by Sara Voigt (@meaningfulmadness)
Do you like a good mystery but have trouble finding mystery books without gore or too much violence? If so, do I have two amazing cozy mystery series for you to check out. You may be wondering what makes a mystery book a cozy mystery. A cozy mystery is mystery book wherein all of the violence (and sex—if referenced at all) takes place off stage—it isn't described in gruesome detail. A cozy mystery often takes place in small town, where most people know each other. These books are not going to make afraid to go to sleep at night, and coming out of 2020, that works splendidly for me.
Series One: Louise Penny's Chief Inspector Gamache series
Number of Books in Series: 16 (with the 17th being released in August 2021)
Setting: a village called Three Pines in Quebec, Canada
Why I love this series: Penny creates a likable yet complicated in Chief Inspector Gamache. As a reader, I fell in love with Three Pines and the colorful cast of characters who live there (Even if there is an appalling amount of murder occurring there!). I think fans of mystery will thoroughly enjoy this series.
Books in Order:
Still Life (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #1)
A Fatal Grace (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #2)
The Cruelest Month (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #3)
A Rule Against Murder (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #4)
The Brutal Telling (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #5)
Bury Your Dead (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, #6)
A Trick of the Light (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #7)
The Beautiful Mystery (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #8)
How the Light Gets In (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #9)
The Long Way Home (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #10)
The Nature of the Beast (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #11)
A Great Reckoning (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #12)
Glass Houses (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #13)
Kingdom of the Blind (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #14)
A Better Man (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #15)
All the Devils Are Here (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #16)
Note: A new one in the series will be released in August 2021:
The Madness of Crowds (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache #17)
Series Two: T.E. Kinsey's Lady Hardcastle Mystery Series
Number of Books in Series: 7
Setting: The outskirts of London, 1908—Lady Hardcastle has moved from London to the country
Why I love this series: Lady Hardcastle and Flo, her lady's maid and dearest friend, make this series a delight. These women, who are often underestimated by the men who surround, are brazen, smart, and hilarious. It is a joy to read about their escapades as amateur detectives.
Books in Order:
A Quiet Life in the Country (A Lady Hardcastle Mystery #1)
In the Market for Murder (A Lady Hardcastle Mystery #2)
Death Around the Bend (A Lady Hardcastle Mystery #3)
A Picture of Murder (A Lady Hardcastle Mystery #4)
The Burning Issue of the Day (A Lady Hardcastle Mystery #5)
Death Beside the Seaside (A Lady Hardcastle Mystery #6)
The Fatal Flying Affair (A Lady Hardcastle Mystery #7)
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