Must-Read English Village Cozy Mysteries
Cozy Mystery Books Set in an English Village
English village cozy mysteries are a subgenre of cozy crime fiction that whisks readers to the idyllic, yet deceptively perilous, villages in rural England. The villages are almost always quaint, with cobblestone lanes, thatched cottages, and a pub or bustling tea shop where gossip flows as freely as the Earl Grey.
The cozy characters usually include an amateur sleuth—often a sharp-witted tea shop owner, a nosy librarian, or a retired busybody—and eccentric locals.
The charm of an English village cozy mystery lies in the contrast: the serene setting, with its rose-covered arbors and lively village fetes, hides secrets as tangled as the hedgerows.
Here are a few must-read cozy mysteries set in an English village.
The Quiche of Death is the first book in the Agatha Raisin Mystery Series by M.C. Beaton. PR maven Agatha Raisin retires early, moves to a super cute village in the Cotswolds and gets accused of murder after cheating in a baking contest. This is one of the most borrowed books in British libraries.
Aunt Dimity’s Death is the first book in the Aunt Dimity Mystery Series by Nancy Atherton. In this unique cozy mystery book, a down-on-her-luck woman inherits a sizeable Cotswolds estate and gets led on an otherworldly quest by a spirit (Aunt Dimity) who teaches her about life and love.
The Murders in Great Diddling is the first book in the Berit Gardner Mystery Series by Katrina Bivald. In this Lillian Jackson Braun Edgar Award- nominated book, an author with a book deadline and no book idea heads to a rundown village for inspiration and gets caught up in a peculiar mystery and a book festival.
The Blackout Murders is the first book in The Homefront Sleuths Cozy Mystery Series by Anna Elliott and Charles Veley. In this book, five unlikely friends work together to solve a puzzling mystery involving a local air raid warden in a small English village in the midst of World War II.
The Body in the Library is the second and perhaps most famous Miss Marple Mystery by Agatha Christie. In this classic English village mystery, the iconic amateur sleuth Miss Marple must investigate a case involving a well-dressed young woman found in a library in the respectable Bantry home.
The Widows’ Guide to Murder is the first book in the Widows’ Detective Club Mystery Series by Amanda Ashby. In this witty mystery, a group of village widows gossip, dig up graveyards at midnight & uncover dark secrets in a quaint village to find out who knocked off a disliked librarian.
Peony Dreadful is the first book in the Village Flower Shop Cozy Mysteries by Nancy Warren. The amateur sleuth in this book is a witch who runs a charming flower shop and tries to figure out whodunnit every time someone ends up pushing up daisies in her small Cotswolds village.
To Fetch a Felon is the first book in the Chatty Corgi Mystery Series by award-winning author Jennifer Hawkins. In this cute animal cozy mystery, a London woman and a talking Corgi that only she can hear unleash their sleuthing skills after moving to an idyllic Cornwall village to open a tea shop.
Deadhead and Buried is the first book in the English Cottage Garden Mysteries by H.Y. Hanna. In this English village cozy mystery, a clueless city girl inherits a lush cottage garden nursery and a know-it-all ginger cat. She must solve a mystery after stumbling over a dead body among the roses.
The Brampton Witch Murders is the first book in the Samuel Pepys Mystery Series by Ellis Blackwood. In this historical mystery, 17th century diarist Samuel Pepys and his two inquisitors must help his sister escape the gallows when she's accused of witchcraft in 17th century England.
The Antique Store Detective is the first book in the Bella Winter Mystery Series by Clare Chase. In this English village cozy mystery, an antique store owner investigates a mystery involving stolen antiques, a dead historian, the lord of a manor, and a secretive group of treasure hunters.
Once Upon a Crime is the first book in the bestselling Waterfell Tweed Mystery Series by Katie Forrest (writing as Mona Marple). In this British mystery, a woman trades in her high heels for a cozy book cafe and cake baking in a cute English village and gets accused of taking out a rival book store owner.