Ever since I read the novels of Agatha Christie and Dorothy L. Sayers, I’ve been drawn to mysteries set in mansions. There’s something delightfully decadent about a mystery in a giant sprawling house with seemingly endless rooms, lush gardens, and a secret passageway or two.
Love, hate, revenge, and money are all great motivators for willing murderers. Sometimes the house itself is the motive.
So here are six cozy mysteries that take place in a mansion.
The Maid and the Mansion
Mary Adams is adjusting to post-World War II England. Having spent the war in the factories, Mary is now looking for work. When she discovers that the position she had hoped for is no longer available, she gets a job as a maid at the local manor house.
However, there’s a reason there was a position open for the maid; the employer, the lord of the manor, is known for trying to take advantage of the young women in his employ.
After Mary publicly rejects the advances of her boss, she’s the number one suspect when he’s found dead only a few hours later. Will she be able to find out who is behind the murder and is trying to frame her? It’s the first in the five-book The Maid and the Mansion Series.
The Murderous Affair at Stone Manor
Amelia Adams is having a bad week. She gets stuck in an elevator and her lover/boss lied to her about his homelife.
So when she receives word that her godmother has left her a cottage in the Scottish Highlands, it might be the change of scenery she needs (after a big push from her brother and a wealthy actor she accidentally helped). She travels to the small town where she learns that the house is actually a mansion, named Stone Manor, but it needs a lot of work.
Her brother and BFF are there to help her…as well as make a documentary about the place. There’s legends about the place along with some secret passageways. But as she starts trying to get the house together, some strange things start happening.
Does someone want her out of the way? Or is there something to the legends of Stone Manor? It’s the first in the three-book Amelia Adams mysteries.
Death in Castle Dark
Supporting oneself as an actress is really hard.
So when Nora Blake gets an intriguing offer to join the cast of a murder mystery dinner entertainment at an actual castle, known as Castle Dark. She’s surprised at how nice it is; she gets her own room and board for free.
Her fellow thespians and the nearby town seem lovely. But dark secrets threaten it all when one of her actors is murdered during a performance.
Now she has to turn a more critical eye to her new friends and home because someone is a murderer. It’s also the first in the three book A Dinner and a Murder Mystery.
This Is Not a Game
For fans of closed-circle mysteries, this is the one for you. Addie is visiting her grandmother Mimi on the famous Mackinac Island. She’s trying to recover from a broken heart after her former fiancé broke off their engagement and signed a deal for the video game they both designed.
When Mimi tells Addie about a special invitation to a fundraising auction by the local blue blood, Jane Ireland, she doesn’t think much of it and agrees to go. But Mimi has neglected to tell her granddaughter that she’s being blackmailed by Jane.
However, it appears that Jane may have held a lot of secrets over her guests and someone decides it’s time to remove her from the game. Now Mimi and Addie have to work together to find out who wanted Jane dead.
Bayou Book Thief
After the accidental death of her husband, Ricki James decides to move from L.A. to New Orleans. She’s been allowed to open a vintage cookbook shop in the famous Bon Vee Culinary House Museum, the former home of restauranter Genevieve “Vee” Charbonnet, which is now open for tours and events.
It’s a chance for Ricki to start a new life, away from the bluster of L.A., and even a chance to find out more about her birth mother. But when the body of a fired employee is found in a case of donated vintage cookbooks, Ricki’s new life is already threatened.
Can she get to the bottom of this crime? Book Five A Murderer’s Guide to Mardi Gras in the Vintage Cookbook Mystery series comes out this summer.
The Gatsby Gambit
Greta Gatsby is spending the summer at her brother’s West Egg mansion. Jay has been taking care of Greta since their parents passed. Now that she’s almost 21, she’s hoping to see more of the life that Jay has built, including his fabulous parties.
But now, instead of a carefree summer of dancing and adventure, she has to turn sleuth when one of their guests is murdered during the party.
tThe glitz and glamour become dim and Greta now has to figure out who was a murderer…no easy task with the hordes of people who come to her brother’s house for parties.
It’s a great read for fans of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby.
Featured image via Canva.
