Book Recommendations for Cozy Reads

I read quite a bit and often I’ll read a new author and think, “That was nice. NEXT.” However, there are three authors that I can’t stop reading. I read other books in between, but I always come back because these authors consistently deliver. They provider an enjoyable read with good story lines and protagonists that I have grown to love.

The first author on this list is Alexander McCall Smith. He writes a series called The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency (which is also the title of the first book in the series). I warn you, they’re addictive. At this point, I don’t even bother checking the plot before I start reading. I know it’s going to be good. The books are set in Botswana and detail the adventures of Precious Ramotswe who has opened a detective agency. She appropriately calls it the #1 Ladies’ Detective Agency. She hires Grace Makutsi (of the 97% typing score from her secretarial school) to be her assistant. Each book has two parts to it: the mysteries that Precious and Grace solve and the current personal challenges they are each facing. You cannot help growing to love these two women. The books are set in Botswana where Smith lived for many years. His love for the country permeates the books and it’s enjoyable learning about Botswana and its culture. I’m now on #10 which is Tea Time for the Traditionally Built (No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency Series). Smith has written around 18 so far in this series and I hope he never stops.

The second series I can’t stop reading is by Dorothy Simpson. She has written a number of books that follow the career of British Inspector Luke Thanet as he solves various cases. You get to know Thanet as he gradually unravels each mystery with the help of Sergeant Mike Lineham. The first in the series is The Night She Died (The Inspector Thanet Mysteries Book 1). The mysteries are well-done (with a minimum of gore) and it’s a pleasure to spend time with Inspector Thanet as he discovers whodunit. I have read three so far and next up for me is Close Her Eyes (The Inspector Thanet Mysteries Book 4)

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The final author is none other than the master of the detective novel herself, Agatha Christie. Most of her books feature either Hercule Poirot or Miss Marple.  The first in the Hercule Poirot series is The Mysterious Affair at Styles. The story opens with a house party ending badly. The mistress of the house is found dead.. Enter Hercule Poirot. This Belgian detective Poirot solves cases using his ‘grey cells’ as he puts it. Think Sherlock Holmes with a French accent. It’s a good first book and they only get better from there. The best I’ve read in the series so far is The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. It was a very clever mystery with a surprise ending. I’ve also read several in her other series that stars Miss Marple, a retired older woman who solves mysteries in her spare time. The first in the Miss Marple mysteries is called The Murder at the Vicarage After having read several in the series, I find that the Miss Marple books have a different flavor than the Hercule Poirot novels. I’d say they have more playfulness. The best I’ve read so far in the series is A Murder Is Announced. It’s set in England shortly after the end of World War II. It’s a very good mystery, but what I really enjoyed was getting to know the various characters and their struggles as well as triumphs. Moreover, running through the entire book are the echoes of the recent ending of World War II. I’ve only read one mediocre novel by Christie so far. It was a stand alone tale with neither Poirot nor Miss Marple (that was her first mistake) and was called Death Comes as the End. It’s set in ancient Egypt 2000 B.C. and is about a young widow and a suspicious death. It just didn’t grab me because it felt too superficial and I didn’t really care about the characters. It was still a good read, just not a great one that would make me want to read more by Christie. All that is to say, if you want to read Agatha Christie, don’t start with this story.

I would be remiss if I didn’t give honorable mention to Josephine Tey who was a contemporary of Agatha Christie. I’ve yet to read a book by her that I didn’t enjoy. Two of my favorites are The Franchise Affair (two women are accused of a crime they claim they didn’t do) and Miss Pym Disposes (young author is visiting at a 1940s women’s college when tragedy occurs). Tey’s mysteries are top notch and I love the descriptions that Josephine Tey’s books give as to what life was like in Britain for women in the 1940s.

If you have an author that you find consistently writes one great novel after another, please don’t keep it to yourself, but share the author’s name with us in the comments below.

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