One of my favorite things to do is to read a good mystery. I love to read any time, day or night, anywhere, inside or outside, but especially on a porch in the rain. Reading takes me anywhere I want to go. I don’t have to answer anyone’s questions, do anything, or solve a problem; I just sit back and immerse myself in another place and time. It’s been a great distraction when I am stressed, and it lets me decompress and resets my brain to give me the fuel to press on.
One of these days, I will hit 100 books in a year, but I’m at 77 for 2020.
You will notice A LOT of Cozy Mysteries in this list. For some reason, these are my go-to-comfort-read, and there was a lot of that needed this year! I also found several different series, all by the same author, so I think I single-handedly kept Ellery Adams in business this year.
I hope you find a new author or series that you like on this list. Let me know in the comments below what your favorites from this year were. I am always looking for another good book to read!
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Here are the series I mentioned below in order of appearance:
- Secret, Book, Scone Society Novel
- Ashley Grant Mysteries
- Forensic Instincts
- Books by the Bay Mysteries
- Book Retreat Mysteries
- Little Library Mysteries
- Charmed Pie Shoppe Mysteries
- Maine Clambake Mysteries
- Beyond the Page Bookstore Mysteries
- Hope Street Church Mysteries
- Antiques & Collectibles Mysteries
- Victoria Square Mysteries
- Sherlock Holmes Bookstore Mysteries
- Supper Club Mysteries
- Inspector French Mysteries
- Lighthouse Library Mysteries
- Cozy Capers Book Group Mysteries
- Fethering Village Mysteries
- Roderick Alleyn Series
- Dublin Murder Squad
- Decluttering Mysteries
- Women’s Murder Club
- Kingdom Keepers
- A Novel Idea Mystery Series
- Booktown Mysteries
- Local Foods Mysteries
May your 2021 be filled with love, peace, joy, adventure, and mystery, both in real life and in the stories of many good books!
Happy New Year!
- The Whispered Word by Ellery Adams (A Secret, Book, Scone Society Novel-Book 2)
- White Sand Blues by Vicky Delany (An Ashley Grant Mystery-Book 1)
- The Girl Who Disappeared Twice by Andrea Kane (Forensic Instincts-Book 1)
- A Deadly Cliche’ by Ellery Adams (A Books by the Bay Mystery-Book 2)
- The Last Word by Ellery Adams (A Books by the Bay Mystery-Book 3)
- Murder in the Reading Room by Ellery Adams (A Book Retreat Mystery-Book 5)
- Written in Stone by Ellery Adams (A Books by the Bay Mystery-Book 4)
- Poisoned Prose by Ellery Adams (A Books by the Bay Mystery-Book 5)
- And Then They Were Doomed by Elizabeth Kane Buzzelli (A Little Library Mystery-Book 4)
- Pies and Prejudice by Ellery Adams (A Charmed Pie Shoppe Mystery-Book 1)
- Blue Water Hues by Vicki Delany (An Ashley Grant Mystery-Book 2)
- Sealed Off by Barbara Ross (A Maine Clambake Mystery-Book 8)
- Lethal Letters by Ellery Adams (A Books by the Bay Mystery-Book 6)
- Murder in the First Edition by Lauren Elliott (A Beyond the Page Bookstore-Book 3)
- Sunset Beach by Mary Kay Andrews
- The Path of the Crooked by Ellery Adams (Hope Street Church Mysteries-Book 1)
- Writing All Wrongs by Ellery Adams (Books by the Bay Mystery-Book 7)
- The Weekenders by Mary Kay Andrews
- Mr. Nobody by Catherine Steadman-Downton Abbey actress, Author of Something in the Water
- A Killer Collection by Ellery Adams (Antiques & Collectibles Mysteries-Book 1)
- The Book of Candlelight by Ellery Adams (A Secret, Book, Scone Society Novel-Book 3)
- Murder Ink by Lorraine Bartlett (A Victoria Square Mystery-Book 6)
- The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware-Author of The Woman in Cabin 10
- Killer Characters by Ellery Adams (Books by the Bay Mystery-Book 8)
- The Way of the Wicked by Ellery Adams (Hope Street Church Mysteries-Book 2)
- There’s a Murder Afoot by Vicki Delany (A Sherlock Holmes Bookstore Mystery-Book 5)
- Belle Teal by Ann Martin, read with daughter for school
- Carbs and Cadavers by Ellery Adams (Supper Club Mysteries-Book 1)
- Antidote to Venom by Freeman Wills Craft (Inspector French #17)
- Someone We Know by Shari Lapena-Author of An Unwanted Guest
- A Fatal Appraisal by Ellery Adams (Antiques & Collectibles Mysteries-Book 2)
- Read and Buried by Eva Gates (A Lighthouse Library Mystery-Book 6)
- Inspector French’s Greatest Case by Freeman Wills Craft (Inspector French #1)
- Murder in the Storybook Cottage by Ellery Adams (A Book Retreat Mystery-Book 6)
- Peach Pies and Alibis by Ellery Adams (A Charmed Pie Shoppe Mystery-Book 2)
- Mischief by Charlotte Armstrong
- Pecan Pies and Homicides by Ellery Adams (A Charmed Pie Shoppe Mystery-Book 3)
- Risen Motherhood by Emily Jensen and Laura Wifler
- The Line Between Here And Gone by Andrea Kane (Forensic Instincts- Book 2)
- The Email Warrior by Anna Gomez
- Fit to Die by Ellery Adams (Supper Club Mysteries-Book 2)
- Murder on Cape Cod by Maddie Day (A Cozy Capers Book Group-Book 1)
- Death on the Downs by Simon Brett (Fethering Village Mysteries-Book 2)
- A Man Lay Dead by Ngaio Marsh (Roderick Alleyn-Book 1)
- The Graves of the Guilty by Ellery Adams (Hope Street Church Mysteries-Book 3)
- Lemon Pies and Little White Lies by Ellery Adams (A Charmed Pie Shoppe Mystery-Book 4)
- The Root of All Evil by Ellery Adams (Hope Street Church Mysteries-Book 4)
- A Deadly Dealer by Ellery Adams (Antiques & Collectibles Mysteries-Book 3)
- Chili Con Corpses by Ellery Adams (Supper Club Mysteries-Book 3)
- The Summer House by James Patterson
- Breach of Crust by Ellery Adams (A Charmed Pie Shoppe Mystery-Book 5)
- Proof of Murder by Lauren Elliott (A Beyond the Page Bookstore-Book 4)
- Fate of the Fallen by Ellery Adams (Hope Street Church Mysteries-Book 5)
- The Trespasser by Tana French (Dublin Murder Squad-Book 6)
- The Stranger You Know by Andrea Kane (Forensic Instincts-Book 3)
- The Clutter Corpse by Simon Brett (The Decluttering Mysteries-Book 1)
- A Treacherous Trader by Ellery Adams (Antiques & Collectibles Mysteries-Book 4)
- The 20th Victim by James Patterson (Women’s Murder Club-Book 20)
- Stiffs and Swine by Ellery Adams (Supper Club Mysteries-Book 4)
- Temporal Gambit by Larry Brown
- The Battered Body by Ellery Adams (Supper Club Mysteries-Book 5)
- Disney After Dark by Ridley Pearson (Kingdom Keepers-Volume 1)
- Disney at Dawn by Ridley Pearson (Kingdom Keepers-Volume 2)
- Black Beans and Vice by Ellery Adams (Supper Club Mysteries-Book 6)
- Buried in a Book by Lucy Arlington (A Novel Idea Mystery-Book 1)
- Every Trick in the Book by Lucy Arlington (A Novel Idea Mystery-Book 2)
- Handbook for Homicide by Lorna Barrett (A Booktown Mystery-Book 14)
- A Murderous Misconception by Lorraine Bartlett (Victoria Square Mystery-Book 7)
- A Devious Lot by Ellery Adams (Antiques & Collectibles Mysteries-Book 5)
- A Killer Keepsake by Ellery Adams (Antiques & Collectibles Mysteries-Book 6)
- A Bidder End by Ellery Adams (Antiques & Collectibles Mysteries-Book 7)
- A Fatal Faberge by Ellery Adams (Antiques & Collectibles Mysteries-Book 8)
- Pasta Mortem by Ellery Adams (Supper Club Mysteries-Book 7)
- Books, Cooks and Crooks by Lucy Arlington (A Novel Idea Mystery-Book 3)
- A Tine to Live, A Tine to Die by Edith Maxwell (A Local Foods Mystery-Book 1)
- A Death Long Overdue by Eva Gates (A Lighthouse Library Mystery-Book 7)
- The Silence That Speaks by Andrea Kane (Forensic Instincts- Book 4)
Added Bonus: Devotional Books that I used for devotionals throughout the year
- Disney Devotionals: 100 Daily Devotionals Based on the Walt Disney World Attractions by Albert Thweatt
- Disney Devotionals: 100 Daily Devotionals Based on Disney Films by Albert Thweatt
- Jesus Calling by Sarah Young
- The Bible