Senior citizen
Senior citizens have been very popular as amateur sleuths, with the most well-known being Miss Marple and Jessica Fletcher. Here’s a list of cozies with a senior as the star.
The Adventures of Gladys (Katherine H. Brown) Senior citizen Gladys is one big laugh after another. She can’t stop herself from sleuthing during her honeymoon cruise when she sees a man go overboard. Everyone says it was an accident, but Gladys isn’t so sure.
The Beach City Mysteries (Giselle Lumas) Patricia Garret and Shirley Martinez are both widowed and retired, and they each have a sweet tooth. One sunny day in Beach City, California, they make a run to the candy store.
The Beatrice Young Mysteries (Alannah Rogers) Beatrice Young, the sixty-two-year-old owner of the Cozy Cat Café, is busy slinging coffee for tourists. Yet when her ever-perceptive Maine Coon cat, Hamish, sniffs out a fake twenty-dollar bill, the hunt is on to find its maker.
The Bess Bullock Mysteries (Allen Boyer) Bess Bullock begins to notice that even at a retirement home, her instincts for noticing the “little mysteries in life” won’t allow her to live as quietly as her fellow residents.
The Bookmobile Mysteries (Nora Page) Septuagenarian librarian Cleo Watkins won’t be shushed when an upstart young mayor threatens to permanently shelve her tiny town’s storm-damaged library. She takes to her bookmobile, Words on Wheels, to collect allies and rally library support throughout Catalpa Springs, Georgia.
The Bookstore at Holiday Bay Mysteries (Kathi Daley) Lou Prescott, a Minnesota native, finds herself at loose ends after the death of her husband. When her niece decides to sell the quaint seaside bookstore she owns in Holiday Bay Maine, Lou decides to buy it, renovate it, and make it her own.
The Boomer/Senior Mysteries (Melinda Lyons) Ex-sisters-in-law Rose Ellen and Pearl have weathered a lot of storms together during their 50-year friendship — and not just the kind that pelt golf ball sized hailstones on their East Texas hometown, Tyler, most every spring.
The Bouncing Grandma Mysteries (Alice K. Arenz) Fifty-two-year-old Glory Harper is stuck in a wheelchair with a broken leg, bored, and itching for some excitement. She doesn’t expect it to come in the form of a foot dangling out the back of a carpet as it’s carried into her new neighbor’s house.
The Bucket List Mysteries (Elizabeth Perona) The Summer Ridge Bridge Club has gathered in secret late one July night to check skinny-dipping off their bucket list. But when a racecar mechanic’s dead body crashes the party, the women have another opportunity for the bucket list: solving a murder mystery.
The Cat Caliban Mysteries (D. B. Borton) After decades of marriage, motherhood, and grandmotherhood, Cat Caliban is looking for a new career. Detective work seems a logical choice. So, she sells her suburban house, buys an apartment building in a “transitional” neighborhood, and begins her training.
The Cats & Crimes Mysteries (Maggie Pill)
The Charlotte Smart Mysteries (Stan Charnofsky) Amateur sleuth Charlotte Smart, retired and living in New Hope, PA, becomes embroiled in unusual mysteries in this cozy mystery series.
The Churchill and Pemberley Mysteries (Emily Organ) Growing bored in the autumn of her years, Londoner Annabel Churchill buys a private detective agency in a Dorset village.
The Cleo Mack Mysteries (G. P. Gardner) After a long tenure as a professor of social work, Cleo Mack is ready to become the youngest new resident at Harbor Village in picturesque Fairhope, Alabama. The retirement community seems an ideal place to make new friends and rediscover life.
The Cozy Zoo Mysteries (Lisa Shea) Rosalinda Alameda adores zoos. When the “Free Friday” promotion features the Franklin Park Zoo in Boston, Rosalinda grabs her camera and heads east. A full day amongst lions and tigers is about the best outing she can possibly imagine.
The Donna Leigh Mysteries (Robin Leemann Donovan) How does one react to the shocking news that a former colleague has been brutally murdered? Worse yet, you realize that your vitriolic relationship with the victim could land you squarely on the suspect list. That’s exactly what happened to Donna Leigh.
The Essie Cobb Senior Sleuth Mysteries (Patricia Rockwell) Why would Bob Weiderley suddenly fall into a coma after winning at Bingo? After all, he was the most physically fit man at the Happy Haven Assisted Living Facility. It was very suspicious. That’s why Essie Cobb and her friends and fellow residents–Opal, Marjorie, and Fay–decided to investigate.
The Ethel Dinwiddie Mysteries (Linda Pohl) Sunday night bingo at St. Angela’s Church can be deadly. Priscilla Hatfield needs just one number to win! Bursting with excitement when I-17 is called, Priscilla suddenly grabs her chest and slumps over dead.
The Flo and Maude Christmas Mysteries (Sarah Osborne) The Old Dames Protection Agency solves murders before they happen. Curmudgeon Flo and gentle Maude, octogenarians and founding members of the organization, are on the road from Boston to LA, Atlanta to Cape Cod, ready to save the innocent (and not so innocent) from harm. Their side-kick, young Kate, does the heavy lifting and carries a gun.
The Friday Street Mysteries (Russell Cooper) Eccentric twin brothers, Cedric and Ambrose, retire from MI6 to make honey and tackle crosswords at Tanglefoot Farm in England’s Surrey Hills.
The Garden Girls Mysteries (Hope Callaghan) Nothing exciting ever happens in the small town of Belhaven. Nothing that is, until a body was found in the woods behind the local elementary school.
The Garden Girls: The Golden Years (Hope Callaghan) Garden Girls – The Golden Years is the brand new spin-off series of the Garden Girls Mystery series. It’s the same fun-loving characters as they solve mysteries in the cozy town of Belhaven. Each book will focus on one of the Garden Girls as they enter their “golden years.”
The Garden Squad Mysteries (Julia Henry) Post-retirement aches and pains can’t prevent sixty-five-year-old Lilly Jayne from keeping the most manicured garden in Goosebush, Massachusetts. But as a murder mystery blooms in the sleepy New England town, can a green thumb weed out a killer?
The George & Molly Palmer-Jones Mysteries (Ann Cleeves) In England’s birdwatching paradise, a new breed has been sighted – a murderer. One of the best birders in England, Tom French was found dead. He had put the village of Rushy on the birdwatching map. Everyone liked him. Or did they? George Palmer-Jones, an elderly birdwatcher, and his lovely wife Molly decide quietly to look into the brutal crime.
The Gertie Johnson Mysteries (Deb Baker) When her neighbor is shot and killed, sixty-six-year-old widow Gertie Johnson seizes the opportunity to move on with her life by investigating his death. Gertie is abetted (and hindered) by her grandson and her friends.
The Ghost & Camper Kooky Mysteries (Rita Moreau) After a crushing divorce, Mabel Gold rejects the retirement community and heads west in a vintage camper. But the RV comes complete with a ghost who needs a good deed to get into Heaven, and cracking open a homicide at their first stop in Savannah could give them both a new lease on life.
The Ginny Jomes Alaskan Mysteries (Bebe Steiner) Meet Moose Peak, Alaska’s retired elementary school teacher, Ginny Jomes. That’s Jomes with an “M”. Book club maven, owner of a faithful miniature dachshund … and mystery solver.
The Gracie Williams Mysteries (Kathleen Suzette) Gracie Williams never wanted to be a detective. But when she and her golden retriever, Sophie, stumble upon a body while out for a walk, she finds herself in the position of amateur sleuth. Can a mild-mannered canine help catch a killer?
The Grandma Rose Mysteries (Mary L. Smedley)
The Granny Appleton Mysteries (Missy Tarantino)
The Granny Reid Mysteries (G. A. McKevett) As the Moonlight Magnolia Agency revisits old memories on Christmas Eve, Savannah Reid’s grandmother, Granny Reid, looks back to the 1980s—back when she went by Stella, everyone’s hair was bigger, and sweaters were colorful disasters.
The Granny Smith Mysteries (Laura Walker)
The Granny Vigilante Mysteries (Susan Harper) Fran spent her younger days making bad guys pay for their sins. At 79, those days are long behind her. But then she rents a room to an awkward young man who just happens to be a suddenly-rising detective. Fran finds herself thrust back into the world of crime and punishment. And she loves it. Can Toronto survive now that Fran is back in the game?
The Happy Hoofers Mysteries (Mary McHugh) It’s never too late to kick up your heels. Just ask Tina, Janice, Pat, Mary Louise, and Gini — a.k.a. the Happy Hoofers. After posting a video of their tap-dancing routine on the internet, the ladies find themselves booked to perform on a river cruise up the Volga from Moscow to St. Petersburg.
The Isabel and Alma Trumbo Mysteries (Ed Lynskey) Anchorage, Virginia, is like any other sleepy small town until Jake Robbins is murdered, and his fiancée Megan Connors is arrested for it. But Megan’s feisty septuagenarian aunts, Isabel and Alma Trumbo, decide they better set aside their hobby of playing Scrabble and get busy as amateur sleuths.
The Isle of Man Mysteries (Diana Xarissa) Aunt Bessie assumes that she’ll have the beach all to herself on a cold, wet, and windy March morning, then she stumbles over a dead body.
The Izzy Greene Senior Snoops Mysteries (Sylvia Selfman) Izzy Greene, a widow of a certain age, joins a writing group in an attempt to actually finish one of her stories.
The Jane Darrowfield Mysteries (Barbara Ross) After Jane Darrowfield helps a friend with a sticky personal problem, word starts to spread around her bridge club that she’s the go-to girl for situations that need discreet fixing.
The Lady Justice Mysteries (Robert Thornhill) When retirement isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, Walt Williams decides it’s the perfect time to achieve his dream and give Lady Justice a helping hand. So, he decides to become a cop! Follow Walt as he leaves the real estate world and retirement to solve crime and bring perps to justice.
The Maggie Belle Mysteries (Liz Turner) Maggie Belle has just moved to a seniors village called Buttercup Villa. Instead of being depressed at being put in an old age home, Maggie takes it on as a new adventure.
The Mah Jongg Mysteries (Barbara Barrett) Four retired women in Serendipity Springs, Florida met playing the game of Mah Jongg and developed a strong friendship. The four don’t seek out murders to investigate; somehow the circumstances and those affected drag them in. To their surprise, they’re good at investigating homicides.
The Marlow Murder Club Mysteries (Robert Thorogood) Meet Judith: a seventy-seven-year-old whiskey drinking, crossword puzzle author living her best life in a dilapidated mansion on the outskirts of Marlow. Nothing ever happens in Marlow.
The Maxie and Stretch Mysteries (Sue Henry) At sixty-three, Maxie McNabb is cruising down the Alaska Highway in her brand-new Winnebago. With her mini-dachshund at her side and the open road ahead, she’s never been happier.
The MenoPaws Mysteries (Morgana Best) When Nell Darling moves to a small Aussie mountain town she decides her life will be purrfect. But life has decided to be no such thing! Nell discovers a body, inherits a gloomy bookstore, and starts to suspect she is losing her mind–all because a local cat, JenniFur, begins stopping by for a chat.
The Millie Holland Cat Mysteries (Nancy C. Davis) Millie Holland spends her days writing advice columns, reading mystery novels, watching crime shows, and tending to her family of cats with diverse and quirky personalities. A sixty-ish divorcee, she keeps a precise schedule and a close watch on her early retirement complex in Ft. Lauderdale.
Millie’s Cruise Ship Mysteries (Hope Callaghan) After months of moping around the house after her divorce, Millie Sanders stumbles upon a help wanted ad in the newspaper for the perfect job as an assistant cruise ship director. Much to her surprise, not only does the company contact her, they hire her!
The Miss Marple Mysteries (Agatha Christie) This sweet little old lady is the archetype of the cozy amateur sleuth.
The Moira and Al Bates Mysteries (Kate Howshan) Moira and Al Bates are living their retirement dream in a beautiful home on the shores of your typical quiet New England coastal sanctuary, and suddenly become entangled in a murder mystery which takes place on their back door step.
The Morelville Mysteries (Anne Hagan) There are two Morelville series. The one featuring the sheriff and her girlfriend is not cozy. This one, featuring their parents, is. Chloe and Faye solve crimes in between caring for their demanding spouses and taking care of the needs of their overactive bladders.
The Most Unusual Mysteries (Katherine Black) Retired librarian and bookshop owner May Morrigan lives in the affluent village of Blackheath with Fletcher, her best friend since they met decades ago, and May’s two dogs. What could be more normal?
The Mrs. Pomolo Investigates Mysteries (Donna Muse) Geneva Pomolo, a former teacher, is enjoying retirement until her friend, Marsela Jones, turns up dead. There are no signs of foul play, but Geneva is suspicious. An autopsy later reveals Marsela Jones was suffocated. For a nice older lady, Marsela made a lot of people angry.
Murder She Wrote (Donald Bain) Based on the famous television series, the books were first written by Donald Bain and recently taken over by Jon Land and Terrie Farley Moran.
Murder She Wrote (Jessica Fletcher) Based on the famous television series, the books were first written by Donald Bain and recently taken over by Jon Land and Terrie Farley Moran.
The Myrtle Clover Mysteries (Elizabeth Spann Craig) The sleepy town of Bradley, North Carolina, might not be as quiet as it seems. Murders happen at a steady rate and octogenarian amateur sleuth Myrtle Clover is determined to solve them before her police chief son.
The Nailed It Home Reno Mysteries (Barbara Barrett) All Rowena Summerfield is seeking is a sense of accomplishment as she and her thirty-five-year old daughter, Valerie, build their fledgling home reno business.
The Oakley Ranch Mysteries (James Moushon) Oakley Ranch, a large Gated 55+ retirement community just outside of Phoenix in the desert, has a large golf course with lush green fairways that wind through the park. Right in the middle of the Ranch is the Sandtrap Bar and Grille, next to the Golf Shop.
The Old Guys Mysteries (Jon Spoelstra)
The Prime Time Crime Mysteries (Morgana Best) Prudence Wallflower is a human volcano, and she is about to blow. But hot flashes are only one of Prudence’s problems. She is a clairvoyant who has never seen a ghost.
The Quilting Mysteries (Carol Dean Jones) Sarah Miller has reluctantly moved to a retirement community. It’s a tough adjustment, but she’s a tough lady—and she’s going to get her bearings and build a new life for herself. She’s happy when she starts meeting some of her fellow residents and making friends.
The Rainbow Ranch Mysteries (Elise M. Stone) When Lilliana MacAlistair agrees to become the hostess at a new Arizona dude ranch, she thinks she’s found the ideal position to supplement her retirement money. Her first guests are loving the activities and food she’s planned.
The Rancho Exotica Mysteries (Patsy Stagner)
The Raven Falls Quilters Mysteries (L. A. Marie) The Living Well Center Quilters group consider themselves a bit special. They have a reputation for making exceptionally beautiful quilts.
The Rocky Nelson Boxing Mysteries (Karen A. Phillips) What do boxing and vintage trailers have in common? Meet Raquel AKA Rocky Nelson, a retired single woman with an attitude and love for boxing.
The Ruth Morgan Mysteries (Peter Jay Black) As a freelance food consultant, Ruth Morgan travels Britain, advising restaurants, cafes, and hotels on their menus and recipes. So when she’s hired to work on board the Ocean Odyssey, she looks forward to gaining her sea legs.
The Sadie Kramer Flair Mysteries (Deborah Garner) When flamboyant senior sleuth Sadie Kramer learns the owner of Cioccolato, her favorite chocolate shop, is in trouble, she heads for the California wine country with a tote-bagged Yorkie and a slew of questions.
The Sarah Vane Mysteries (Alice Castle)
The Sassy Senior Sleuths (P. C. James) Two retired amateur sleuths vacation together and solve mysteries wherever they go.
The Second Chance Cat Mysteries (Sofie Ryan) Sarah Grayson is the happy proprietor of Second Chance, a charming shop in the oceanfront town of North Harbor, Maine. At the shop, she sells used items that she has lovingly refurbished and repurposed. But her favorite pet project so far has been adopting a stray cat she names Elvis.
The Secret Agent Granny Mysteries (Harper Lin)
The Secret Senior Sleuth Society (Suzanne Rudd Hamilton) The Secret Senior Sleuths Society of Peacock Perch are a group of seniors in a Florida retirement community who use their cunning, life experience and the knowledge from their former occupations to follow the trail of gossip and social media posts to gather clues and find suspects with means, motive and opportunity and solve the mysteries.
The Senior Delinquents Mysteries (Jill-Ayn Martin) First Detective Mattie Conners has to deal with her granny and her three friends, otherwise known throughout the small town of Delco, California, as the “Senior Delinquents”. And now, to top it all off, she has a murder on her hands.
The Senior Sleuth Mysteries (Maureen Fisher) Abby Foster, retired accountant, is now general manager and CFO of Alberta’s premium resort, Grizzly Gulch Guest Ranch. She and her two sisters inherited the run-down dude ranch, but due to extensive renovations, they are facing financial ruin.
The Senior Sleuthing Club Mysteries (Jinty James)
The Senior Sleuths Mysteries (Laurien Berenson) Senior sisters-in-law Peg Turnbull and Rose Donavan get along about as well as stray cats and pedigree pooches most days. But outspoken Peg and even-keeled Rose do have something in common—a true knack for solving murders.
The Seniors Discount Murder Club (Beatrice Lockhart)
The Silver Circle Cat Rescue Mysteries (Leanne Leeds) When forty-nine year old Eleanor Rockwell was laid off from her job, she moved with her daughter, Evie, and opened Silver Circle Cat Rescue in the small town of Tablerock, Texas.
The Silver Six Mysteries (Nancy Haddock) There isn’t much crime in Lilyvale, Arkansas, but local authorities have their hands full with Ms. Sherry Mae Stanton Cutler and her housemates—a crafty group of retirees who’ve dubbed themselves the Silver Six.
The Sister Agatha and Father Selwyn Mysteries (Jane Willan) The sisters of Gwenafwy Abbey cherish their contemplative life—days spent in prayer, reflection, tending the Convent’s vegetable gardens and making organic cheese. Life seems perfect, except for Sister Agatha, a die-hard mystery fan who despairs of finding real life inspiration for her own novel.
The Skeeterville Senior Mysteries (Teresa Quill) Retired cop John Flynn, directs traffic at the four-way stop when he’s tipsy. The seniors of The Friendly Arms Apartments want him to stop, and assign Gracie Moore with the task since she’s rather sweet on John.
The Snoopypuss Mysteries (Georgann Prochaska)
The Spring Hill Sleuths (Martha Rogers)
The St. Rose Quilting Bee Mysteries (Annette Mahon) Can a group of “mature” women actually solve a murder, just by discussing it over the quilt frame? The members of the St. Rose Quilting Bee ask themselves this very question when the lead actor in a traveling production of Phantom of the Opera is found dead in the Scottsdale desert.
The Sweets Shop Mysteries (Maisy Morgan) After retiring from being a famous investigative reporter, Mary took a leap of faith and followed her dreams of opening a sweets shop in the small town of Brooks, Georgia. What she didn’t plan on was bringing Tripp, her less than thrilled fourteen-year-old grandson with her.
The Tai Chi Mysteries (Joanna Campbell Slan) Nan Crockett’s plans for her retirement get uprooted by her husband with their unexpected move to Washington, DC. Badly in need of a way to de-stress, Nan pops into a tai chi class at a local community center.
The 90s Club Mysteries (Eileen Haavik McIntire) Four 90-year-old residents at Whisperwood Retirement Village turn up clues like tricks in a bridge game to solve crimes targeting the residents of Whisperwood.
The Tink Tank Knitting Mysteries (Jessa Archer) Charlotte “Charlie” Shaw is a divorcée and empty nester running a knitting store/coffee shop in a rural Iowa college town.
The Trixie Dolan & Evangeline Sinclair Mysteries (Marian Babson) Dame Cecile Savoy is on the way to a taxidermist’s shop, accompanied by her friends Trixie and Evangeline—and her recently departed Pekingese. When they arrive, they discover a dead body, a spreading fire, and a helpless Japanese bobtail cat in a cage.
The Tucson Valley Retirement Community Mysteries (Marcy Blesy)
The Widowers Club Mysteries (Jim D. Jordan) Colby, Oklahoma’s, four favorite senior citizens, John, Jake, Leroy, and Bobby, are known around town as The Widowers Club. When an attractive 58-year-old divorcee, named Delores Dodd (Dee Dee) arrives in town, she quickly catches their eyes.
The Yarn-Over Mysteries (B. K. Baxter) Ethel and Velma Harmon are two seventy-something sisters-in-law who refuse to let their ages slow them down. The only thing that takes their time away from the whole ball of yarn is, well, a ball of yarn. Crochet class can’t be missed. No matter what.