5 Fun Cozy Mysteries with Unique Animal Sidekicks

If you're a cozy mystery fan, you know that dogs and cats play a big role in many cozy series. The intrepid sleuth's furry companions add another layer of charm and humor to the stories. Who doesn't want to come home from a long day of snooping, pour a cup of tea, and read a book with a sweet kitty curled up on your lap? Or bring Fido along when you're out gathering clues?

While dogs and cats are more than lovely, there are a handful of unique furry, feathered, and scaled creatures that also add a great deal of fun to the series they inhabit. These five cozy series, in no particular order, are guaranteed to have you coming back for more!

1. Rosalie Spielman's contributions to the multi-author Aloha Lagoon Mysteries starts off with Death Under the Sea where you will meet the cranky Paulie the Parrott. I fell in love with the bad-tempered bird the minute I met him! Spielman's contribution to this series features Kiki, a scuba diver who has moved to Hawaii to hide from her controlling family. It's a funny, fast-paced series that will keep you reading! (Nope, you DO NOT have to read all the other books in the series first. Jump right in and meet Paulie! There are three books featuring Kiki.)

2. What animal do you think Willa Bauer might cuddle up to in Korina Moss's Cheese Shop Mysteries? I'll wait here while you think about it... Did you say Loretta the Beta fish? Yep. Loretta swims around in her glass home, blowing bubbles and helping Willa solve crimes. Having a fish completely makes sense in Willa's situation. She owns Curds & Whey in a sweet little town in Sonoma Valley, California, after all. You certainly wouldn't want a cat rubbing their chin on the cheese, now would you? This charming and perfectly cozy series is complete at six books. You can binge them all!

3. Okay, saying the wild animals, including an alligator, in the Elmo Simpson Mysteries by J. C. Kenney are sidekicks might be stretching it a bit, but I couldn't leave this series out. Elmo does have a cat who is his actual furry sidekick, but he is a wild animal removal specialist, so each book features a different wild animal. And these books are hysterical. I started the first one, Panic in the Panhandle, on an airplane and could not control my snorts of laughter. Pretty sure my seatmate thought I was choking to death. There are three books, (so far), in this outrageous series, and I hope more to come!

4. Most cozy mystery fans have at least heard of the Amish Candy Shop Mysteries by Amanda Flower. This series features Bailey, who has gone home to Ohio to help out in her grandparent's candy shop. Jethro the pot-bellied pig, is the star of the show in these books. If I'm remembering correctly, Jethro shows up in book two, Lethal Licorice. This series is as sweet and comforting as you think they might be, and there are TEN of them at this point. So much reading goodness!

5. And because there is nothing wrong with shameless self-promotion, the fifth series in this post is my own Zen Goat Mysteries featuring Bugsy the naughty goat. Bugsy is based on the real life Bugsy who used to live in our barnyard. He was just as much of a character and as naughty as the fictional version of himself, and I miss him! This series focuses on Callie, a yoga instructor from Seattle who finds long-lost family and flies to New Hampshire to meet them. She falls in love with the area as well as her great-aunt and uncle, decides to stay, and sets up a goat yoga studio on the family farm. I think the series is a whole lot of fun and you should read it, but I might be a little biased! There are two in the series now, with the third scheduled to arrive in the spring of 2026.

   
   
   
   

These five cozy mystery series give you a place to start when you are looking for cozy critters to add to your reading list. Pour your favorite comforting drink, put on your most comfortable clothes, and dive in.

What other cozy series with unique animals would you add to my list?