Nov. 13, 2025 – Murder mysteries are one of the most popular genres of books - and many put books themselves at the center of story. These cozy mysteries all feature murders set in bookstores or libraries, sleuthing book clubs, or authors who must put down their pens and pick up their detective hats.
Browse the books below and click on their covers to put them on hold in our catalog - and then stop by our own Murder Mystery Club at Ladd Library on Wednesday, Nov. 19, from 6-7:30 pm.
"A Cryptic Clue" by Victoria Gilbert (2023)
Sixty-year-old Jane Hunter, forced into early retirement from her job as a university librarian, is seeking a new challenge to keep her spirits up and supplement her meager pension. But as she’s about to discover, a retiree’s life can bring new thrills – and new dangers.
Cameron “Cam” Clewe, an eccentric 33-year-old collector, is also seeking something – an archivist to inventory his ever-expanding compendium of rare books and artifacts. Jane’s thrilled to be hired on by Cam and to uncover the secrets of his latest acquisition, a trove of items related to the classic mystery and detective authors. But Jane’s delight is upended when a body is discovered in Cam’s library. The victim, heir to a pharmaceutical fortune, was the last in line of Cam’s failed romances – and now he’s suspect number one.
Cam vows to use his intelligence and deductive skills to clear his name – but with a slight case of agoraphobia, rampant anxiety, and limited social skills, he’ll need some help. It comes down to Jane to exonerate her new boss – but is he truly innocent?
"The Library Game" by Gigi Pandian (2025)
Tempest Raj couldn't be happier that the family business, Secret Staircase Construction, is finally getting the recognition it deserves. Known for enchanting architectural features like sliding bookshelves and secret passageways, the company is now taking on a dream project: transforming a home into a public library that celebrates history's greatest fictional detectives. Though the work is far from done, Gray House Library's new owner is eager to host a murder mystery dinner and literary themed escape room.
But when a rehearsal ends with an actor murdered and the body vanishes, Tempest is witness to a seemingly impossible crime. Fueled by her grandfather's Scottish and Indian meals, Tempest and the rest of the crew must figure out who is making beloved classic mystery plots come to life in a deadly game.
"Booked for Murder" by P.J. Nelson (2024)
Madeline Brimley left small town Georgia many years ago to go to college and pursue her dreams on the stage. Her dramatic escapades are many, but success has eluded her, leaving her at loose ends. But then she gets word that not only has her beloved eccentric Aunt Rose passed, but she's left Madeline her equally eccentric bookstore, housed in an old Victorian mansion in the small college town of Enigma. But when she arrives in her beat-up Fiat to claim The Old Juniper Bookstop, and restart her life, Madeline is faced with unexpected challenges. The gazebo in the back yard is set ablaze, and a late night caller threatens to burn the whole store down if she doesn't leave immediately.
But Madeline Brimley, not one to be intimidated, ignores the threats and soldiers on. Until there's another fire and a murder in the store itself. Now with a cloud of suspicion falling over her, it's up to Madeline to untangle the skein of secrets and find the killer before she herself is the next victim.
"Beach Reads and Deadly Deeds" by Allison Brennan (2025)
Mia Crawford is responsible to a fault. She has to be. Between her high-demand job and taking care of her grandmother and her cats, she has little time for anything else. What time she does have, she pours into reading. Mysteries, romances, thrillers … books filled with women who are far more impulsive than she would ever dream of being. Now, forced into taking a long-overdue vacation, she finds herself on a luxurious private island where she just might have a chance to reinvent herself – for a little while, anyway. She can explore the island. Flirt shamelessly with a cute bartender. Have a vacation fling. Live like a heroine in one of her favorite novels.
Or she can curl up with a good book on the beach. Turns out reinventing yourself is easier planned than done. But when gossipy notes written in the margins of an old book turn out to be clues to the disappearance of another guest, Mia finds herself diving headfirst into a dangerous adventure. With everyone at the resort hiding secrets of their own, she’ll have to solve this real-life mystery before she becomes the next target.
"The Mysterious Case of the Missing Crime Writer" by Jónasson Ragnar (2025)
One winter evening, bestselling crime author Elâin S. Jâonsdâottir goes missing. There are no clues to her disappearance, and it is up to young detective Helgi to crack the case before it's leaked to the press. As Helgi interviews the people closest to her – a publisher, an accountant, a retired judge – he realizes that Elâin's life wasn't what it seemed. In fact, her past is even stranger than the fiction she wrote. As the case of the missing crime writer becomes more mysterious by the hour, Helgi must uncover the secrets of the writer's very unexpected life.
"Mrs. Christie at the Mystery Guild Library" by Amanda Chapman (2025)
Tory Van Dyne is the most down-to-earth member of a decidedly eccentric old-money New York family. For one thing, as book conservator at Manhattan's Mystery Guild Library, she actually has a job. Plus, she's left up-town society behind for a quiet life downtown. So she's not thrilled when she discovers a woman in the library's Christie Room who calmly introduces herself as Agatha Christie, politely requests a cocktail, and announces she's there to help solve a murder – that has not yet happened.
But as soon as Tory determines that this is just a fairly nutty Christie fangirl, her socialite/actress cousin Nicola gets caught up in the suspicious death of her less-than-lovable talent agent. Nic, as always, looks to Tory for help. Tory, in turn, looks to Mrs. Christie. The woman, whoever or whatever she is, clearly knows her stuff when it comes to crime. Aided by a found family of unlikely sleuths – including a snarky librarian, an eleven-year-old computer whiz, and an NYPD detective with terrible taste in suits – Tory and the woman claiming to be her very much deceased literary idol begin to unravel the twists and turns of a murderer's devious mind. Because, in the immortal words of Miss Jane Marple, "murder is never simple."
"The Librarians" by Sherry Thomas (2025)
In the leafy suburbs of Austin, Texas, a small branch library welcomes the public every day of the week. But the patrons who love the helpful, unobtrusive staff and leave rave reviews on Yelp don't always realize that their librarians are human, too. Hazel flees halfway across the world for what she hopes will be a new beginning. Jonathan, a six-foot-four former college football player, has never fit in anywhere else. Astrid tries to forget her heartbreak by immersing herself in work, but the man who ghosted her six months ago is back, promising trouble. And Sophie, who has the most to lose, maintains a careful and respectful distance from her coworkers, but soon that won't be enough anymore.
When two patrons turn up dead after the library's inaugural murder mystery-themed game night, the librarians' quiet routines come crashing down. Something sinister has stirred, something that threatens every single one of them. And the only way the librarians can save the library – and themselves – is to let go of their secrets, trust one another, and band together. All in a day's work.
"Just Another Dead Author" by Katarina Bivald (2025)
Berit Gardner has traveled to France to teach at a writer's retreat. Unfortunately, the class is abruptly cancelled when its star, a bestselling author, is murdered right in front of Berit's eyes. Detective Inspector Roche at the Lyon Police Department now has her hands full with twenty wannabe authors who all have some kind of motive for the murder.
Not only are they dangerously used to making things up, but all of them are using the police investigation as an opportunity to do real-life research. With nowhere else to turn, Roche goes to Berit for help. When a second murder is committed, things take a turn for the worse. Luckily, reinforcements, in the form of DI Ian Ahmed, who was on holiday nearby, arrive in the nick of time. Will Berit and Ian be able to stop the daunting murder spree, or will Berit's life once again hang in the balance?
"A Novel Murder" by E.C. Nevin (2025)
In the quaint English town of Hoslewit, the biggest names in crime writing have congregated to celebrate all things bookish and murderous. Author Jane Hepburn is determined to make her time at the Killer Lines festival worthwhile. This is her chance to change her fortunes and make her fictional Private Detective Baker a household name. And if she has to resort to sneaking into the book tent after hours to rearrange some books so hers are front and center, so be it. But when Jane encounters the dead body of renowned (and reviled) literary agent Carrie Marks, the festival takes on a decidedly different tone.
Joined by Carrie's newest client, debut novelist Natasha Martez, and the agency's hapless intern, Daniel Thurston, Jane decides to put her fictional sleuthing skills to use in the real world – she's going to solve the murder. But the list of suspects is long: seemingly everyone at the festival has a motive to kill Carrie, and the more Jane and her new friends investigate, the closer they come to a dangerous truth – one that's stranger than fiction.
"The Busybody Book Club" by Freya Sampson (2025)
Having recently moved from London to a small Cornish seaside village, Nova Davies started a book club at the local community center, but so far it’s a disaster. The five members disagree on everything, and to make matters worse, a significant sum of money is stolen during one of the meetings, putting the much-loved community center at risk.
Suspicion for the theft falls on book club member Michael, especially when he disappears and a dead body turns up at his house. But the book club has their own theories. Agatha Christie superfan Phyllis is determined to prove Michael’s been framed, while romance reader Arthur believes there’s a mystery woman involved, and teenage sci-fi fan Ash thinks dark forces are at play.
While trying to locate Michael, solve the murder and recover the stolen money, each of them has their own secrets to protect. But despite the danger closing in, they won’t rest until they’ve cracked the case and gotten everyone safe at home with a book, where they belong.