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Reading Recommendations

If You Like Cozy Mysteries

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Cozy mysteries, often referred to as “cozies,” are a gentle subgenre of crime fiction or more hardened mysteries. The stories are often set in small communities and feature unlikely amateur detectives like letter carriers, inn keepers, teachers or librarians. Explicit sexuality and graphic violence take place off stage and any profanity is mild. If you like cozy mysteries, you can browse a wide variety of titles in our catalog or take a look at these tips and tricks to make your next selection!

1. Borrow e-books or downloadable audiobooks.

Use a mystery list from OverDrive to find e-books and downloadable audiobooks. If you have never borrowed from OverDrive before, both app directions and browser directions are available as well as a video tutorial and Overdrive Support.

Need more help? Ask a Library staff member at any of our locations or call, text or email Ask-a-Librarian. The Tinker Station helpline at (317) 275-4500 is also available. It is staffed by device experts who can answer questions about how to read, watch and listen on a PC, tablet or phone.

2. Get reading recommendations from Library staff.

Click on a featured booklist to get cozy mystery reading recommendations. See also our If You Like Mysteries recommendations. You might also try Cozymystery.com for a one stop shop for all matters cozy. It provides recommendations, booklists, and announcements of upcoming entries in all your favorite series.

3. Use your Library card to login to Novelist Plus to find more cozy mysteries.

Browse the Novelist Plus cozy mysteries list find cozy mystery reading recommendations, read-alikes, series lists, and reviews.

4. Subscribe to the cozy mystery newsletter from NextReads.

Subscribe to NextReads to receive cozy mystery reading recommendation in your inbox monthly. Book suggestions are linked to our catalog for easy requesting. It’s FREE! See a sample issue. Subscribe to NextReads here!

5. Make a Selection from these cozy mystery authors.

Find a book discussion near you!

You are invited to join in one of our many in-person or online book discussions that take place several times each month. In our book discussion groups we read and talk about both fiction and non-fiction books. We express our opinions (both likes and dislikes!) with other avid readers in the city.

  • Event: Adult Book Discussion at West Indianapolis
  • Date & Time: Monday, December 08, 5:00pm
  • Location: West Indianapolis Branch
  • Description: This is a call-out meeting for our 2026 Adult Book Discussion Club at West Indianapolis. We will be voting and deciding on the titles we will be reading for the 2026 year.
  • No Registration Required.
  • Event: Virtual Author Talk: The Legacy of Julia Child’s Kitchen
  • Date & Time: Tuesday, December 09, 2:00pm
  • Rescheduled Date & Time: Tuesday, August 04, 2:00pm
  • Location: Online
  • Description: Join us for a conversation that’s sure to warm your heart and make your stomach rumble as we delve into the legacy of cooking icon Julia Child with Smithsonian curator and public historian Paula J. Johnson, author of Julia Child’s Kitchen: The Design, Tools, Stories, and Legacy of an Iconic Space.
  • Register Here
  • Event: Adult Book Discussion at Fort Ben
  • Date & Time: Tuesday, December 09, 6:00pm
  • Location: Fort Ben Branch
  • Description: We will be discussing your book choice. Bring a copy of what you are reading, share your thoughts with the group and get new book-read ideas.
  • No Registration Required.