The best humorous cozy mysteries with protagonists who work with sidekicks

Ironically, as a wordsmith, I absolutely adore the universal hilarity of physical comedy, an art form that transcends the need for words. So, I was immediately drawn to the slapstick antics of calamitous Trenton, NJ rookie bounty hunter Stephanie Plum. In this book, Stephanie is hot on the trail of bail jumper Kenny Mancuso. Low on expertise but learning fast, high on resilience, and despite the help she gets from friends and relatives, Stephanie is targeted by a loathsome adversary. Lula, Stephanie’s soon-to-be-sidekick, was first introduced as a minor character in the debut of the series, One for the Money.

Lula is a zaftig black ex-hooker who somehow squeezes her size 16 body into a size 10 spandex bodysuit. Lula’s wisecracking, street-smart philosophy is to always shoot first and ask questions later. In this second book of the series, Lula becomes a continuing character with her role as a file clerk in Stephanie’s Uncle Vinnie’s bail bond office. Once Lula becomes Stephanie’s improbable sidekick, then all the fun begins when things really go off the rails. Think Lucy and Ethel as bounty hunters. Yikes.

Maybe it’s because I see a lot of myself in them, that I’ve always been a sucker for square pegs trying to fit into round holes. So, it stands to reason that unwed, unemployed, over thirty, flat broke, and about to lose the family plantation to creditors, unconventional, but irrepressible southern belle PI Sarah Booth Delaney is my kind of gal. In this debut book of the series, we meet sassy Sarah Booth and refined Tinky, our heroine’s lifelong BFF and soon-to-be reluctant sidekick. Tinky is a true Daddy’s girl southern belle who is married to the president of the bank in their hometown of Zinia, Mississippi. Tinky is everything the ghost of Sarah Booth’s great-great-grandmother’s nanny, who haunts our hapless heroine, thinks Sarah Booth should be. In this book good talker Sarah Booth improbably gets hired to solve a murder. When Sarah Booth asks too many questions, she almost becomes the next corpse. Sarah Booth and Tinky as sleuths? Imagine a still sassy, but sweeter Scarlet O’Hara and a not-so-mousy Melanie as Private Investigators. As they say down in Dixie, well, shut mah mouth…

My parents would certainly confirm I have always asked a lot of questions, and I am naturally the curious sort (some narrow-minded people say I am nosy…go figure…LOL). So, Seattle bed-and-breakfast hostess Judith McMonigle Flynn, who can’t mind her own beeswax to save her soul and let the police do their job, is a gal after my heart. In this book, Judith isn't exactly bellowing "Bravo!" over the news that obnoxious opera star Mario Pacetti and his entourage are coming to stay at the Hillside Manor. So when the would-be Pavarotti inadvertently drinks poison and falls down dead on his tosca, accusing eyes turn to Judith and her amateur sleuthing partner, irrepressible graphic artist cousin Renie. It's curtains unless the cousins can unmask the real culprit—before a killer's final, fatal encore.

I love the collision of wills between the bed and breakfast hostess and her cousin that bring a snap, crackle, and pop to the plot. Judith’s more cautious “cuz” and her futile attempts to rein in the impetuous hostess with the mostest not only tickles my funny bone, but also reminds me of the sidekick in my books and her hopeless efforts to rein in my pushy protagonist. 

My younger sister and I are completely unlike. I fell in love with the protagonists of this debut book of the series after page one; two siblings even more unalike than my sis and me. Petite Patricia Anne—"Mouse"—is respectful, respectable, and demure, a perfect example of genteel Southern womanhood. Mary Alice—"Sister"—is big, brassy, flamboyant, and bold. Together they have a knack for finding themselves in the middle of some of Birmingham, Alabama's worst messes. In this book, overly impulsive Mary Alice thinks it makes perfect sense to buy the Skoot 'n' Boot bar—since that's where the many-times-divorced "Sister" and her boyfriend du jour hang out. Sensible retired schoolteacher Patricia Anne disagrees—especially when they find a strangled and stabbed dead body dangling in the pub's wishing well.

The sheriff has some questions for Mouse and her sister – Sister, who were the last people, besides the murderer, to see the victim alive. And to make matters worse, a killer with unfinished business has begun sending the sibs threatening messages. I adored the zany antics of the adventuresome sister and the futile efforts of the down-to-Earth one to bang some sense into her sibling’s head before they both end up as dead as the first victim. Heck, my sis and I are identical twins by comparison. 

Ok, fine…you caught me. I admit it: I’ve got a ginormous sweet tooth and gooey caramel is my downfall…so, you can see why I’d naturally gravitate to a cozy mystery that features a small-town cookie shop owner and amateur sleuth like Hannah Swenson. In this book, Hannah gets asked for her help in baking pastries at the local inn for a flashy fishing competition with big prizes and even bigger names. While at the fishing tournament, Hannah spots a runaway boat on the local lake and, on board, the lifeless body of the event’s renowned celebrity spokesperson. Hannah joins forces with her younger sister and sidekick, Andrea, to catch a clever culprit before another unsuspecting victim goes belly up. The two sisters are like night and day. I love how their differences not only help solve the murder, but are the spice that adds zing to the plot.