Getting a book published is no small feat.
First, the writer has to finish the book. Then, they have to find an agent who will help them find the right publisher.
Then there are developmental edits, proofreading, and developing a marketing campaign (sometimes in-house, often by the author themselves). And then the book comes into the world, ready to make its mark.
It’s kind of magical. Years of hard work, uncertainty, and editing bring books into the world.
Naturally, there’s always room for mischief and mayhem. Jealousies, bitter rivalries, perceived and real betrayals, and hatred can make the industry a murderous mix.
Here are six cozy mysteries set in the publishing world!
Unsolicited
Finishing a book can be really hard. Especially if the clock is ticking.
But for Alex Plumtree, head of Plumtree Press in London, he’s between a rock and a hard place. He’s waiting for the sequel of the press’s bestseller, but the author is anonymous, known only as Arthur, and the last five chapters are missing.
Worse yet, the book is supposed to be fiction, but the sequel may be a true scandal involving World War II children adoptees.
Alex soon learns that someone is very keen for this story not to be told. On the run for his life and his business, Alex has to figure out who is trying to kill him and stop the unfinished book from publishing.
It’s the first of the six books of A Booklover’s Mystery Series.
A Novel Murder
Sometimes the book world can make authors do desperate things. Like sneaking their book into the seller room at a big literary festival.
Unfortunately, Jane Hepburn’s plan doesn’t quite work out when she finds the body of Carrie Marks, a literary agent who could make and break an author’s entire life. Since she is a mystery writer at a mystery conference, Jane decides to use her fictional skills to try to solve the very real murder.
With the help of one of Carrie’s authors and her intern, can Jane figure out who hated the agent enough to kill her?
The second book, A Killer Plot, comes out in August 2026.
A Murder of Magpies
Book editor Samantha “Sam” Clair has a possible bestseller on her hands: a gossipy non-fiction book about a scandal in the fashion world.
But the author, Kit Lowell, goes missing, along with the manuscript. Plus, the police have questions for Sam.
It’s clear someone does not want the book to come to light. Can Sam find her missing author and manuscript before some puts the dead in deadline?
It’s the first in the four-book Sam Clair Series.
Crime & Punctuation
Authors and their books would be worse off without editors. This is a series in honor of the editors who make books even better.
Mikki Lincoln has decided to start a new life back in her childhood home in the Catskills after the death of her spouse. She’s decided to return to freelance editing to help aspiring authors with their books.
So, when she starts to review Tiffany Scott’s debut novel, she’s surprised that the book is about a real murder in the town. But the author is found dead, the same way as the victim in the book.
The cops think it’s an accident, but Mikki knows that something dark and deadly lurks underneath the town. She’ll have to take her editing skills to find the clues in the book and the real world to find justice for the woman.
It’s the first in the four-book Deadly Edits series.
Fiction Can Be Murder
Critique groups are a critical part of the publishing process. Between giving honest and useful feedback and providing emotional support, they are an important part of any author’s toolkit.
But when a critique group goes sour, it can be downright toxic. Or as Charlemagne “Charlee” Russo finds out, it can be murderous.
When her agent dies in the same way as her victim dies in her unpublished book, the police think she is behind the crime. She now has to prove her innocence and figure out who in her critique group wants to cut Charlee out of the group…forever.
It’s the first in the four-book Mystery Writer’s Mystery series.
Buried in a Book
Lila Wilkins finds herself having to start over after getting fired from her journalist job at the age of 45. Fortunately, she’s got a new career to explore: the literary world.
As an intern at A Novel Idea, a literary agency in the aptly named Inspiration Valley, North Carolina, she’s pivoting her reporter skills on the slush pile and query letters.
She hardly thought that literary agency would be dangerous. But when a man is found dead in their offices, Lila decides to put her journalism skills to the test to find out who silenced the man forever.
It’s the first in the five-book Novel Idea series.
Featured image: SJ Objio/Unsplash
