January has well and truly settled in, and with frost on the ground and much of England bracing for hefty snowfalls, it’s officially hibernation season. When the world outside feels cold and wintry, there’s nothing better than staying warm indoors with a comforting new mystery—and this month’s cozy releases are just the thing. From familiar favourites to tempting new starts, these January arrivals offer the perfect excuse to put the kettle on, grab a blanket, and get reading. And if there’s a new cozy you’re loving that I’ve missed, don’t be shy—do share your recommendations in the comments below.
On a Mediterranean island shaped by sunshine, stone, and centuries of history, a stolen artefact leads to a death beneath a vaulted ceiling. Can an amateur sleuth navigate a labyrinth of clues before the investigation endangers someone she loves?
Antiques expert, Georgina Carey, is intrigued to travel to Malta with her aunt to assist with an exhibition celebrating the island’s cultural heritage. But on opening night she notices a guest acting suspiciously. Following him through marble corridors, she’s uneasy when he disappears among the stone pillars, and alarmed when he turns up dead inside the island’s Baroque cathedral.
As the police investigate the man’s death, Georgina begins searching for an ancient artefact she suspects was stolen from the exhibition. When an unexpected warning unsettles her aunt and then she disappears, Georgina is deeply shaken and begins to wonder if the death and the theft are linked like chapters in the island’s layered past.
Can Georgina find her aunt, recover the missing artefact, and help the police identify the killer before her time on the island runs out?
If you enjoy atmospheric mysteries, rich cultural settings, and a perceptive sleuth balancing local customs, family dynamics, and her growing sense of responsibility, you’ll love Mayhem and Malice in Malta, the compelling third book in Victoria Tait’s Treasured Journey Mystery series.
Series: A Treasured Journey Mystery – Book 3
A fatal fall. A duchess determined to uncover the truth. And absolutely no time for tea.
Fenshire, 1891. It was meant to be a birthday celebration in the country—cucumber sandwiches, polite conversation, and maybe a waltz or two. But when the Duke of Stortford is found dead at the foot of the stairs everything goes dreadfully sideways. The police declare it a tragic accident, but his wife, Alice, has her doubts. After all, only hours before, the Duke had promised to make a go of their marriage. Now he’s inconveniently deceased.
Driven by a need for answers and helped by her fiercely loyal maid Maud, her observant footman George, and her childhood friend Lord Rushton, Alice sets about uncovering the truth. But as she navigates a house full of secrets, simmering tensions, and more than one guest with murderously bad manners, her suspect pool grows to include those closest to her. Can she piece together the truth? Or will her husband’s murderer get away with it after all?
The guests are leaving. The killer is among them. Time is running out…
Series: The Duchess of Stortford Mysteries – Book 2
A 1920s Christmas Mystery Novella
The Ashcombe Ladies’ Society have worked tirelessly to prepare the most anticipated event of the season. Much publicised, the Christmas fair is drawing visitors from neighbouring towns, and for the very first time it will be held in Ashcombe Hall’s grand pavilion. Lady Ellen is determined the day will be nothing short of perfect.
But the festivities turn sinister when Mrs Mott, the vicar’s wife, suddenly collapses at the foot of the glittering tree. Only moments earlier she had been making her rounds, sampling delicacies from the stalls. Now, with Gwen rushed to hospital and the fair in disarray, Ellen and the Ashcombe Ladies’ Society must keep the event afloat, while unravelling the troubling mystery of how Mrs Mott was Poisoned in the Pavilion.
Series: Lady Ellen Investigates – Book 7
Snow falls, secrets surface, and a killer is on the prowl.
When the body of a dazzling socialite is found in Hyde Park, London is scandalised. The young woman was last seen at a glittering nightclub – dancing with a mysterious man.
As snow blankets the city, Augusta Peel is drawn into a world of Bright Young Things, bohemian artists, and dangerous secrets. Each of the victim’s glamorous sisters hides something… and someone will kill to keep the past buried.
Christmas is drawing close. From smoky jazz clubs to Mayfair drawing rooms, Augusta must navigate London’s high society and its shadowy underbelly. But the truth – like London in winter – is cold and treacherous.
Series: Augusta Peel 1920s Mysteries – Book 11
Everyone in Eastwold protects their own. But who’s protecting the vulnerable?
When a criminal gang moves into the village, targeting elderly residents and taking over their homes, Alina recognises a threat the police can’t see. Then the café worker who noticed too much turns up dead – and DI Richard Laidlaw is arrested for her murder.
Alina knows Richard is innocent. She also knows he’s been keeping secrets. About the dead woman. About a case from years ago. About the kind of man he really is.
As Advent candles burn and Christmas approaches, Alina must solve a murder, save her village, and face the hardest question of all: can you love someone whose truth might break you?
The final instalment in the Eastwold Mysteries brings Reverend Alina Merrycott’s story to its heart-stopping conclusion.
Series: Eastwold by the Sea Cosy Mystery Series – Book 6
A glamorous fundraising ball. Snow too deep for T-strap shoes. And the charity’s chairwoman found dead.
England, 1922. Celebrated sleuth Lady Felicity Quick and dashing reporter Mr Alexander Cooper are juggling their careers with wedding plans — but they can’t ignore a local charity in desperate need.
With its organiser taken ill, Felicity rescues the fundraising ball that means everything to a struggling village orphanage. But when a blizzard hits and the charity’s formidable chairwoman turns up lifeless in the snow, the glittering gala takes a dark turn…
Police dismiss the death as unrelated to the event or the orphanage. Yet as Felicity untangles local gossip, hidden rivalries, and long-held secrets, someone is determined to keep the past buried — whatever the cost.
Can Felicity solve a murder, rescue a children’s home, and survive long enough to see Christmas? Or will a cold-blooded killer put her future on ice?
If you love clever, warm-hearted heroines like Lady Eleanor Swift and Miss Marple, and the atmospheric historical mysteries of Helena Dixon and T.E. Kinsey, you’ll be swept away by Murder at the Winter Gala.
Start reading now for a sparkling mystery full of charm, wit, and winter intrigue!
Series: Lady Felicity Quick – Book 10
Wrapping presents and singing at midnight mass on a frosty night… Lady Swift is determined to enjoy Christmas at home this year, until another body turns up!
Winter 1925. Eleanor and Hugh are decking the halls for their first married Christmas together when butler Clifford arrives with a mysterious telegram. A lucrative case awaits their new detective agency… but in the most remote county in England. The note insists they must be there by midnight to accept the job.
After a snowy journey, they arrive at the tiny hamlet of Yorelow to find their client, Osmund Unwin, dead in the churchyard as midnight mass ends. They realise they are now in the absurd situation of having to solve the murder of their client – who they never met – to solve a case they know nothing about and officially never accepted!
There is very little festive goodwill to go around, as it seems half the village had a grudge against the rich man. Was it one of the Frisham sisters, owners of the tavern and rumoured to be in a love triangle with Unwin? Or perhaps his maid, who never had a nice thing to say about him?
When another body is found in the ruins of the castle overlooking the town, Eleanor is baffled. Clearly there’s more to this nightmare before Christmas than the gang first thought…
Series: Lady Eleanor Swift – Book 24
A picture-perfect snowbound hotel, a crime that won’t stay buried, and a killer with no interest in a white Christmas.
Switzerland, 1929. When super sleuth Lord Edgington and his grandson Christopher head to a grand hotel in the Swiss Alps, they hope for roaring fires, wintry walks and plenty of Christmas cheer. What they couldn’t have imagined was a hotel full of ex-criminals and whispers of a famous jewel thief.
After Christopher comes a whisker away from death and a guest is found murdered on the mountain, the master detectives must solve the long-buried mystery of a princess’s stolen tiara if they are to catch the killer. With a cast of conniving suspects to choose from, the body count rises, the snow falls, and the duo must race to stop the killings before Christmas day comes.
A fun, funny, and ever-so festive 1920s whodunit in the style of Agatha Christie. “The Alpine Christmas Mystery” is a standalone novel in the bestselling Lord Edgington Investigates Abroad series, featuring historic real-life locations, a slightly sleepy golden retriever and enough twists, surprises and Christmas spirit to see you through the season.
Series: Lord Edgington Investigates Abroad – Book 3
The Mystery of the Missing Man
Murder, mystery and a dog of distinction.
Heathcliff Lennox investigates.
Summer 1924. Seven archaeologists board the morning train from Oxford to witness the Roman villa excavation at Ashton Steeple. Only six arrive.
Dr Mortimer Quayle was seen settling into his compartment with his leather case. The conductor punched his ticket. Witnesses claimed to have seen him. But somewhere during the thirty-mile journey through the peaceful Cotswold countryside, Dr. Quayle vanished without a trace.
How does a man disappear from a moving train?
What begins as a strange puzzle becomes something far deadlier. Someone among the respectable scholars committed murder–but who would kill such a distinguished man, and what secret was worth killing for?
In a world of buried artefacts and ancient mysteries, Lennox and Swift must uncover which team member has buried their past as carefully as any Roman treasure.
Major Heathcliff Lennox – ex WW1 war pilot, 6feet 3inch, tousled dark blond hair, age around 30 – named after the hero of Wuthering Heights by his romantically minded mother – much to his great annoyance.
Series: Heathcliff Lennox – Book 16
