Paranormal cozy mysteries are small-town murder mysteries with a supernatural twist. The sleuth talks to a ghost, sees how the victim died, or reads the thoughts of her cat. She still has to find the killer with clues, questions and a bit of nerve. Here you will find the best series, the books we have reviewed and where to start.
What Are Paranormal Cozy Mysteries?
A cozy mystery is the gentle side of mystery fiction and crime fiction. There is a murder, but the violence stays off the page, and the detective is an amateur. Paranormal cozies add one thing: magic, spirits or a psychic gift. The magic helps, but it is a murder mystery first, and the magic never solves the case alone.
That is the line between a paranormal mystery and cozy fantasy. In a fantasy mystery the world is invented, and the plot is about the magic. In a paranormal cozy the world is ours, with a bakery, a bookshop and a nosy neighbor. The supernatural is one more tool in the kit, and the puzzle of whodunit stays at the center. You still get the cozy vibes: tea, gossip and a corpse that nobody expected.
Types of Supernatural Elements: Ghosts, Psychics, Witches and a Talking Cat
Most series pick one supernatural gift and build the rules around it:
- Psychics and mediums. The main character is a medium or a mystic, and her visions give her half a clue at a time.
- Ghosts. A murdered victim or a friendly spirit haunts the house and helps from the other side.
- Witchcraft and magic. A witch with a coven, a book of spells, a potion or a hex that goes wrong. We collect these on our witch cozy mysteries page.
- Animal helpers. A talking cat, a black cat familiar or a kitten with a secret.
- Creatures. A vampire neighbor, a werewolf, a hellhound or even a dragon. In Kim M. Watt’s Beaufort Scales series the dragons join the village Women’s Institute.
Common Tropes: The Heroine, Her Sidekick and a Haunted Inheritance
Paranormal cozies share more than their magic. These tropes turn up again and again:
- An inheritance. She inherits an old house, and the house comes with a resident ghost.
- A return to her hometown after a failed job or marriage.
- A small business: a bookshop, a bakery, a tea room, a garden center.
- A skeptical deputy who is also the love interest.
- An animal sidekick who steals every scene.
- A middle-aged woman who finds her powers late. Readers call this the midlife mystery.
- Lighthearted, whimsical humor and pun titles, sometimes close to a paranormal rom-com.
Why Readers Love Spooky Whodunits with Ghosts and Spirits
A ghost story gives you the shiver, and the cozy gives you the blanket. You get the spooky atmosphere of an old lodge or a Salem side street without the horror. Nobody is tortured on the page, and the heroine will be fine by the last chapter.
The gift also makes the amateur sleuth an outsider. Her visions are real, but the police do not believe her. Watching her prove herself to a skeptical detective is half the charm, and it is the engine of most of the series below.
The Best Paranormal Cozy Mystery Series
These are the top series we recommend first. We have reviewed the first book of each.
Psychic Eye Mysteries by Victoria Laurie
Abby Cooper reads clients for a living in Royal Oak, Michigan. When one of her clients is murdered, the lead investigator is Dutch Rivers, her skeptical blind date. Victoria Laurie has done the same job herself, and it shows in every reading. The series is #8 on the Goodreads Best Cozy Mystery Series list. Read our Abby Cooper, Psychic Eye review.
Ghost Hunter Mysteries by Victoria Laurie
M.J. Holliday is a medium who runs a ghostbusting business in Boston, a kind of detective agency for the dead. Her partner Gilley, who is terrified of the dead, watches the equipment from the van. In What’s a Ghoul to Do? they investigate a lodge full of restless spirits. Doc, M.J.’s African Grey parrot, is the funniest pet in the genre. The series has eleven books. Read our What’s a Ghoul to Do? review.
Lizzy and Diesel Series by Janet Evanovich
Lizzy Tucker bakes cupcakes in Salem, Massachusetts, and has just inherited her aunt’s house. Then Diesel tells her she can sense enchanted objects. Wicked Appetite is a slapstick hunt for a magic stone, with a rude monkey and a one-eyed cat. It is a finished magic series of three books from a bestselling author. Read our Wicked Appetite review or visit our Janet Evanovich page.
Harper Connelly Mysteries by Charlaine Harris
Harper Connelly was struck by lightning as a teenager. Now she can find the dead and feel how they died, but she cannot see the killer. In Grave Sight she and her stepbrother Tolliver come to a small Ozark town in Arkansas. This is the darkest series on the page, from the author of the vampire books behind True Blood. Read our Grave Sight review.
What the Cat Saw by Carolyn Hart
Nela Farley, a grieving journalist, can catch words and pictures from a cat’s mind. Jugs the cat saw how his owner really died, and Nela has to piece it together in Craddock, Oklahoma. Hart wrote only this one Nela Farley book, so it reads as a standalone. Read our What the Cat Saw review, or find more cat sleuths on our cozy cat mysteries page.
More Paranormal Mysteries and Witchy Cozy Mysteries to Read
Our reviewers keep comparing the books above to these series. They are good next reads:
- Bobbi Holmes: Haunting Danielle, an inherited house with a past.
- Darynda Jones: the Charley Davidson series, a grim reaper who works as a private investigator.
- Tonya Kappes: the Ghostly Southern Mysteries, a funeral home and a ghost who needs help.
- Yasmine Galenorn: the Chintz ‘n China Mysteries, a woman who talks to the dead.
- Carolyn Hart: the Bailey Ruth mysteries, a ghost sent back to Earth to help.
- Annabel Chase: the Spellbound series, a lawyer trapped in a magical town.
- Danielle Garrett: witchy paranormal cozies with a seaside setting.
For witches and enchanted shops, see our reviews of Secondhand Spirits and A Spell for Trouble.
Where to Start: Paranormal Cozy Mystery Books We Have Reviewed
New to the genre? Start with Abby Cooper, Psychic Eye if you want humor and romance. Pick What’s a Ghoul to Do? for a haunted house, and Grave Sight if you like it darker. Every book below is the first in its series.
Paranormal Cozy Mysteries We Have Reviewed
New Releases: The Best New Paranormal Cozy Mystery Series
Most new series in this genre now start as ebooks, often in Kindle Unlimited on Amazon. Many are written by indie authors who publish three or four books a year. That is why the best way to find new books is to follow the authors you like and read their newsletters. The Goodreads lists and the new releases page on Amazon are updated every week.
The newest series we have reviewed is the Enchanted Bay series by Esme Addison. The second book, A Brew for Chaos, came out in 2025. Visit our Esme Addison page for the reading order.
Paranormal Cozies for Halloween and a Cozy Christmas
October is the high season for these books. A harvest festival, a pumpkin cookie and a black cat on the cover make a perfect Halloween read. Long series often add a cozy Christmas book too. Evanovich’s Diesel first appeared in holiday novellas from the Stephanie Plum universe, before Wicked Appetite.
Where to Find Lists, Audiobooks and More Crime Reads
The best lists are on Goodreads. Its Best Cozy Mystery Series list ranks the Psychic Eye series at #8, Ghost Hunter at #26 and Harper Connelly at #28. Genre pages like this one, sorted by theme, are the next step. For more crime reads with a lighter touch, see our funny cozy mysteries.
These books work well as audiobooks on Audible. Lorelei King reads Wicked Appetite with warm comic timing, and Alyssa Bresnahan narrates the moody Harper Connelly audiobooks.
Frequently Asked Questions About Paranormal Cozy Murder Mysteries
What is the best paranormal cozy mystery series?
For most readers it is the Psychic Eye series by Victoria Laurie. It has humor, romance and a believable gift. It is also the highest-ranked paranormal series on the Goodreads cozy list.
What are some examples of paranormal cozy mystery books?
Abby Cooper, Psychic Eye, What’s a Ghoul to Do?, Wicked Appetite, Grave Sight and What the Cat Saw. Each opens a series, except the Carolyn Hart book, which stands alone.
Are paranormal cozy mysteries scary?
Not really. They are spooky, not frightening. The ghosts are often friendly, the homicide happens off the page, and the ending restores order. Grave Sight is the darkest book on this page.
What is the difference between paranormal and witch cozy mysteries?
Witch cozies are one type of paranormal cozy: the heroine casts spells herself. In the others she is a psychic, a medium or a ghost’s helper. See our witch page for magical cozy mysteries.
Do I need to read the series in order?
Yes, if you can. The first book sets the rules of the gift and introduces the sidekick and the love interest. All the books we recommend here are first in their series.