The Top Ten First Cozies of 2023
As chosen by CozyMystery.com and our contributors
It’s hard to create a Top Ten list when you have so many choices.
In creating our list of Top Ten First Cozies, we had one criteria: it had to be the author’s first cozy in our list, and it had to be published in 2023.
We had more than 600 of those.
How do you narrow that down?
As with our Top Ten list, we used Amazon ratings and review counts to narrow the choices, and then our friends and contributors weighed in.
Slowly we pared the list until we came up with ten books we really liked last year.
It’s all subjective though. If we did the exercise again, maybe a few different books would show up.
Still, we think you’ll enjoy these books. At the very least they’re worth reading.
This list is not ranked in any way other than alphabetical. There is no number one, two, three, etc.
So, without further ado…
The Top Ten First Cozy Mysteries of 2023
Caturday Knife Special, Book 1 of the Caddy Cat Cafe Mysteries by C. J. Reynolds
I’ll be honest, I’m a little afraid to go to a cat cafe. I can’t decide if it’s the hair in my tea, or the hundreds of cats I would want to take home with me. Reading about cat cafes might be as close as I want to get, so I’m glad it’s such a good mystery to follow.
A Deadly Combo, Book 1 of the Rocky Nelson Boxing Mysteries by Karen A. Phillips
A unique angle to begin, since sports doesn’t often fill the pages of cozy mysteries, and especially not boxing. I’m always pleased to see authors spreading their wings into new areas (although I also love every single book about a local bakery). Combine with good characters and an interesting story, and you have a hit on your hands (see what I did there?)
A Flight of Murder, Book 1 of the Borrowed Pages Mysteries by Maggie Benton
I loved this story, and I’m amazed how quickly the author has published more (honestly, some authors have written a lot before being published, so it’s difficult to set a particular publication date). I haven’t read them all but I’m looking forward to them after how good the first was.
A Most Unusual Demise, Book 1 of the Most Unusual Mysteries by Katherine Black
You’ve got a retired librarian in an English village, of course there’s going to be some murder going on. It’s a little darker than many cozies, but that doesn’t stop it from being good. If anything, a place where everyone isn’t perfect is much more interesting, and I found myself changing my mind about the murderer several times.
Murder at the Mine, Book 1 of the Ghost Town Mysteries by Jamie L. Adams
Big fan of the Old West, so it’s fun to find a story set in an old west tourist destination. What I think I liked about this most was how the characters really seemed to have their own personalities, rather than all being a creation of the author.
Murder Ińmortal, Book 1 of the Fona Macaw Mysteries by P. D. Underhill
Not going to lie, this book gave me more trouble than any other on the list. For one reason: spell-check kept wanting to make it Immortal. It’s obviously important to the story though. I also like a book where you learn a little something, especially about cultures other than your own.
Murder on Friday Street, Book 1 of the Friday Street Mysteries by Russell Cooper
I’m going to be honest, I almost didn’t include this book as cozy. It’s a little more about spies and spying that it is a traditional cozy, but it’s also reminiscent of the Thursday Murder Club books (from the writing down to the cover!). If those can make it, so can this.
Mushrooms, Magic and Murder, Book 1 of the Hedge Witch Mysteries by Theresa Miller
Do you ever look at a cover and ask yourself if this is a children’s book? In this case, there’s a small purple hippo witch on the cover, and it made me wonder if it really is a cozy. Of course, then you read the story and discover it’s really good, and the purple hippo seems to blend in with everything.
Tolling Bells & Dark Spells, Book 1 of the Darkly Southern Mysteries by Tam Lumière
A bookstore in Lousiana leads to a whole bunch of ideas about swamps and mysteries and witchcraft, and this story brings them all. Best of all there is a cat familiar involved!
Trust the Terrier, Book 1 of the Coral Shores Veterinary Mysteries by D. L. Mitchell
They say write what you know, and I’m always pleased to see people do that. It doesn’t mean what you think (none of us are murderers, I hope!), but in this case it’s a vet writing about a vet being the sleuth. You can guarantee the technical stuff is correct, and then top it with a really good story and you will have a hit on your hands.