Six Cozy Winter Mysteries to Curl Up With

English professor and single mom Georgia is spending a lonely winter in Massachusetts when a package arrives. Surprisingly, it contains Sid, her best friend and the talking skeleton who’s been in her family for years. (Even more hilariously surprising: he mailed himself.) But their winter bonding is interrupted by a snowy car crash and a mysterious death that’s more than it appears.

Can Georgia and her bony bestie help solve the case? Sid the skeleton adds a memorable, funny touch to this wintry mystery by an Agatha Award-winning author.

Your mouth will be watering reading this winter-set story in the long-running Bakeshop Mysteries series.

Winter is quiet for Jules and her small-town bakery, until she’s asked to cater a retreat for leaders of the state Shakespeare festival. Jules is game, but she’s chilled to the bone to discover the body of a bartender in a freezer at the event. Not to mention her ex-husband is on the suspect list.

A determined main character, tantalizing culinary mystery, and descriptions of delicious baked goods make this a book to savor with a warm treat by your side.

It’s a snowy February in Maine when Julia receives a mysterious package that contains her great-grandmother’s black diamond necklace, which was last seen in the 1920s. Now Julia, who moved back home to run her family’s seafood company, must discover who sent the package, what her relatives are hiding, and what it all has to do with her missing cousin’s death. To put the pressure on, she’s got to do it before a blizzard hits.

If you enjoy New England-set stories or family secrets, you’ll welcome unraveling this mystery alongside Julia.

Animal lovers and fans of seasonal mysteries will dig this snowy series starter.

After her husband’s death, former chef and dog owner Claire moves to rural Maryland to renovate a bed-and-breakfast. Unfortunately, her first guest winds up dead. So too does a suspect in the case. Claire, alongside her dog Rupert and friend Evelyn, must sniff out the clues to find the killer before her bed-and-breakfast (or another guest) goes belly up.

You’ll root for the widowed Claire, who’s also a foster mom, as she starts over as a small-town business owner and part-time sleuth.

Evie returns to the village of Crofter’s Green, where her late grandmother once ran a beloved tea shop, in the chaos of World War II. An injured air raid warden from London, she’s startled by the death of the local warden. So she teams up with a group of sleuths, including a perceptive herbalist, clever teacher, gossipy mother, and retired detective, to catch the killer.

If you enjoy British mysteries, unlikely friendships, or the restorative power of tea as much as I do, you’ll want to check out this series starter written by a father-daughter writing team.

A blizzard and frosty family relations add a chill to this book in the Aspen Notch mystery series.

Retired couple Sue and Alan’s trip to a holiday lodge for a winter festival gets off to a rocky start when they arrive to discover Alan’s estranged daughter, Judy, is running the show. But that’s nothing compared to when Sue discovers Judy’s dead husband, with a bloody Judy near him remembering nothing of what happened.

Questions gather as thick as the snowflakes as items go missing from the lodge and the security system is tampered with. Can Sue thaw out her sleuthing skills to catch the culprit?