The beauty of a cozy mystery

Best enjoyed on a rainy summer afternoon

Horror is not my thing. Ax murderer chasing a group of teenagers through a summer camp woods? Next. Group of children suddenly possessed and walking around the town in the middle of the night? Politely decline. (Why is so much horror about the youth…there’s an essay there.) My classic answer, when asked if I like scary things, especially when it comes to movies, is “I like thrillers, but not horror.” My loved ones roll their eyes once I say this. Not because I’m lying, but because they know I like to pretend I’m brave enough to watch slightly creepy movies.

But I think almost anyone likes to be slightly thrilled or at least compelled. There’s nothing like a good plot twist, a third-act character reveal, the rush of trying to figure out a mystery before the author finally tells us the truth. As media seems to be inundated with docs about hideous crimes, podcasts about favorite murders, and movies where everyone good character dies by the end, I’m out here looking for cozy mysteries. A storyline that keeps me on the edge of my seat but doesn’t make me feel sick to my stomach or too spooked to sleep at night. Doesn’t that sound nice?

I’m all for a bingeable true crime docuseries every once in a while, but when it comes to books, I want more depth and a story that tugs at my heartstrings instead of inducing my acid reflux. Below are several books that will thrill you, make you think, and maybe make you reconsider that murder podcast habit.

The God of the Woods by Liz Moore

As a summer camp attendee for years as a child myself, the setting for The God of the Woods immediately hooked me. This novel intertwines the disappearance of a teenage girl camper with the unsolved mystery of her younger brother’s disappearance in the same forest decades earlier, all while tying in fascinating, complex history of the family-owned property and the lasting legacy it has imprinted on the camp—for better or for worse.

The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters

Usually, I don’t love books span entire lifetimes of the characters, but Amanda Peters tells this heartbreaking story of one family’s tragedy over the course of character’s life. The family travels between Nova Scotia and Maine in the 1950s working seasonal jobs as berry pickers, until their beloved daughter Ruthie, just a toddler at the time, vanishes from the berry fields one afternoon. Her disappearance sets off a chain reactions of struggle in the family but above it all, their persistence, love and belief slowly but surely keeps them searching for Ruthie over the years.

Happiness Falls by Angie Kim

The first book I read about the experiences of a Korean American immigrant family was “Crying in H Mart” by Michelle Zauner and it ripped my heart in a million pieces— in the best way. “Happiness Falls” by Angie Kim had a similar devastating effect on me, but this story is a mystery, not a memoir.

The novel follows a Korean American family in Virginia whose lives are flipped upside down when the father disappears while hiking with their 14-year-old non-verbal, autistic son near their home. It’s a brutally honest depiction of family dynamics when they involve a child who is disabled, a new era of understanding and empathy around how language is taught, and the lengths family can go to protect one another.

I was immediately gripped by the haunting first words of the book, “We didn’t call the police right away,” and kept reading for multiple hours straight. The mystery of the disappearance was enough to keep me on the edge of my seat, but what really sold me on Angie Kim’s writing is her ability to authentically intertwine the immigrant experience into her plots and dive into complex topics as a means for storytelling.

Miracle Creek by Angie Kim

I read Kim’s debut novel after I fell in love with Happiness Falls, and I couldn’t wait to devour it. Part murder mystery, part courtroom drama, this novel follows a trial that takes place in the aftermath of two tragic deaths that occur at an experimental medical facility owned by an immigrant family.

In the search for justice, the reader also learns of characters’ hopes and dreams — the dream of a mom that her child won’t be so different; the dream of a staffer desperate to cure his infertility to save his marriage; the dream of the Korean immigrant facility owners who sacrificed everything so their teenage daughter can have a better life — leading to a complex and gripping trial. Unputdownable.