Before I tell you why I loved this one, I want to tell you what it actually is — because the title alone doesn’t give it away.
Murder on Vacation is the fourth book in Rosie A. Point’s Cranberry Creek Word Search Mystery series, and it’s something genuinely different from anything else on this list. This isn’t a novel you sit back and read passively. It’s an interactive mystery puzzle book — part cozy whodunit, part activity book — with fifty word searches woven into the story that help you piece together the case alongside the protagonist. Think of it less as a beach read and more as a beach experience.
The mystery itself has all the hallmarks of a great cozy: Abby Jones, amateur sleuth, is trying to enjoy a romantic lakeside getaway with her boyfriend Nathan when the owner of their bed and breakfast is murdered — and Nathan was the last person to see her alive. The small-town charm, the warm atmosphere, the sense that the world outside is big and complicated but Cranberry Creek is snug and knowable — it’s all here.
I’ll be transparent that the puzzle format isn’t something I’d usually reach for myself. If you’re someone who reads to sink into a narrative without stopping, this one will require a different kind of engagement. But for the right reader — someone who loves cozy mysteries and also loves an activity, or anyone who wants something interactive to share with a reading companion — it is genuinely delightful. At 128 pages it’s also wonderfully unpretentious about exactly what it is.
A great one to tuck into a gift basket, bring on a long trip, or save for a rainy afternoon when you want your book to do a little more than just sit there.
