If you’ve listened to a cozy mystery audiobook, you will understand why die-hard fans repeatedly return to them. If you haven’t, you’re in for a treat. At first listen, they may seem like typical murder mysteries, but they tend to have a common thread that defines them as “cozy.”
Well-done cozy mysteries have interesting and quirky characters, frequently led by a female heroine who finds herself in the role of amateur sleuth. They’re enjoyable to people who want to follow the twists and turns of a mystery but without any graphic violence, strong language, or explicit sex.
The setting is usually somewhat isolated and intimate – a small town, village, or remote location that provides an ideal backdrop for a mystery. Cozy mysteries focus on plot and character development, usually creating characters you want to stick with throughout a series.
Listed below, in no particular order, are some of the best highly-rated and well-narrated cozy mystery audiobooks that bring the genre to life and will leave you wanting more.
- A Room Full of Bones, Ruth Galloway series, by Elly Griffiths
- The Thursday Murder Club, Thursday Murder Club series, by Richard Osman
- When Christmas Comes, Cameron Winter Mystery series, by Andrew Klavan
- Miss Frost Solves a Cold Case, Jayne Frost series, by Kristen Painter
- A Study in Scarlet Women, the Lady Sherlock Series, by Sherry Thomas
- This Side of Murder, Verity Kent Mysteries series, by Anna Lee Huber
- Death Beside the Seaside, Lady Hardcastle Mysteries Series, T.E. Kinsey
- Cat Got Your Diamonds, The Kitty Couture Mysteries, by Julia Chase
- Agatha Raisin and the Deadly Dance, Agatha Raisin Mystery series, M.C. Beaton
- Dead and Breakfast, Merry Ghost Inn series, by Kate Kingsbury
- Louisiana Longshot, Miss Fortune Mystery series, by Jana DeLeon
- Death at Wentwater Court, Daisy Dalrymple Mysteries, by Carola Dunn
Best Cozy Mystery Audiobooks
A Room Full of Bones, Ruth Galloway series, by Elly Griffiths
Griffiths’ mystery series features Dr. Ruth Galloway, an archeologist and professor who lives in a cozy cottage in Saltmarsh near Norfolk, U.K. With moody weather and desolate landscapes, the Saltmarsh provides the perfect backdrop for this series.
In A Room Full of Bones, Galloway finds herself at the center of a mystery involving the bones of a medieval bishop in a museum, followed by the death of the museum’s curator and wealthy owner.
With the help of the local police, many of whom are integral to a unique cast of characters, including a potential romantic interest for Ruth, she must use her archaeological knowledge to help solve the crime.
The Thursday Murder Club, Thursday Murder Club series, by Richard Osman
The first book in the Murder Club series, written by British TV presenter Richard Osman, introduces a diverse group of characters in a retirement village in Kent. Every Thursday, the four main characters get together to discuss cold cases that one of them secretly acquires.
When a murder occurs within their community, they take it upon themselves to use their sleuthing skills to solve this contemporary crime.
With a unique and delightful quirky cast of characters, Osman injects humor and wit into a mystery that will keep you guessing until the very end.
When Christmas Comes, Cameron Winter Mystery series, by Andrew Klavan
Andrew Klavan again proves himself a masterful storyteller, leading off the Cameron Winter mystery series with a fascinating Christmas mystery.
When a young librarian is found murdered, her boyfriend, a third-generation Army Ranger, confesses to the murder. But to our amateur sleuth, English professor Cameron Winter, something just doesn’t quite add up.
Darker than your typical cozy mystery, When Christmas Comes is a layered and well-crafted story with intriguing character backstories that will make this audiobook hard to stop listening to.
Miss Frost Solves a Cold Case, Jayne Frost series, by Kristen Painter
A spinoff from Painter’s Nocturne Falls series, this debut focuses on Jayne Frost, who’s no ordinary amateur sleuth. As Jack Frost’s daughter and Santa Claus’s niece, she’s an elf and also heir to the winter throne.
Jayne is sent to Nocturne Falls by her father to investigate the disappearance of employees from Santa’s Workshop toy store. In a town that celebrates Halloween every day, the supernatural may be normal, but the disappearances are not.
While definitely not a romance novel, a love triangle involving a handsome and charming vampire adds to the enjoyment of this cozy mystery. This is a fantastic debut to this series, which can be read separately from the rest of the Nocturnal Falls series.
A Study in Scarlet Women, the Lady Sherlock Series, by Sherry Thomas
In Victorian England, Charlotte Holmes longs to use her mind rather than conform to the expected societal norms of the day. Determined to support herself and her sisters without the help of a husband, she solves crimes under the name of Sherlock Holmes.
When her family becomes the target of suspicion in three deaths, Charlotte knows she must use her sleuthing skills to clear their names.
With wonderful narration by Kate Reading, this first in the series does a fantastic job of flipping the gender roles of the characters while staying true to the art of a well-told mystery and investigation.
This Side of Murder, Verity Kent Mysteries series, by Anna Lee Huber
In 1919, after the end of World War I, Verity Kent is mourning the loss of her husband when she receives an anonymous and cryptic letter that her late husband was a traitor. As guests gather together to celebrate an engagement in a remote house on Umbersea Island, Verity joins the celebration in hopes of getting to the bottom of who sent the letter and why.
As a strong, multi-dimensional, and likable heroine, Verity must come to terms with the end of the war and find out if her husband was who she thought he was.
A mix of history, mystery, and a touch of romance in this remote setting makes for a perfect and well-narrated historical cozy mystery.
Death Beside the Seaside, Lady Hardcastle Mysteries Series, T.E. Kinsey
In a small seaside hotel on the coast of England, guests begin to go missing. Enter Lady Hardcastle and her lady’s maid and crime-solving sidekick, Flo.
The two former spies are taking a break from the English countryside and enjoying a relaxing vacation on the coast when their sleuthing talents are again put to the test.
The Hardcastle series are lighthearted cozy mysteries at their best, full of humor and dry wit. Death Beside the Seaside is one of the best in the series. Narrator Elizabeth Knowelden brings this dynamic duo to life in the audio.
Cat Got Your Diamonds, The Kitty Couture Mysteries, by Julia Chase
This fantastic debut in the Kitty Couture series finds our main character Lacy back home in the Garden District of New Orleans, realizing her dream by opening a pet boutique.
Her dream soon comes crashing down when a man is found dead in her shop, the murder weapon a glitter gun with only her prints on it.
Cat Got Your Diamonds is a top-tier cozy mystery with interesting characters, fun flirtatious banter between Julia and the investigating detective, and a well-told mystery with plenty of twists.
Brittany Pressley does a fantastic narration on the audio, with southern accents that are noticeable without being distracting.
Agatha Raisin and the Deadly Dance, Agatha Raisin Mystery series, M.C. Beaton
The Agatha Raisin series takes a turn in Deadly Dance, as Agatha uses her amateur sleuthing skills to open her own private detective agency.
After a few mundane cases, she gets her first real case when a wealthy woman hires her to find out who is sending death threats to her daughter.
Longtime Agatha fans will find new life in the series with the added opportunities that come from her having her own detective agency. New fans will find more detailed characters and fantastic narration by Penelope Keith.
Dead and Breakfast, Merry Ghost Inn series, by Kate Kingsbury
When Melanie West and her grandmother open a B&B on the Oregon coast, the last thing they expect to find is a literal skeleton in the closet.
While they’re determined to solve this cold case and open their inn, a new body is found on their beach.
With a cozy seaside setting, a resident ghost, and a likable and entertaining character duo, including Melanie’s spitfire of a grandmother, Dead and Breakfast makes for a perfect cozy mystery with a paranormal touch.
Louisiana Longshot, Miss Fortune Mystery series, by Jana DeLeon
After an arms dealer places a bounty on the head of CIA assassin Fortune Redding, she is placed undercover in the small bayou town of Sinful, Louisiana, posing as a librarian. When a dog digs up a bone in her backyard, Fortune discovers that Sinful isn’t the sleepy southern town she’d first thought.
DeLeon creates some truly colorful and delightful characters, including a group of senior ladies known as the Geritol Mafia.
The setting is well-developed, from the vivid descriptions of the bayou landscape all the way down to the food. If you’re looking for a heavy dose of humor with your cozy mystery, Louisiana Longshot fits the bill.
Death at Wentwater Court, Daisy Dalrymple Mysteries, by Carola Dunn
Fans of Downton Abbey will enjoy this series debut, set In 1923 England. Our precocious heroine, Daisy Dalrymple, sets off on her first writing assignment – a feature article on a historic home in the English countryside.
When a guest is found dead on the estate’s frozen pond, Daisy senses it’s more than just an accident.
When Scotland Yard turns up to investigate, in the form of handsome detective Alec Fletcher, he and Daisy team to solve the crime.
Bernadette Dunn does a wonderful job with the challenging task of narrating all of the different character voices.
Looking for more cozy mystery audiobook recommendations? Check out these lists:
- Cozy Mystery Audiobooks from Chirp (Get 30% off your first purchase with our promo code AUDIOBOOKADDICTS30)
- Cozy Mystery Audiobooks from Audiobooks.com (Get your first title free with a 30-day trial)
- Cozy Mystery Audiobooks from Everand (Get your first title free with a 30-day trial)
