Summer Cozy Mysteries Set on the Beach

by Tonya Kappes
33 Books in the Series
Most Recent: Witness, Woods & Wedding (scheduled for release on October 26, 2023)

Each book of the Campers & Criminals cozy mystery series is set in Normal, Kentucky (where nothing is normal) and all are filled with southern, small-town charm.

In the first book, Beaches, Bungalows & Burglaries, we meet Mae West whose fancy lifestyle in New York City comes crashing down around her when her husband is implicated in a Ponzi scheme and the FBI raids their mansion.

With no one to turn to and no money to her name, Mae is left with the only thing the government didn't seize - a tourist campground called Happy Trails and an RV. Mae hopes that selling Happy Trails will give her the influx of cash she needs, but in the meantime - with nowhere else to live - she's moving in.

When she arrives, the plush bluegrass and crystal clear lake of the brochure are nowhere to be found. There's just a lot of dirt and a slimy, mucky lake. A lake where her husband - who escaped from prison - is found dead.

It's no surprise that Mae is the prime suspect. To clear her name, she'll need to convince the detective to investigate all the residents who lost their savings to her husband's scheming.

The Book Girls Say... As an added bonus, there are recipes included in each book in this beach read mystery series.

All of the books in this cozy mystery series are included with Kindle Unlimited as of 7/6/23.

by Katie Siegel

Charlotte was a kid detective in her younger years, with her uncanny abilities making her a bit of a celebrity. She retired for her high school years and assumed she’d find new purpose in life as an adult. But now Charlotte is 25 and fears that she peaked in middle school.

When her old blue detective phone surprisingly rings with a new case, she’s pulled back into the world of solving mysteries, but now the stakes are higher. She needs to solve the case before there is another murder!

The Book Girls’ Say… This LBTQ+ debut cozy mystery is the first in the Not a Dectective Mysteries series and said to be great for fans of Veronica Mars. The author has a popular TikTok series @katiefliesaway.

Melissa recently started listening to the audiobook, and while she's enjoying the story, she's not loving the narration. So we recommend listening to a sample first if your consdiering the audio version of the book.

by Eva Gates
10 Books in the Series
Most Recent: Death Knells and Wedding Bells (2023)

Lucy enjoyed her job poring over rare tomes of literature for the Harvard Library, but when her 10-year relationship come to an end, she decides to rewrite the plot of her life.

She plans a getaway to the Outer Banks in search of sun, but she winds up taking a librarian job at the lighthouse library on Bodie Island.

In the most recent book in the series, Death Knells and Wedding Bells, Lucy's wedding was nearly perfect, except for the guest who went missing.

by Julie Mulhern
16 Books in the Country Club Murders Series
Most Recent: Fire and Rain (2023)

Summer means pool time, but during her most recent early morning swim at the country club, she swam right into her husband's dead mistress.

It’s 1974, and Ellison is a WASP-y mom living an elite life in Kansas City. She’s not an average stay-at-home mom, though. She makes more as an artist than her husband does as a banker. He’s a stereotypical 1970s man, and not thrilled with being in financial 2nd place, so he begins an affair to soothe his ego.

Ellison finds out and plans a divorce…but not until their daughter is out of school. Of course, when the mistress turns up dead and Ellison is the only other person in the pool, she quickly becomes the prime suspect. She knows she needs to find the real killer herself.

The Book Girls Say… The books in the cozy Country Club Murders series are set throughout different seasons.

by Mary Kay Andrews

Hattie’s had a rough time over the past several years. Her husband was killed in a motorcycle accident at 25. She works for her father-in-law carrying on the family restoration business, but she also dreams of taking on bigger projects. So, she used his life insurance proceeds to flip a small house. Unfortunately, the proceeds from that house went into another, which turned into a disaster. In addition to losing money, she lost her confidence.

When Hattie gets the rare chance to star in a beach house renovation reality show called The Homewreckers, it could be what she needs to turn everything around. What she doesn't expect is that this home makeover project will also reveal new clues in the decades-old disappearance of Hattie's favorite high school teacher, leading her to split her time between renovation and investigation.

The Book Girls Say... We were eager to read this book because Mary Kay Andrews is the queen of beach reads and because we loved the idea of a home renovation-themed romance. We were excited to discover that The Homewreckers also an excellent cozy mystery!

Another great Mary Kay Andrews cozy mystery is The Newcomer. This one is set at a small town beach motel in Florida.

by Barbara Ross
11 Books in the Series
Most Recent: Hidden Beneath (2023)

Busman's Harbor, Maine, is bustling with tourists during the summer months. Julia Snowden returned to her hometown to rescue her family's struggling clambake business, and now people are lining up for a taste of authentic New England seafood served up by the Snowden Family Clambake Company.

What Julia never expected was that in addition to serving up seafood, she'd also wind up solving crimes.

In Clammed Up, the first book in this cozy mystery series, there's something sinister boiling. A killer crashes a catered wedding at the Snowden family mansion, and the best man is found hanging from the grand staircase. When the suspicion falls on her old crush, Julia must put the chowder pot on the back burner and join the search for the real murderer.

The Book Girls Say... Many of the books in this series are set during th summer, and they include traditional Maine clambake recipes.

by Deborah Brown
28 Books in the Series
Most Recent: Theft in Paradise (2023)

When Madison’s aunt passes away, she inherits a whole lot more than her motel in the Florida Keys. Along with the cottages come the shady tenants, including drunks, ex-convicts, and fugitives.

All of the books in this cozy mystery series are included with Kindle Unlimited as of 7/6/23.

by Bree Baker
7 Books in the Series
Most Recent: Pleading the Fish (2022)

This beachside cozy mystery series is set in the town of Charm, North Carolina on the Outer Banks. Everly Swan has recently returned to her hometown following a breakup and opened a sweet tea shop and cafe on the beach.

In the first book in the series, Live and Let Chai, a grumpy customer is found dead on the boardwalk with one of her tea jars laying nearby. When the autopsy says he was poisoned, Everly fights to prove that she didn't do it, but the townspeople turn their backs on her. Between attacks on her and her business and a too-handsome detective, Everly is in trouble.

The Book Girls Say... If you love the cafe setting of this cozy mystery series, you'll also want to check out our list of The Best Cozy Culinary Mysteries.

by T.A. Williams
4 Books in the Series
Most Recent: Murder in Siena (expected publication August 1, 2023)

If you like your summer cozy mysteries with a side of Italian adventure, you'll love this new series set in Tuscany and Florence.

In the first book in the series, newly retired and newly single police detective Dan Armstrong finds himself attending a writer's workshop at a villa in Tuscany. It's the last place he expected to be, but his detective pals planned the whole thing as a retirement gift in hopes of helping him write his next chapter.

Only days into the course, renowned crime writer Jonah Moore is found stabbed to death with his own silver dagger, and Dan comes out of retirement to try to catch the killer.

All of the books in this cozy mystery series are included with Kindle Unlimited as of 7/6/23.

by Verity Bright
Book #5 in the 11 Book Lady Eleanor Swift Mystery Series
Most Recent: Death Down the Aisle (expected publication August 31, 2022)

The fifth book in this historical fiction cozy mystery series is set oceanside at a fashionable resort in Brighton, England. It's 1921 and amateur detective Lady Elanor Swift and her sidekick bulldog are finally taking a vacation - complete with striped deckchairs, fish and chips, and a strawberry ice cream.

Her relaxing vacation plans are soon interrupted when another guest at the hotel turns up dead, and the hotel manager - eager to avoid a scandal - asks her to solve the case.

When they enter the dead man's room, however, Eleanor discovers he's not just any hotel guest - he's the husband she thought died six years ago on the other side of the world. Also in his room - their wedding photo with a cryptic message on the back.

The Book Girls Say... If your idea of the perfect summer vacation is a villa in the south of France, then you'll also want to join Lady Eleanor in the summer of 1923 in Book #10, The French for Murder. Her plans to lounge by the pool and paddle in the ocean turn into another investigation when a famous movie star is found dead in the wine cellar.

by Susan Gillard
74 Books in the Series
Most Recent: Tangerine Dream & Murder (2019)

Donuts, Delights & Murders is the first book in this donut-themed cozy mystery series set in tropical Key West.

Heather is new to town and just opened Donut Delights. When the owner of the seafood restaurant next door is poisoned, all the other neighbors point suspect the new shop owner.

The Book Girls Say... If you love the food-theme of this cozy mystery series, you'll also want to check out our list of The Best Cozy Culinary Mysteries.

All of the books in this cozy mystery series are included with Kindle Unlimited as of 7/6/23.

by Michael Craft
2 Books in the Series
Most Recent: Desert Deadline (2023)

Dante O'Donnell wasted his younger years dreaming of stardom and picking the wrong men. Now in his 50s, he's working as a concierge for a vacation rental company in Palm Springs.

When he discovers a dead body floating in the pool at one of the rentals, he knows he's in trouble. Not because he did it, but because he was previously suspected of murdering his husband, making him an obvious suspect.

In order to clear his name, he'll have to team up with the cop turned PI who nearly arrested him the last time around. Jazz had her career derailed by racism, her PI business is struggling, and she's fighting for custody of her kid. She needs Dante just as much as he needs her. If they can solve the murder, they both be able to save themselves from personal and professional disaster.

The Book Girls Say... With two Dante & Jazz mysteries to date, readers are already hoping for more.

These books is included with Kindle Unlimited as of 7/6/23.

by Jennifer Weiner

After six years of not speaking to her best friend, plus-size influencer Daphne is shocked when she's suddenly asked to attend her big society wedding. On top of that, her former friend begs her to be maid-of-honor.

The prospect only tempts Daphne because the offer comes with a weekend in a Cape Cod mansion and might help her business. But when someone turns up dead, Daphne finds herself a suspect. Can she prove her innocence, while also tracking down the real killer?

by Emma Jameson
4 Books in the Series
Most Recent: A Death at Neptune Cove (2023)

This British cozy mystery series is set along the sandy beaches and rolling green hills of St. Morwenna island in the Cornwall region. It appears to be a perfectly idyllic and relaxing retreat, but there's a killer among the smiling local faces.

In the first book in the series, A Death at Seascape House, Jemima (Jem) Jago has recently returned to the island. She'd vowed never to return to her childhood home, but the offer to catalog a collection of antique shipwreck records is a dream job that she can't refuse.

She hasn't been back on the island long when a grumpy local busybody is found dead. The victim also happens to be Jem's old nemesis and Jem is the prime suspect. It turns out, however, that many of the island residents had reason to want Edith dead. But which one of them did it?

The books in this series are included with Kindle Unlimited as of 7/6/23.

by Alicia Bessette
2 Books in the Series
Most Recent: Murder at Mustang Beach (2023)

After being laid off from her reporting job, Callie returns to her hometown of Cattail Island to take a job at the local bookstore. The store has always been a safe place for her to turn when facing hard times. In fact, it's also where she found comfort after her mom died.

Years ago, Callie's mom Teri fell from the top of the lighthouse. The anniversary of her death is approaching, which has townspeople gossiping about it once again. Then comes the devastating news that the lighthouse has claimed another victim. The police rule it suicide, but Callie thinks it was murder. And she thinks the same of her mom's death as well.

Callie is determined to find answers with help from new friends and beloved books. But she's making enemies along the way, and when another death shocks the island, she's afraid she could be next.

The Book Girls Say... In addition to the cozy mystery, the plot of this story also includes a treasure hunt element that many readers will enjoy.

by Tamara Berry
3 Books in the Series
Most Recent: Murder Off the Books

If your idea of the perfect summer is a getaway to a rustic cabin, then add Buried in a Good Book to your summer reading list.
Tess Harrow is a bestselling writer of thrillers, but this summer, she just wants to take a break to bond with her daughter after her recent divorce. But they've barely settled in when an explosion rocks the cabin and Tess finds herself pulled into a murder investigation.

The local sheriff turns out to be the spitting image of the detective that Tess writes in her books, her young daughter is fascinated by dead bodies, and the neighbors are pointing their fingers at Bigfoot. Nothing about this summer is going as she had planned.

by Addison Moore
6 Books in the Series
Most Recent: Frozen in Fear Cruise (expected publication August 24, 2023)

Escape to the tropics this summer with this cruise ship cozy mystery series. Trixie is in her late 40s and going through a divorce because she found out that, while she was packing for their anniversary cruise, her husband was sleeping with not one, but three other women. So she's setting sail to Hawaii without him, and she's even going to blog about it.

In the first book of the series, Cruising Through Midlife, no sooner does Trixie board the ship than she discovers a dead body. But that's not her only startling discovery - it turns out she now also sees ghosts.

The Book Girls Say... Readers describe this series as part travelogue and part cozy murder mystery, with a side of paranormal.

The first five books in this cozy mystery series are included with Kindle Unlimited as of 7/5/23.

by Kathi Daley
9 Books in the Series
Most Recent: Fact or Fantasy (expected publication January 2, 2024)

Sydney Whitmore is a forensic psychologist who has been living in San Francisco. A recent case left her with PTSD, so she moved home to Shipwreck Island - the resort her family owns on the west coast.

In the first book of the series, Truth or Dare, ten high school students go on a camping trip, but only eight return. None of the witness statements match up at all, so Sydney will use her psychology experience to try to get the truth.

All of the books in this series are available with Kindle Unlimited as of 6/20/22.

by Tricia O'Malley
8 Books in the Althea Rose Series
Most Recent: Eight Ways to Tequila (2021)

Althea Rose is the owner of Luna Rose Potions & Tarot Shop in the Florida Keys. The first book of the series, One Tequila, involves a love triangle and murder, but readers describe as good clean fun.

Most of the books in this series are available with a Kindle Unlimited subscription as of 7/6/23.

by Jenna St. James and Maddy Maddson
2 Books in the Cooper Cove Series
Most Recent: Merriment & Murder (2019)

These cozy mysteries are written by a mother/step-daughter duo. Maddy was in high school when they were writing the stories, so they made the three main characters high school seniors. This gives these books a different vibe than other cozy mysteries.

The Book Girls Say... Most cozy mystery books are on the shorter side, but Seaside and Homicide is novella length at just under 150 pages.

The books in this series are available with a Kindle Unlimited as of 7/6/23.

by Nancy CoCo
#3 in the 11 Book Candy-Coated Mystery Series
Most Recent: Give Fudge a Chance (2023)

Allie McMurphy owns a quaint victorian hotel and a fudge shop on Michigan's Mackinac Island.

The third book in the series, Oh Say Can You Fudge, takes place over the Fourth of July - quintessential summer! When a man known for his pyrotechnic displays turns up dead in a fireworks warehouse that went up in smoke, Allie must help determine if it was arson or murder. Can she solve the crime in time for the town to enjoy their star-spangled celebration?

The most recent title in this series, Give Fudge a Chance, also takes place during the summer at the county fair.

The Book Girls Say... Looking for another cozy mystery that takes place during the 4th of July, consider A Parting Shot by J.C. Kenney from the Allie Cobb mystery series.

by J C Williams
2 Books in the Series
Most Recent: The Case of the Brazen Burglar (2020)

There is only one detective agency on the Isle of Man, and they are pretty much useless. Sam, the agency's most eager employee, is particularly bad at his job.

Fortunately, this island in the Irish Sea has very little that needs detecting. At least not until now...

Someone has anonymously requested Sam's services to track down a glamourous and mysterious art dealer on the island. But the real target isn't the art dealer, it's the international crime boss who followed her there.

Sam is eager to impress his pretty colleague, but this time he may have bitten off more than he can chew.

This book and its sequel are included with Kindle Unlimited as of 7/6/23.

by K.C. Ames
5 Books in the Series
Most Recent: A Podcast to Die For (2021)

This beach read mystery series features recently divorced Dana who leaves behind her hectic San Francisco life when she inherits a beach house in a Costa Rican seaside town.

In the first book of the series, A Beach House to Die For, Dana's fresh start in the beach town gets off to a rocky start when she's suspected of murder.

The Book Girls Say... This cozy mystery series is recommended for those who love quicky characters, animals, and tropical settings. In addition to solving mysteries alongside Dana, you'll also get a glimpse at the Costa Rican justice system, which differs from that in the US.

All of the books in this cozy mystery series are included with Kindle Unlimited as of 7/6/23.