It’s summertime. That means it’s the prime season for frozen margaritas, pool noodles, and lazy afternoons with fantastic books.
Maybe you’re lucky enough to be spending the dog days curled up on a private yacht overlooking sun-drenched azure seas.
Or maybe you’re slathering your kids in SPF100 and cozying up to the garden hose with a blow-up pool in the middle of your driveway just so you don’t have to listen to one more episode of Phineas and Ferb. (Ahem. It’s not just me, is it?)
Either way, if you’re looking to lose yourself in a fun summer read, these cozy mysteries can help put a little bit of splash into your sunniest days.
A Spell for Trouble by Esme Addision
Mermaids. An herbal apothecary. Family secrets in a coastal town. And did I mention mermaids?
Esme Addison’s debut cozy mystery is high on both whimsy and Southern flair. With a charming mix of water witches, magical potions, and murder, you’ll want to pack your bags and visit Bellamy Bay for a summer getaway.
View on Amazon: A Spell for Trouble
Pineapple Hurricane by Amy Vansant
We don’t like to use the H word here in North Carolina. But Amy Vansant’s eleventh trip to Pineapple Port makes storm season feel like a party.
Pineapple Hurricane combines all the quirky fun of your favorite cozy mystery with the pulse-pounding action of a high octane thriller. When you add in a hunt for toilet paper, the laughs don’t stop.
If you’ve got a whole summer vacation to fill, you can start with book one in the series, Pineapple Lies, and read non-stop until it’s time to get back to your own toilet paper-hoarding world. At least you know you’ll be smiling underneath that mask.
View on Amazon: Pineapple Hurricane
The Deep End by Julie Mulhern
Maybe you can’t go to the beach this summer, but you’ll at least be able to head back to the 1970s for a fun, twisty mystery filled with salacious gossip and cheating, dirty husbands.
The Deep End is the first book in Mulhern’s The Country Club Murders series, and it’s the perfect poolside read. If you love it, there are almost a dozen more books that follow, so you’ll be able to chill out with a pina colada every afternoon until pumpkin spice lattes arrive on the scene.
View on Amazon: The Deep End
A Beach House to Die For by K.C. Ames
I can’t be the only one fantasizing about running off to a tropical paradise these days, can I?
A Beach House to Die For combines the gorgeous Costa Rican scenery with an adorable stray cat, a twisted inheritance, and a murder. If you’re looking for escapist fiction, this one is sure to keep you on the edge of your pool chair.
View on Amazon: A Beach House to Die For
I know this summer doesn’t look like summers of the past, but if you’re not being pampered at a fancy resort, I hope you can at least pull out the sprinkler and a Popsicle and treat yourself to a killer summer read.