Best Halloween Cozy Mystery Novels
Some people associate Halloween with horror and frights; for others, it's a relaxing time of colorful costumes, candy, and fun. The same goes for novels that use Halloween as a backdrop. Some opt for spooky happenings and bone-chilling horror, while others favor a more cozy mystery approach. If you are a fan of the latter, then be sure to check out the following Haloween themed cozy mystery novels that are filled with tricks and treats.
Halloween Party Murder
by Leighann Dobbs
Halloween Party Murder by Leighann Dobbs is part of the Juniper Holiday Cozy Mystery series. Juniper is an eccentric with too much money and time on her hands, and with Halloween just around the corner, she has the perfect excuse to throw a party. Unfortunately, her party is shut down, and her reputation hangs in the balance when it turns out her fake corpse prop is a real body. As the prime suspect, Juniper is left racing against the clock to unmask the real murderer before stuffy Detective Desmond Mallard cuffs the wrong perpetrator.
A Halloween Homicide
by Tonya Kappes
The town of Holiday Junction knows how to go all out for holiday festivals, and Halloween is no exception in A Halloween Homicide by Tonya Kappes. The town plans a ghost walk, a hay ride, carnival games, pumpkin carvings, and a costume party for this holiday celebration. Violet Rhinehammer is assigned to attend all the fun, festive activities and report on them for the Junction Journal. However, after reluctantly going on the ghost walk, she discovers that the body that fell out of the fake casket is not a prop. Even worse, someone she loves becomes the number one suspect, forcing Violet to don a sleuthing costume and catch the real monster.
Hazelnuts and Halloween
by Leen Clover
Hazelnuts and Halloween is the second book in the Pelican Cove Short Story series by Leena Clover. The town of Pelican Cover is celebrating Halloween in style with the annual Halloween party at the Boardwalk Cafe owned by a local amateur sleuth, Jenny King. However, when an unidentified body washes up on the beach the next day, it is determined that he was killed at the cafe. The town hires Jenny to investigate the murder, much to the annoyance of Adam, the Sheriff, who wants her to stay out of it as she is a suspect. However, Jenny is determined to uncover the truth and has the help of her friends, The Magnolias, to rely on.
A Catered Halloween
by Isis Crawford
A Catered Halloween by Isis Crawford is part of the A Mystery With Recipes series of cozy mysteries. This time A Little Taste of Heaven, the catering business of sisters Bernadette and Libby Simmons, is hired for the charity haunted house being staged at the old Peabody School. It promises a hefty commission and some valuable word-of-mouth for their business, but then wealthy socialite Amethyst Applegate is found dead in the haunted house. With a murderer on the loose, it is up to the sisters to solve the mystery before they become the next stars in a real-life horror flick.
Halloween Pizza Murder
by Patti Benning
Halloween Pizza Murder is a tasty culinary cozy mystery by Patti Benning. Eleanora Pacelli, the owner of Pap Pacelli's Pizzeria, is looking forward to celebrating Halloween at home in Maine after the grand opening of a second branch. In addition to spending some quality time with friends, she's also ready to start focusing on her upcoming wedding. However, shortly after she returns to the town of Kittiport, a brutal murder happens not far from her house. Ellie is convinced that she saw the victim hours after she had already been killed and is determined to solve the crime in the hopes of helping the victim find peace.
Trick or Treat and Murder
by Kathleen Suzette
Halloween is upon the small town of Sandy Harbor in Trick or Treat and Murder by Kathleen Suzette. All Allie wanted to do was help out her local community by setting up a booth at the Halloween bazaar. However, when the event coordinator, Diana Bowen, turns up dead, Allie and her best friend, Lucy, team up to do a little detective work. The only question is, can they catch a killer before the killer catches them?
Death of a Pumpkin Carver
by Lee Hollis
Death of a Pumpkin Carver by Lee Hollis is about Hayle Power, a food and cocktails columnist who also dabbles in a bit of sleuthing. Hayle has her Halloween plans turned upside down when her ex-husband, Danny, returns to town. Her kids are thrilled to see their dad, but Hayle suspects he's in financial trouble again and vows not to be taken in by his charms. However, when his moonshine-making uncle is found dead in a cemetery and Danny becomes the prime suspect, Hayle is determined to prove his innocence.
Ghouls' Night Out
by Amy M. Reade
Ghouls' Night Out by Amy M. Reade stars Juniper Junction jewelry store owner Lilly Carlsen. However, her boyfriend, Hassan Ashraf, finds himself at his wit's end, with Halloween around the corner. Hassan is being tormented by a crotchety merchant, a malicious next-door neighbor, and some ghoulish trick-or-treaters but becomes the prime suspect when two of them are killed just days apart. Lilly already has a lot on her plate, with her daughter having trouble adjusting to college and her mother continuing a downward spiral into dementia. However, her Halloween looks especially frightful as she tries to help bring the real fiends to justice and clear Hassan's name.
