At firstCLUE, we appreciate all mystery lovers, young and old. While the books we bring to your attention typically feature young, able-bodied investigators and killers, a recent trend in crime fiction is the inclusion of an older generation of both slayers and sleuths. These retirees are equipped with years of experience, undeniable wit, and the unique ability to hide in plain sight as innocent bystanders and people watchers.
If you’re thinking that this isn’t new, you’re right. Crime fiction was once a hub for older detectives, such as Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple as well as Murder, She Wrote’s Jessica Fletcher. Somewhere along the way, though, we lost these refined and experienced characters and replaced them with crime-fighting wunderkinds. While we love a good youthful rise to the top, we miss our mature mystery seekers and are so glad to see their grand return in the past few years.
As this new era of crime fiction dawns, we find ourselves drawn to wise characters who can lead us to a satisfying and comforting conclusion. Their wisdom, experience, and ability to be easily overlooked is exactly what makes them perfect people watchers. These characters are not only relatable to older generations of crime-fiction fans, but to any reader who sees themself as overlooked and unnoticed. And the good news is that the action in these stories hits home just as much as the feelings the tales evoke.
We have gathered a select list of recent titles featuring these senior characters. Keep an eye out for more in our weekly newsletter!
A Field Guide to Murder by Michelle L. Cullen (Penguin Random House, Jan. 27, 2026)
A recent widower, Harry Lancaster spends most of his time at home, nursing a fractured hip. Entertainment comes in the form of some Rear Window-like spying on his neighbors—affluent, suburban Ohio seniors have more going on than you might imagine—and his growing friendship with Emma, his millennial and funloving caregiver. Harry and Emma may not always see eye-to-eye. Harry is an anthropologist (thus the book’s title) while Emma is a nurse, but they make a powerful team. So when Harry’s neighbor Sue is murdered in her home, the two are able to quickly pair up and pursue Sue’s murderer. But the plot hardly ends there, with Harry calling up old friends for help, Emma debating whether to go ahead and marry her fiancé, and a cold-blooded killer circling Harry’s condo. This cross-generational cozy-but-with-murder is sure to delight readers of Deanna Raybourn and Richard Osman.—Brian Kenney
Lady Darling Inquires After a Killer by Colleen Gleason (Oliver Heber Books, Sept. 16, 2025).
Lady Irene Darling, a 50-year-old widowed marchioness, returns to London in the first installment of Gleason’s newest mystery series. Lady Darling intends to chaperone a friend’s daughter, Miss Priscilla Bedwith, during her first season out in society. Her return is followed by whispers of a troublesome past connected to a tragic event at Lady Enfield’s ball four years prior, resulting in the friends not speaking since. As the aging Lady takes on the challenging task of finding a husband for Priscilla, she finds herself at the heart of a new mystery, the murder of Mr. Tripley at his home during a dinner party she attended. Deciding she is the only person equipped and smart enough to conduct an investigation—with a little help from her friend Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s curious detective in mind—she sets out to solve the case, eliminating one suspect at a time (even as the suspects become victims themselves). This tale of strong-willed women, amateur sleuthing, and unraveled secrets is great for fans of Bridgerton and Sherlock Holmes alike.—Charlotte Del Vecchio
Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jess Q. Sutanto (Penguin, Mar. 14, 2023).
A wonderful, moving stand-alone in which Sutanto, author of the Aunties series, is at the absolute top of her game. Sixty-year-old Vera Wong is lonely, although she’d never admit it. A widower, she’s the mother of a lawyer consumed by work—he rarely returns her texts, even though she offers such good advice!— and her days consist of a 6 am brisk walk through San Francisco’s Chinatown—she needs to get her steps in!—then opening her tea shop which, on the best of days, has only one customer. Extraordinarily opinionated, quite a bit eccentric, yet utterly charming, Vera’s voice is captivating. But readers will be completely beguiled after she comes downstairs one morning (she lives above the shop) and discovers a young man lying on the floor. She does call the cops, and tries her very, very best not to disturb the crime scene, but not before prying a flash drive out of the man’s very dead hands. Then the novel takes off as Vera—believing the cops are incapable of solving the crime—assumes the role of detective. In the process, she befriends several young people, including both the victim’s wife and his brother, and while Vera still considers them all to be prime suspects, she can’t help but care for them. Initially this protagonist may seem like the cliché of the dominating Chinese mom. But Vera, it turns out, is pretty damaged herself, much like her new, thirty-something friends. Come for the mystery, but stay for the healing. One of the best cozies I’ve read this year.—Brian Kenney
Puzzle Me a Murderer by Roz Noonan (Kensington, July 23, 2024).
Alice Pepper has one busy life. She’s director of the West Hazel, Oregon, public library. She’s the center of a group of friends—all puzzle fanatics—who regularly meet for meals and puzzling. And she’s got plenty of family members, like her nieces, whose lives she needs to keep an eye on. She may have had to put off retirement because her divorce has wiped out much of her savings, but Alice always keeps focused on what’s important. And in much of this book it’s the disappearance of her friend Michelle Chong, martial and visual artist, that has Alice’s attention. Did Michelle run away, finally escaping from that no-good husband to create a life elsewhere, or was she a victim of domestic violence? Nearly half the book is devoted to searching for Michelle, and once that’s resolved this second book in the series (after Puzzle Me a Murder) expands deeper into Alice’s world—which is loving and caring, yes, but also features major pieces of the past she has been unable to resolve. For fans of Richard Osman, Nancy Bush, and Leslie Meier.—Brian Kenney
