader down to 82% to follow along. No opinion yet.
Some have categorized the British Richard Jury mysteries as cozy, but many of those stories are fairly grim and more police procedurals. I have read two of The Thursday Murder Club and found them okay. And one We Solve Murders.
Anyway, please offer some suggestions. I need escapism where the silliness isn’t too distracting. Thanks.
by Shirleysdaughter
9 Comments
Ngaio Marsh
Rex Stout
Number One Ladies Detective Agency!
The Miss Fortune series by Jana DeLeon is really good. The mc is a CIA assassin who’s cover has been blown and her boss sends her to a small Louisiana bayou town. She’s taking over his niece’s identity and going to settle an aunts estate. She’s totally out of her depth. She hooks up with the late aunt’s elderly friends. Minor spoiler the friends are former Vietnam spooks. These are some of the funniest mysteries I’ve ever read. Yeah she does eventually get together with the sheriff but it’s not the focus.
Dorothy Sayers
I think the Flavia de Luce series might be what you’re looking for!
Try some Agatha Christie. I’d recommend And Then There Were None or Death on the Nile. You could all try Murder at the Vicarage (incidentally, Miss Marple, the detective in this one, has been portrayed by Angela Lansbury).
If you don’t like women who snoop in pushy ways, it’s going to be a rough road for you in this genre. Viviana Valentine Gets Her Man was fun, I thought. She works for a detective so there’s a legit reason for her to be snoopin’ and I didn’t find it needed an unusual suspension of disbelief.
I’m assuming you’re already familiar with the greats – Agatha Christie, etc. – but anything from the golden age of mystery would probably suit you, since the detectives tend to be a little more restrained. The books you’ve listed make me think you’re looking for something written a little more recently, though.
Vera Wong series by Jesse Q Sutanto is fun.
Maisie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear