Cindy Blackburn Cue Ball Mysteries: A Cozy Series Worth Racking Up
If you’ve ever felt like the cozy mystery genre was getting a little too predictable — a little too much knitting, a little too much quiche — then the Cindy Blackburn Cue Ball Mysteries are about to shake things up in the best possible way. This six-book series centers on Jessica “Jessie” Hewitt, a 52-year-old former pool shark who put herself through college hustling at the billiards table and now earns her living writing gloriously steamy, historically dubious romance novels under the pen name Adelé Nightingale. It’s a premise so delightfully original that you’ll wonder why no one thought of it sooner. From the very first page, this series announces itself as something genuinely different in a crowded genre.
The series kicks off in 2012 with Playing with Poison and runs through six installments, wrapping up with Six Easy Pockets in 2019. The titles themselves are a treat, each one a clever nod to billiards terminology that rewards attentive readers with a little smile before they’ve even cracked the spine. Cindy Blackburn — a Vermont native and history teacher who, charmingly, admits she can’t actually play pool — has built a world that feels both breezy and surprisingly rich, with a cast of recurring characters who grow more lovable with every book.
From Reading Order to Series World: Navigating the Cue Ball Universe
Reading this series in order genuinely pays off, because the world Blackburn builds is one you’ll want to settle into slowly. The six books follow Jessie through an evolving personal life — a budding romance with detective Wilson Rye, a growing relationship with his son Chris, and the ever-present chaos of her best friend Candy Poppe and her scene-stealing octogenarian mother, Tessie. The settings shift pleasantly from book to book, keeping things fresh: Book 3, Three Odd Balls, whisks the cast off to a Hawaiian resort, while Book 6, Six Easy Pockets, plants them inside a millionaire’s mansion. Each new backdrop gives Blackburn room to play with atmosphere while keeping the core ensemble intact.
What makes navigating this series especially fun is the “book-within-a-book” thread that runs through every installment. Jessie is perpetually wrestling with Adelé Nightingale’s latest bodice-ripping plot dilemma, and secondary characters can’t resist jumping in with their own unsolicited opinions on how the romance novel should end. It’s a running gag that somehow never gets old, functioning as the series’ own unique version of the bonus content — recipes, schmecipes. Instead, you get a hilariously meta subplot that mirrors and occasionally comments on the main mystery in ways that are genuinely clever.
Poison, Pool Cues, and a Protagonist Worth Following
The series opens with a premise that wastes absolutely no time: Jessie’s best friend Candy is engaged to a man named Stanley Sweetzer, and Stanley ends up dead from poisoning — on Jessie’s couch, no less. Instantly the prime suspect, Jessie does what any self-respecting former pool shark would do: she channels her hustler instincts, her sharp eye for human behavior, and a healthy supply of champagne, and starts working the case herself. The iconic opening line — “Going bra shopping at age fifty-two gives new meaning to the phrase fallen woman…” — tells you everything you need to know about the tone. This is a book that is funny on purpose, and it earns every laugh.
Jessie is the kind of protagonist who feels genuinely refreshing in the cozy space. She’s street-smart rather than book-smart, unapologetically quirky, and completely unbothered by what anyone thinks of her — including the detective who shows up at her door to find her wearing nothing but a blue bra and a white shirt. Goodreads readers consistently describe the series’ vibe as “murder meets menopause,” and that’s not a criticism — it’s a selling point. Some reviewers do note that the mysteries themselves can lean toward familiar Murder, She Wrote-style formulas, and readers who prefer a grittier or more grounded sleuth might find Jessie’s antics a touch over-the-top. But for the right reader, that’s precisely the charm.
Who Should Add This Cozy Mystery to Their Reading List
If you love cozy mysteries that prioritize wit, warmth, and a protagonist who doesn’t fit the usual mold, this series belongs on your shelf immediately. The Cue Ball Mysteries are an especially strong pick for readers who enjoy older heroines navigating love, friendship, and the occasional dead body with equal amounts of humor and heart. Fans of Janet Evanovich’s comedic chaos or anyone who’s ever wished Murder, She Wrote had a little more sass will find a lot to love here. With Playing with Poison boasting over 2,000 ratings on Goodreads and later books in the series scoring even higher, this is a series with a devoted readership for good reason.
That said, if you’re the type of cozy reader who needs tightly plotted, twisty mysteries above all else, you may find the humor occasionally overshadows the whodunit. But if you pick up this series expecting a delightful, laugh-out-loud read with a heroine who’s as likely to quote a pool-table hustle as she is to stumble onto a clue, you’ll find exactly what you came for — and probably stay for all six books. Cindy Blackburn has created something genuinely fun here: a cozy world that’s warm, witty, and absolutely worth racking up.