28 books like Agatha Raisin Mysteries

I laugh out loud at the awkward social situations Lady Georgina, 34th in succession to the throne of England, gets into.

Although she has been trained in all the proper graces, she is impoverished, and I find her creative, muddled attempts to figure out who murdered the body in her bathtub while meeting royal expectations endearing and amusing. I also enjoy glimpses into the mores of the royal family in 1930. 

I loved Molly Fitz’s introduction to her series, where a coffee maker hit her character on the head and introduced the ability to hear a multi-named cat speak at the reading of a will. I loved that she shortened the cat’s name to Octo-Cat. Fitz puts the cat in charge, solving the mystery. The main character has challenges with her job, and who can’t relate to those issues?

Though marketed for a YA audience, this book easily crosses over to appeal to all readers, as long as they love a good mystery and some quality character growth.

Main character Stevie Bell loves true crime, and she makes it clear right from the start that she’s not interested in wasting her time with much else. Something of a misfit with a healthy dose of impostor’s syndrome, she’s got something to prove and plenty of stumbling blocks that get in the way. But she is fiercely devoted to finding answers, even to the point of recklessness.

Hints at future romance—never her priority, yet persistently unavoidable—along with her passion, intelligence, and disregard for the rules make her a heroine you can happily follow through several books.  

I love Mulhern’s references to the 70s and a snooty country club entourage. I love the way she describes men and whether they live inside or outside of the lines, capturing their quirks perfectly. I love the depiction of a simpler time of life with no cell phones or the internet, where everything felt more personal and connected.

Barbara is a train wreck in motion. A dumpster fire of a woman.

But she is also a smart, hard-working, talented detective. Which is why in the midst of the Detective Lynley series, she emerged to become the main character of her own book. Here she takes over the spotlight with her usual stubborn refusal to play by the rules, her adherence to comfort over style, and her abrupt—some would say rude—demeanor.

Yet in this book, we see not only her professional acumen but also her tender heart, as she falls in love and races to protect those she cares about most. She is always a work in progress, but in this mystery, we get all the best parts of her.

Here is another example of a female side character taking center stage.

Polly Duncan has, in numerous books, been the main character’s girlfriend, but now she’s earned the primary focus of this book. It is a crucible time in her life, so we get to see her struggling, floundering, and ultimately failing to cope with all the things that get thrown at her—a situation that highlights the strengths we love about her, as well as the weaknesses we’ve come to know.

She’s a hot mess, but she’s strong enough ultimately to realize it and do what she must to take care of herself, even though it means leaving the male protagonist—and the series readers—to pick up the pieces. I love seeing a woman put herself first.

As a young adult, I absolutely devoured all the books in Lilian Jackson Braun’s The Cat Who series. I was infatuated with the dashing Qwilleran and his sleuthing cats Koko and YumYum. Qwilleran is a foodie and he seeks out excellent vittles when he relocates from the big city to Moose County and schmoozes with all the locals. This cookbook was an absolutely geeky delight, since it features recipes mentioned in the books and snippets directly from the novels which describe when the foods are mentioned. The dishes are quite fancy, but there is a selection of easier ones included also. (Brownies, Mac and cheese, and meatloaf to name a few.) I am partial to Mrs. Cobb’s meatloaf. (It turned out perfectly!) Really though, I adored this book just because it was so much fun to rediscover Qwill and the quirky Moose County residents through this clever cookbook!

Imagine you are a caterer who lives and breathes cooking. Now imagine yourself going undercover at a spa that doesn’t serve coffee or any of the other gourmet vittles you’re used to while you’re trying to unmask the killer of a local doctor. Protagonist Goldy Schulz is a savvy caterer, a tough cookie who escaped an abusive spouse and reinvented her life. I like that Goldy has that kind of depth which is sometimes lacking in a cozy mystery. She’s gritty and determined. As a west coast girl, I enjoy the fact that this series is set in Colorado and Goldy’s marriage to her second husband, a hunky cop, adds flavor. It’s fun to see how the acerbic Goldy handles a “Bridezilla” while trying not to offend her client. The book is fun and satisfying, like Goldy’s recipes! 

“I poured a few drops of an ’87 Mondavi Chardonnay into her navel and leaned down to slurp it out.” Thus begins the first adventure of Archie McNally, Lawrence Sanders’s foppish gumshoe. I first heard of him on a golf course not too far from his Palm Beach digs. I’ve been a fan ever since.

Think of Archie as the love child of Bertie Wooster and Sam Spade. He tootles around town in his red Miata, sleuthing for his barrister father and hiding his extracurricular ding-dongs from girlfriend Connie. Along the way, he rubs elbows with the one percent and collars crooks. And at day’s end, he can be found sipping martinis at the Pelican Club. I wish I could join him.

I love this book because it perfectly blends the surreal with noir and science fiction and comes together with its own brand of dark humor. While parts of this book are unsettling and strange, there’s a solid throughline of the investigator seeking the truth in a broken world.

Of all the books here, I think this one has the most damaged society, and the main character, Conrad Metcalf, is a match for it. Drugs that make you forget everything and be complacent. Baby heads. Uplifted animals. The book is never afraid to get stranger, but it also tackles some pretty heavy themes. This is a world where asking questions is taboo, and the moral and ethical implications of that shape the entire world in which Metcalf lives.