To celebrate National Library Week (April 8 - 14) I'm sharing five favorite Cozy Mystery titles along with some printable bookmarks.

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Do you know about the "cozy mystery" genre? Generally, they are books that take place in a quaint location and have a smart, quirky, inquisitive heroine. There is often a crafty hobby or small business endeavor featured throughout, and the curious amateur detective ends up solving whatever mystery presents itself. Sprinkling these into my reading just makes me happy. 

1. Miniature Mystery Series

One of my favorite cozies is the Miniature Mystery Series by author Margaret Grace. The heroine is a recently widowed retired schoolteacher who is also the chairwoman of her local Dollhouse and Miniatures Fair. She lives in an architecturally significant modern Eichler home in California, crafts and gets herself in trouble with her policeman nephew by getting involved trying to solve local murders that cross her path. It's fun and entertaining and innocent, and I love reading about her house and all of the miniature things she makes! The first book in the series is titled Murder in Miniature. 

2. The Sunday Philosophy Club Series

Another series I really enjoy is by Alexander McCall Smith (who penned the best selling No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency stories) and features Isabel Dalhousie, a wealthy woman who lives in Edinburgh, Scotland and works from home as editor of The Review of Applied Ethics. She wrestles with philosophical questions, speaks her mind and gets involved in solving local crimes. I get to become an armchair traveler and plan my Scotland adventure. Which will be happening....someday. The first book is titled same as the series name: The Sunday Philosophy Club. 

3. A Home Crafting Mystery

This next entry is from A Home Crafting Mystery series by Cricket McRae that takes place close to Seattle (where I live) and features a handmade business owner (which appeals). The first book is Lye in Wait, and stars a thirty-something character named Sophie Mae Reynolds who owns an artisan soap and cosmetics business and also likes to cook. The mystery is fun and not overly complicated, and I enjoy all the details on soap making and cooking. 

4. The Leafy Hollow Mysteries

A cozy I'm new to from The Leafy Hollow Mysteries takes place in Canada, where the heroine moves to a sleepy town after inheriting a landscaping business from her late aunt. The first book in the series by Rickie Blair is called From Garden to Grave and features a character named Verity Hawkes. Funny and smart. 

5. A Yarn Retreat Mystery

Another new series to me is A Yarn Retreat Mystery, whose heroine is a baker who inherits a (guess what?) yarn retreat business. As she heads to Monterey, California to figure out what happened to her relative and learns to knit, you'll be treated to a knitting pattern and recipe along with the story by author Betty Hechtman. The first book is titled Yarn to Go. The author also has a crochet series (the first title for that is Hooked on Murder). 

Let us know what your cozy mystery favorites are in the comments. Maybe we can have a virtual bookclub. 

Download our free printable bookmarks to keep your place (click here or on the photo below). Print the PDF onto card stock and print double-sided; the back has a pattern on it. Punch some holes and add some embroidery floss to dress them up.