Here is a list of the best vacation and exotic location mysteries. Grab your hiking boots and sunblock– no, just kidding. You can see the world without having to pack a thing!

Aunt Dimity and the Deep Blue Sea by Nancy Atherton (paranormal/ghost). Death threats send Lori Shepard to a remote island off the Scottish coast and to a fabulous castle restored by an eccentric friend of her husband’s. This series is utterly charming.

Murder with Puffins (Meg Langslow Mysteries) by Donna Andrews. In an attempt to escape her family, Meg Langslow and her boyfriend go to a tiny island off the coast of Maine. If you have read my Christmas cozy list you will see that that the Meg Langslow books are featured heavily.

The Florentine Cypher: Kate Benedict Paranormal Mystery #3 by Carrie Bedford (paranormal/psychic). London architect Kate Benedict’s quiet Friday night dinner date with an old childhood friend turns into a manhunt when Kate arrives at the rendezvous just in time to find her friend Ethan has disappeared. I came into the series at book four (Scotland) and then backtracked to the beginning though the story worked as a standalone. The series in order can be found here.

Murder Walks the Plank (Death on Demand Mysteries, No. 15) by Carolyn Hart. Annie Darling has planned a murder mystery cruise where make-believe murder turns into real-life death.

Best Vacation and Exotic Location Mysteries continued…

Aged for Murder (A Tuscan Vineyard Cozy Mystery—Book 1) by Fiona Grace. Olivia Glass has always dreamed of moving to Tuscany and starting her own vineyard. What she did not dream about was finding a body in her new home. This is the perfect way to visit the Tuscon countryside.

More of the Best Vacation and Exotic Location Mysteries

Missing Susan (Elizabeth MacPherson Book 6) by Sharyn McCrumb. The dauntless Elizabeth MacPherson is on tour of England’s most famous murder sites. Do not miss her two hilarious mysteries Bimbos of the Death Sun and Zombies of the Gene Pool.

Dark Road to Darjeeling: A Lady Julia Grey Mystery Book 4 by Deanna Raybourne (historical). Lady Julia Grey and her husband, detective Nicholas Brisbane, are off to a tea plantation in India.

Murder in Tuscany (Armstrong and Oscar Cozy Mysteries Book 1) by T A Williams. Retired DCI Dan Armstrong was planning on attending a writer’s retreat. He had no plans to become involved with solving a murder.

Cruising Through Midlife (Cruising Through Midlife: Cruise Ship Cozy Mysteries Book 1) by Addison Moore (paranormal/psychic). Midlife on the high seas is a real killer.

Elusive (On The Run International Mysteries Book 1) by Sara Rosett. Zoe Hunter believes that she loves living on the edge. But when her ex, Jack, goes missing along with several million dollars from his business and the FBI gets involved, Zoe’s life goes from on the edge to over the edge. takes her from Las Vegas to Italy, but instead of tracking her ex, she only uncovers more questions.

Lucky Thirteen: (Chloe Boston Cozy Mysteries Book 13) and Drowning Pool (Miss Henry Mysteries 8) by Melanie Jackson. Chloe Boston is on vacation with her husband Alex in Florida and finds skullduggery at the racetrack. And Miss Henry is off to Mexico to recover art stolen by Nazis.

Bonus– Old school exotic locale mysteries.

A Caribbean Mystery: A Miss Marple Mystery by Agatha Christie. Suffering with arthritis, Miss Marple has packed herself off to a resort in the Caribbean. The calm is shattered by the death of one of the guests.

The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax (Mrs. Pollifax Series Book 1) by Dorothy Gilman. Tired of attending her Garden Club meetings Mrs. Pollifax became a CIA agent. The list of her adventures is extensive. Mrs. Pollifax has been immortalized in film with both Angela Landsbury and Rosalind Russell playing in the title role.

My Brother Michael by Mary Stewart. There is a reason that Mary Stewart is considered the queen of romantic mysteries. It was difficult to choose a particular title because I adore every single one.

Seven Tears for Apollo by Phyllis Whitney. Dorcas Brandt’s husband died in a plane crash and she’s been beset by troubling suspicions that his shady dealings in the art world may have been the cause of his death. Desperate for both a new future, Dorcas whisks her daughter away to the Greek island of Rhodes. Instead of leaving trouble behind, she has run right into its arms. We are crossing over now into modern gothic territory.

Even More Exotic Locales

Waiting for Willa by Dorothy Eden. The envelope is postmarked from Stockholm. But the signature on the note inside strikes fear into the heart of novelist, Grace Asherton.

The Tightrope Men by Desmond Bagley. When Giles Denison of Hampstead wakes up in an Oslo hotel room he finds the face looking back at him in the mirror is not his own. With bonus story The Enemy. This story crosses over into thriller territory.

Ride a Pale Horse by Helen MacInnes. When journalist Karen Cornell is invited to a peace conference in Prague, she only goes on the understanding that she will be granted a valuable interview. Instead, she is dragged into espion intrigue. Helen MacInnes is known for her Cold War thrillers but many of them come with a splash of romance and more than a bit of mystery.

That was my list of the best vacation and exotic location mysteries.  Of course I also have some exotic locale historical mysteries as well.

Overboard: A 1920s Historical Cozy Mystery (Kenneth Mayhew Book 3) and Mayhew in Scotland: A 1920s Historical Cozy Mystery (Kenneth Mayhew Book 4).

Be sure to visit the Best Christmas Cozy Mysteries post for more reading suggestions.