November has crept in on a carpet of fallen leaves, and with the clocks gone back there’s nothing nicer than drawing the curtains early and losing yourself in a good mystery. This month’s Clue List brings a society columnist found dead at a London tavern, a vigilante killer finally unmasked, a Christmas murder in the Scottish Highlands and a séance that goes horribly wrong in a French château, along with a couple of festive modern-day mysteries to ease you towards Christmas. Whether you love a 1920s cozy mystery or a Victorian whodunit, there’s something here for you. And if there’s a new cozy mystery you’re loving that I’ve missed, do share it in the comments below.
A quick note before we dive in: if you missed the email Amazon sent out recently, Kindle Unlimited has a new name. It’s now called Kindle+. It’s exactly the same membership, with the same books and the same benefits, so if you’re already a member there’s nothing you need to do. It’s simply a different name, which is why you’ll see Kindle+ on the buttons below.
This post contains affiliate links, so I may earn a small commission if you buy through them, at no extra cost to you.
Veronica Vale would rather investigate ten murders than attend one society function. Unfortunately, supporting her best friend means enduring an evening gown, polite conversation, and Ruby’s increasingly inventive account of her past.
It’s preposterous! Ruby is thirty, unmarried, and already has a baby. But with Lady M as her sponsor, Ruby refuses to let inconvenient facts interfere with her magnificent coming-out ball.
Much to Veronica’s surprise, the ball is a glittering success. The unofficial post-ball event at the Crown Tavern is rather less fortunate.
Shortly after midnight, a notorious society columnist is found dead beside the fountain in the tavern’s private garden. He arrived with no invitation, a notebook filled with dangerous secrets, and plans to expose half the guests before breakfast.
When the missing notebook appears in Ruby’s evening bag, her long-delayed debut threatens to end with an arrest.
To clear her friend’s name, Veronica must uncover secret affairs, wartime lies, and the truth about the men who are intent on winning Ruby’s heart.
If Veronica doesn’t expose the villain in time, Ruby’s first night in high society may be her last.
Series: Veronica Vale Investigates — Book 14
For over a year, a killer has avoided capture. Now Lady Ellen is about to discover who he is.
At Ashcombe Hall, Lady Ellen is determined to look towards the future. The Pavilion is being restored and plans are underway for a summer fair. For the first time in over a year, it seems the shadow that has followed her, may finally have lifted and she spends time on the grounds with Prince, her dog.
But peace never lasts long.
The Vigilante Slasher has been silent for months, until a sudden kill, which delivers a chilling message: the Slasher has not vanished at all. He’s been waiting. He’s been watching.
Ellen knows she cannot move forward with her life while the man behind the killings remains hidden. The Vigilante Slasher claims to deliver justice to criminals who escape the law, but is he truly a crusader for justice, or simply a killer who enjoys the hunt?
Determined to uncover the truth, Ellen begins the most dangerous investigation of her life. Because when the Slasher’s mask finally slips, it doesn’t come without consequences…
Series: Lady Ellen Investigates — Book 10
Christmas 1926. Kitty Worthington and her husband, Robert, head north for the holidays. And this year, they bring everyone along. The entire Worthington clan, plus a handful of dear friends, descend on Hollingsworth Castle, a rambling ancestral pile in the Scottish Highlands, perfect for skating on the frozen loch, budding romance, and Christmas kept the old-fashioned way.
Then, on a walk through the snowy woods, they come across a body, clearly bludgeoned to death.
The dead man had a grudge against one of Hollingsworth’s closest neighbors—a kindhearted man who soon becomes the main suspect. As Kitty and Robert begin to investigate, they discover the victim had more than one enemy, and the truth may lie much closer to Hollingsworth than anyone suspects.
Series: The Kitty Worthington Mysteries — Book 15
A murdered clerk. A body at Waterloo. A letter with a deadly secret.
London, 1889. In the gloomy Dead Letter Office at St Martin’s Le Grand, young clerk Andrew Peverell spends his days sorting through letters that never found their intended reader. When three anonymous notes cross his desk – each inviting a stranger to a public house near Buckingham Palace – Andrew makes a decision that will cost him his life.Four days later, a foul smell leads to a black leather trunk in Waterloo Station’s left-luggage office. Inside is Andrew’s body.
When the story reaches the morning papers, Emma Langley recognises the victim’s name – a man her late brother once knew as a boy. Together with her friend Penny Green, she sets out to find the truth. Their investigation takes them from the hushed rooms of the Dead Letter Office to the grand halls of Marlborough House, where a footman has vanished and a menacing lawyer is hunting him down.
But the truth about Andrew’s death lies somewhere no one has thought to look. And by the time Emma understands what she is really searching for, the killer is closer than she has ever imagined…
Series: Emma Langley Victorian Mysteries — Book 6
Kitty Goring is on her way back to England after her rather disastrous holiday in Cairo. As the ship sails across the Mediterranean, she’s expecting sunshine, civilised company, and the sort of gentle indulgence best enjoyed with a deck chair and a good hat, with just enough gossip to keep things interesting.
But if Kitty is around, can murder be too far behind?
With nowhere to go and everyone determined to enjoy themselves regardless of the spate of murders on board their ship, Kitty finds herself quietly sleuthing between tea parties and evening dances, with the help of DCI Burton. Soon, it becomes clear that someone on board has something serious to hide.
And if Kitty isn’t careful, the next misadventure may not be quite so easily dismissed.
Series: Kitty Goring Investigates — Book 6
A séance in the belltower, a ghost in the gallery, and a corpse in the cloister.Famed sleuth Lord Edgington travels to a former abbey in the south-west of France, but as the chimes of midnight strike for Halloween night, a man is killed. Has the victim’s past caught up with him or is something more sinister at play in the crumbling château?
A ghostly figure walks the halls. A spiritualist plies her trade and, somewhere in the dark, the killer plots his next attack. As Lord Edgington and his irrepressible (if sleepy) assistant race to unravel the lies of a châteauful of suspects, one question lingers: why did the group of supposed strangers travel all that way for a séance in the first place?
Series: Lord Edgington Investigates Abroad — Book 6
With her new home in disarray, guests arriving for the festive period and a grand country-house auction to organise, Dotty is still determined to give her seriously ill father a perfect family Christmas. She really doesn’t have time for sleuthing, but when the police question members of her wider family about the sabotaged star, she realises she has to clear their names.
With the help of her pregnant best friend Keya Varma, can Dotty illuminate the truth and still salvage Christmas?
Series: A Cotswold Antique Mystery — Book 6
Lady Beatrice should be finalising her wedding vows — not investigating murder.
With just weeks to go before she marries Richard Fitzwilliam, Bea is helping put the finishing touches to Three Lakes, a rehabilitation centre for veterans, when a senior staff member dies in a late-night lift malfunction.
At first, it looks like a tragic accident. Until the toxicology results suggest otherwise.
With the centre’s opening looming and scandal threatening to overshadow both Three Lakes and her wedding, Bea can’t help getting involved. While Rich helps with the official investigation, Bea and the others have a few theories of their own. And while Perry obsesses over lift mechanics and Simon insists he’s staying out of it (he isn’t), Daisy uncovers a clue everyone else missed.
As they dig deeper, they discover buried secrets, old resentments, and a grievance someone may have carried for years.
Some loyalties last a lifetime. So do some grudges.
Series: A Right Royal Cozy Investigation — Book 16
