In the wake of Halloween, All Saint's Eve, Samhain, and Dia De Los Muertos, there's quite a bit of magic lingering in the air. The leaves have turned, the weather is harsher, and the nights are chilling. Many peoples view this time of year as the time to honor their ancestors as the veil between this world and the world of the dead is thinner. We are in the liminal time between seasons as the days grow shorter and winter readies its cold, cold breath here in the PNW. The harvest is complete and we are ready to tuck in for the long, dark nights ahead. Cozy mysteries are a prefect genre to tuck in with: light and fluffy with little violence, no gore, and big hearts centered on community. If this sounds like your cup of tea, here are some very magical cozies to cozy up with this liminal season.

Samhain Secrets by Jennifer David Hesse is the perfect book to read this time of year. It touches on the sabbat of Samhain, a Wiccan celebration that coincides with Halloween, which often includes the honoring of ancestors. New junior partner Keli Milanni is disturbed to hear of her free-spirited aunt's seeming disappearance, she is intrigued. Then a body is found in the woods and her missing aunt's secrets come to haunt her in more ways than one. This is the 4th book in the series, but it's ok to read them out of order.

Murder in G Major by Alexia Gordon is a light mystery featuring African-American classical musician Dr. Gethsemane Brown who takes a teaching gig at a school in Dunmullach, Ireland after a major career letdown. With a delightfully creepy old house and a snarky ghost who wants his murder solved, this is a pitch-perfect first-in-the-series that continues with Death in D Minor.

The first Retired Witches mystery series, Spell Booked by Joyce and Jim Lavene, features a trio of witches who must retire and pass their magic on to three new witches who will also inherit their spell book. When one of the three is murdered and the spell book goes missing, they are in for a period of difficult transition as they bring on a new witch and try to solve the murder of their friend. There is an entire subgenre of middle-aged and older witch cozy mystery series ready to explore if you enjoy this one.

Séances Are For Suckers by Tamara Berry is a magical cozy for the sceptics. Fake medium and ghost hunter Ellie Wilde makes a decent enough living to care for her and her ill sister, though she doesn't believe in any of it. She uses her talents at reading people to clear their homes of unwanted ghosts for a reasonable fee. When she travels to Sussex for a job and finds a hidden body in the castle, she'll need all of her wits and skills to solve this thorny murder.

Caught Dead Handed by Carol J. Perry is set in the witchy city of Salem, MA. Lee Barrett thinks she's just playing a psychic for a late night horror show on a local network, but when she starts seeing actual visions in her fake crystal ball, Barrett wonders at her new abilities. Add in a cat with his own interesting powers and the fact that the former show host was a practicing witch and you've got yourself a witchy little cozy mystery indeed!

However you celebrate this transitional time of year, may it be cozy and magical!

     ~ Posted by Veronica H.