The Best Cozy Mysteries With Amateur Detectives (Your New Reading List)

Loads of the best cozy mystery books star amateur detectives, not police officers. Think nosy villagers, retired folk, pub landlords and busybodies who solve murders between cups of tea. If you love a normal person poking their nose where it doesn't belong, you are in exactly the right place.

I write these books for a living, so I am a tiny bit obsessed. Let me be your guide.

Why Amateur Detectives Make the Best Cozy Mysteries

Here is why we love them so much.

A professional detective has training, a badge and a boss. An amateur has none of that. They have curiosity, a big mouth and no business being anywhere near a crime scene.

That is the fun of it.

The amateur sleuth stumbles into a murder while doing something completely ordinary. Buying sausages. Running the village fete. Pulling a pint. And then they cannot let it go, because they are nosy, and honestly, so are we.

These are the cozy mystery books that feel like a warm bath. No gore. No grim autopsy scenes. Just a village, a body, and someone who really should mind their own business.

My Own Amateur Sleuths: Bob and Shirley

I could not write this post without mentioning my own two.

Bob and Shirley run a pub in the fictional English village of Great Oakley. They are married. They bicker. They are pub landlords, not detectives, which does not stop them one bit.

The books are written in dual first-person, so you get Bob's version of events and Shirley's version, and the two of them almost never agree. Bob thinks he is a criminal mastermind. Shirley thinks Bob is a wally who leaves the cellar tap running. They are BOTH right.

If you want murder mystery books with a lot of heart and a lot of daft arguments, this is my series. Every book is free on Kindle Unlimited, so you can start today without spending a penny.

They also make cracking book club books, because there is always something to argue about. Usually Bob.

Three More Amateur Detective Series to Try

I am not precious. Here are other authors I adore.

M.C. Beaton gave us Agatha Raisin, a London PR woman who retires to the Cotswolds and immediately trips over dead bodies. Agatha is prickly, vain and completely wonderful. These are the cozy mystery books I recommend most often.

Richard Osman wrote The Thursday Murder Club, about four retirement-village pensioners who solve cold cases for fun. Warm, clever, very, very funny. Proper book club books, these ones.

Faith Martin writes the Jenny Starling mysteries, starring a travelling cook who keeps finding corpses at the dinner parties she caters. A cook who solves murders. What is not to love?

All three are on Kindle Unlimited books too, so your reading list just got long and free.

How to Find More Cozy Mysteries With Amateur Sleuths

Search Kindle Unlimited for 'cozy mystery' and 'amateur sleuth' together. That is the magic combination.

Look for a village setting, a bit of humour and a cover with a cat, a teapot or a suspicious-looking cottage. Nine times out of ten, you have found your next cozy mystery.

Then read the first page. If the detective is a normal person having a bad day, you are golden.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an amateur detective in a cozy mystery?

An amateur detective is an ordinary person who solves crimes without being a police officer. They could be a baker, a librarian, a pensioner or a pub landlord. They rely on nosiness and local gossip rather than forensics, which is exactly why cozy mystery books are so much fun.

Are cozy mysteries with amateur sleuths suitable for book clubs?

Yes, wonderful readers, they are brilliant book club books. The mysteries spark debate, the characters are easy to love, and there is rarely anything too graphic to put people off. My Bob and Shirley books work especially well because the two narrators disagree so much.

Where can I read these murder mystery books for free?

Most of the series I have mentioned are available on Kindle Unlimited. All of my own murder mystery books are free on Kindle Unlimited, so you can binge the whole Bob and Shirley series without paying per book.

Who is the most famous amateur detective in cozy mysteries?

Miss Marple, Agatha Christie's elderly village sleuth, is probably the most famous of all. She solves murders using nothing but knitting, gossip and a very sharp mind. Almost every amateur detective since, including my Bob and Shirley, owes her a little curtsey.

Happy reading, lovely readers. Go and find someone nosy to spend your evening with.

Suzy xx