Mystery - Cosy Crime - Christchurch City Libraries
Curl up and relax with a soft and easy-to-read tale of mystery and crime. These books aren't typically gorey or violent, instead they opt for lighter, sometimes funny, mysteries that remain enthralling and intriguing. Featuring authors like Agatha Christie, M.C. Beaton, and Kerry Greenwood, this genre is perfect for fans of gentle and humorous whodunnits.
Trouble is stirring on the set of the hit reality series Bake Week... Six contestants are invited to a sprawling Gothic estate for the chance to claim the title of America's Best Baker. However, it's not long before things start going up in flames,…
An adorable mystery-slash-found family story. Vera, a sweet and quirky old Chinese auntie, decides to take matters into her own hands when a dead body unexpectedly turns up one day in the middle of her tea shop. As any sleuth would know, the killer…
Part of Agatha Christie's Poirot series, which follow the great detective as he uses his 'little grey cells' to solve murders and mysteries. In this story, Poirot is challenged to get to the bottom of a 16-year-old crime, where a woman was convicted…
A less conventional example of cosy crime, this series of short stories follows Maud, an 80-year-old lady with a penchant for murder who uses her age to throw others off the scent. A quick and darkly funny read filled with tongue-in-cheek humour…
A Golden Age great - Dorothy Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries are amateur detective stories, set in post-WWI Britain. Accused of murdering her former lover, Novelist Harriet Vane has all the evidence stacked against her. After all, she did just…
A culinary cosy crime with Filipino flair, 'Arsenic and Adobo' is part rom-com, part Agatha Christie-esque mystery. When a bad break up sends Lila Macapagal back home to try and save her Tita Rosie's floundering restaurant, things take a turn for…
A funny and sweet cosy crime that just goes to show that sleuthing isn't just a young person's game. Joyce, Ibrahim, Ron and Elizabeth are cold case aficionados who meet every Thursday to go over unsolved crimes. The catch? All four are…
This Agatha Award nominee set in the roaring 1920s makes a great read for fans of Phryne Fisher. Jane Wunderly and her meddling Aunt Millie are among the many guests staying at the Mena Hotel while holidaying in Egypt. When Jane's rival in romance…
The Appeal is a particularly creative cosy crime novel, as the story unfolds through a series of emails, text messages and letters. In this unique story an appeal for a sick child leads to widespread suspicion, a dead body and a thoroughly ruined…
Jodie 'Nosey' Parker returns in the fifth instalment of Fiona Leitch's bestselling series. As the representative for Cornwall in the Best of British Baking Roadshow, Jodie is excited to showcase her baking repertoire and focus on the contest- until…
Molly the maid becomes an unlikely sleuth when a faux Fabergé egg turns out to be a priceless antique—then mysteriously vanishes. As she investigates the theft, Molly uncovers secrets hidden in her late gran’s diary, revealing a mystery that reaches…
Killing Time continues the cult of Agatha Raisin with help from co-author Rod Green. Leaving her detective agency in the Cotswolds, Agatha takes a quick trip overseas to lie low from death threats and being kidnapped while she mulls over who is…
A classic and a gem by Christchurch native Dame Ngaio Marsh, the first Queen of Kiwi noir. Originally written in 1947, Final Curtain features Troy (Inspector Alleyn's wife) as the star witness in what appears to be a murder in a fit of jealousy. Sir…
When Verity’s husband Oliver vanishes after a party aboard The Marlow Belle, and his body is found with two bullet wounds, the Marlow Murder Club springs into action. Judith, Suzie, and Becks dive into the secrets of the local drama society,…
Precious Ramotswe has just set up shop as Botswanas No.1 (and only!) lady detective. Quickly she’s flooded with requests, from missing husbands, impostor relatives, wayward daughters and abduction. Not all her cases are successful. This humorous and…
