Halloween Cozies, Mysteries and Thrillers

Halloween – the time for mystery thrillers and cozy chillers!  The list below includes a lot of older mysteries, but fortunately, they are still available.  All are perfect reads for the Halloween season.

MY FAVORITE HALLOWEEN PICK FOR 2024:  Darci Hannah’s Murder at the Pumpkin Pageant, the most recent installment in her Beacon Bakeshop Mystery Series — a “must” for cozy fans.

For those who want a hardcore thriller, check out R.J. Jacobs: Always the First to Die.  This mystery/thriller features a plot involving a classic horror movie star and long-buried secrets.  Read the full book review and the author’s interview under the Books/Mystery category (and check out his “newest” psychological thriller).

Three stellar cozy authors Carlene O’Connor, Carol Perry and Liz Ireland, recently unleashed their Halloween trilogy:  Halloween Cupcake Murder, showcasing three very different and unique Halloween tales — a real treat!

Laura Levine and Kaitlyn Dunnett are always near and dear to my heart, providing everyone with stellar seasonal cozies, that frankly, are timeless.  For a laugh-out-loud Halloween cozy, Laura Levine’s Death of a Neighborhood Witch more than fits the bill.  Kaitlyn Dunnett presents us with a solid seasonal blast with her:  Vampires, Bones and Treacle Scones. 

Looking for an atmospheric mystery so quietly complex and brooding you’ll need hot apple cider with a shot of rum to shake off the goosebumps?  We’ve got TWO!  Check out two books that are part of the British Library Crime Classics, both by John Dickson Carr:  The Corpse in the Waxworks and The Lost Gallows.  While they don’t specifically feature a Halloween theme, Carr’s eerie, brooding atmospheres (think wax museum and gallows) plus their intricately woven plots are perfect for the season!

Feel like taking a trip?  Join Ellen Byron for a vacation to Cajun country with her Murder in the Bayou Boneyard, one of her Cajun Country Mysteries.  It’s an authentic cozy mystery that’s just plain festive and fun!

Alexis Morgan give us a well-plotted Halloween mystery that’s sweet and endearing.  Her Death by Jack-O-Lantern is a feel-good tale begging to be read during a chilly fall evening.

So don’t be ‘fraid of no ghosts — grab yourself some hot coco or apple cider and curl up with some (or all) of Wonder Women Sixty’s favorite Top 10 Seasonal Treats, recapped alphabetically by author:

Murder In the Bayou Boneyard by Ellen Byron, A Cajun Country Mystery

The Lost Gallows by John Dickson Carr, A British Library Crime Classic

The Corpse in the Waxworks by John Dickson Carr, A British Library Crime Classic

Vampires, Bones and Treacle Scones by Kaitlyn Dunnett, A Liss MacCrimmon Scottish Mystery

Murder at the Pumpkin Pageant by Darci Hannah, a Beacon Bakeshop Mystery.

Always the First to Die, an edge of your seat thriller by R.J. Jacobs.

How to Book A Murder by Cynthia Kuhn, a Starlit Bookstore Mystery

Death of a Neighborhood Witch by funny lady Laura Levine, A Jaine Austen Mystery

Halloween Cupcake Murder: 3 festive tales from Carlene O’Connor, Carol Perry and Liz Ireland

Death By Jack-O-Lantern by Alexis Morgan, an Abbey McCree Mystery

Many of the reviews for the above books are still on this site under Books/Mystery, as well as other mystery books reviews and author interviews.