Today, I’m going to tell you about another series that I consider to be cozy mystery adjacent. This is the Haunted House Books by Sarah Rayne.
The six books in this series feature Michael Flint, an Oxford professor who has rooms and an office in Oriel College, and Nell West, a young widow who owns an antique shop in Oxford. The two meet in the first book when American friends of Michael’s inherit an old house in Shropshire that has sat empty for almost a hundred years. They ask Michael to look over the house for them, and he hires Nell to inspect and price the antiques in the house.
There are quite a few aspects of this series that make it feel very cozy. In addition to the settings of Michael’s study and rooms in Oxford and Nell’s antique shop (really, does it get any cozier than that?) Michael also has a mischevious cat, Wilberforce, whose absurd adventures Michael chronicles in a collection of children’s books. And, Nell has a young daughter, Beth, who is only too happy to give Michael feedback on his Wilberforce stories. All of these things give me such a wonderful cozy vibe.
But then there are the houses. Throughout the six book series, Nell and Michael explore old houses full of old objects, and these houses are creepy. They are old, dark, and full of phantom sounds and movement seen only from the corner of the eye. That said, these books don’t have a lot of gore, there’s no gratuituous sex or violence, and no strong language, just cozy charm combined with creepy haunted houses.
If you enjoy both cozy mysteries and gothic horror, I think you would really love this blend of those two genres. If you’ve read it, let me know in the comments what you think of it.
If you know other series that could be considered cozy mystery adjacent, please share those in the comments!
Melissa L. Freeman - Author 