Greg Mosse writes two cozy mystery series, and they pull in opposite directions in the nicest possible way. The Maisie Cooper Mysteries are English village mysteries — churchyards, manor houses, amateur theatricals and a sleuth who insists she is nothing of the kind. A French Village Mystery moves the whole idea to the south of France, where Zoe Pascal keeps stumbling over bodies between the bookshop and the vineyard.
New to Greg Mosse? Start with Murder at Church Lodge, the first Maisie Cooper book. If you would rather have sunshine and pastries than drizzle and lychgates, start with The French Bookshop Murder instead — the two series are entirely separate, so there is no wrong door.
Maisie Cooper Mysteries in Order
Six books, all set in and around the English village of Framlington. Each is a self-contained mystery, but Maisie’s life moves on considerably across the series — her relationship with police officer Jack Wingard in particular — so these reward reading in order more than most cozies do. Book six is not a book to read first.
#1 — Murder at Church Lodge · July 2023
Maisie Cooper left the picture-perfect village of Framlington years ago. When her brother Stephen asks for her help out of the blue, she finds herself back among its winding lanes and open green fields — and in the middle of a death the village would rather not look at too closely. This is the one to start with: it introduces Maisie and the local policeman, Jack Wingard. View on Amazon →
#2 — Murder at Bunting Manor · November 2023
In the little village of Bunting, someone is trying to kill the lady of the manor. Maisie is close enough to the household to notice the things everyone else is being too polite to mention. View on Amazon →
#3 — Murder at the Theatre · April 2024
Maisie is hoping for peace and quiet. What arrives instead is a troupe of actors, a new production at the local theatre, and a cast list that doubles neatly as a suspect list. View on Amazon →
#4 — Murder at the Fair · August 2024
Bunting, tombola and a village at its most charming — until somebody decides it is a lovely day for a murder. View on Amazon →
#5 — Murder at Sunny View · January 2025
A restful weekend at the Sunny View guesthouse, in the heart of the Devonshire countryside, turns into a suspicious death and a case Maisie cannot leave alone. View on Amazon →
#6 — Murder at the Wedding · May 2025
After six months of murder investigations, Maisie is finally planning her wedding to Jack Wingard. There is just one last mystery standing between her and the aisle. View on Amazon →
A French Village Mystery in Order
Four books so far, following Zoe Pascal in the village of Sainte-Catherine in the south of France. This is the lighter, sunnier of the two series, and a more forgiving one to dip into out of order — though the first book does the work of introducing Zoe and the village.
#1 — The French Bookshop Murder · September 2025
The first Zoe Pascal mystery, and the book that opens the series. Zoe arrives in the southern French village of Sainte-Catherine, falls into the role of accidental detective, and finds that a village bookshop can hold a good deal more than books. View on Amazon →
#2 — The Chateau Murder · January 2026
Zoe Pascal’s second case, set around a French château — more twists, the same sunlit village, and a sleuth who is still insisting she is not really a detective. View on Amazon →
#3 — The French Market Murder · June 2026
The Sainte-Catherine market is in full swing — pastries, fragrant lavender soap, second-hand books — and, inconveniently for everyone, a body. View on Amazon →
#4 — The Vineyard Murder · Out 17 September 2026 — preorder
Harvest season in Sainte-Catherine, which means helping with the vintage, drinking rather a lot of the results, and one more death for Zoe Pascal to explain. The newest book in the series. View on Amazon →
Do you have to read them in order?
Every Greg Mosse book resolves its own murder, so no single title will leave you stranded. But the Maisie Cooper series carries a continuing story underneath the cases, and reading it in sequence is the difference between watching a friendship develop and being told it already happened. The French Village books hold together more loosely; starting at book one is still the better experience, but it matters less.
The two series share an author and a sensibility — small communities, low body counts, no gore — and nothing else. Reading one does not require the other.
Where to go next
If Maisie Cooper is your kind of sleuth, our guide to British cozy mysteries covers the wider village-mystery shelf, and the women sleuths guide picks up the amateur-detective thread. You can also browse every Greg Mosse title on his author page, or jump straight to the Maisie Cooper Mysteries and French Village Mystery series pages, where every book is listed in reading order with covers and current prices.