If you’re a fan of Only Murders in the Building on Hulu and looking for Books Like Only Murders in the Building, you’re in luck. Here’s my list of cozy mysteries featuring eclectic amateur detectives and murder-solving clubs. If you like Mysteries and Thrillers featuring podcasts, I have that too! Updated for spring 2026!
Books Like Only Murders in the Building
I am a fan of Only Murders in the Building on Hulu
I love it because it’s a true New York show. For me, the plot can get a bit wacky. Because I prefer it when the show is creepy, I am dividing my list into cozy books and creepy books.
My criteria:
- My list is NOT just any cozy/amateur detective book, with bonus points for:
- Quirky characters…
- …who live in a defined neighborhood or building
- A podcast element
- A “Murder club” element
Cozy Books Like Only Murders in the Building
New in 2025 and 2026:
- Definitely Maybe Not a Detective by Sarah Fox (2026)
- The Insomniacs by Allison Winn Scotch (2026)
- The Marigold Cottages Murder Collective by Jo Nichols (2025)
- The Summer Guests by Tess Gerritsen (2025)
The Insomniacs by Allison Winn Scotch (NEW in 2026!)
With its New York City setting and featuring a murder club with people from all walks of life (a midlife woman, retired man, Millienial athlete, and Gen Z waitress), The Insomniacs has a strong OMITB vibe!
Read all my thoughts in my Review of the Insomniacs!
Marigold Cottages Murder Collective by Jo Nichols (NEW in 2025!)
This book really has a similar feel to OMITB. Yes, it is set in sunny California, but it also has a multigenerational cast, is set in a residential community, and includes a lot of humor and heart.
Check out my Readers Guide for The Marigold Cottages Murder Collective!
The Summer Guests (Martini Club #2) by Tess Gerritsen (2025)
This second book in the Martini Club series feels very similar to Only Murders in the Building, with older characters, a setting in a small lakeside community, an
Nothing Ever Happens Here by Seraphina Nova Glass
This book checks every box on my list above. Set in a small Midwestern town, this book follows two friends whose lives have been touched by a mysterious crime and also includes a cast of characters who live in a retirement home, giving me ALL the Thursday Murder Club vibes.
Check out my Review of Nothing Ever Happens Here!
Nosy Neighbors by Freya Sampson
Nosy Neighbors has the gentle humor and neighborhood spirit of Only Murders in the Building. Like the show, it takes place in an apartment building: Shelley House in Chalcot, a neighborhood outside London. When an evil developer wants to evict all the residents, they band together to stop him.
Check out my Nosy Neighbors review!
The Thursday Murder Club series
Yes, The Thursday Murder Club series by Richard Osman takes place in a UK retirement community, not an Upper West Side apartment building, but they definitely share a “murder club” vibe and a mix of older and younger characters who greatly annoy the local police as they interfere in murder investigations.
Read my Thursday Murder Club series summary!
The Maid by Nita Prose
With its hotel setting and quirky cast of characters, The Maid definitely has Thursday Murder Club vibes. When hotel maid Molly finds a body, she’s the perfect person to solve the crime. The Maid was followed by two more books in the series:
The Maid’s Secret (NEW in 2025)
Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murders by Jesse Q. Sutanto
Elderly detective? Check. Urban neighborhood setting? Yes, Vera Wong lives in San Francisco’s Chinatown, where she runs a tea shop and worries about her adult son. When she finds a dead body in her shop, she decides to crack the case.
My review of Vera Wong is here!
There’s also a second Vera Wong Book: Vera Wong’s Guide to Snooping
I Need You to Read This by Jessa Maxwell
I Need You to Read This had LOTS of Only Murders in the Building vibes.
Set in New York, it follows Alex, a young woman who gathers every morning in her local coffee shop to chit chat with a waitress and a former cop. When she gets an unusual job opportunity, she can count on her sidekicks to help her out. My thoughts about I Need You to Read This are here.
Creepy Books Like Only Murders in the Building
The Vacancy in Room 10 by Seraphina Nova Glass
Set in a motel complex, this slow burn thriller has a lot of surprising twists and turns and some unlikely neighbors. My review of The Vacancy in Room 10!
The New Couple in Apartment 5-B by Lisa Unger
This paranormal thriller is set in a New York City apartment building with a gruesome past.
When a couple of newlyweds inherits an apartment, are they brave enough to live there? My review of The New Couple in Apartment 5-B!
The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley
A woman arrives in Paris at her brother’s chic apartment building. But he’s missing. Can she find him? Is one of his evasive neighbors involved in what happened to him?
My review of The Paris Apartment!
