It’s 1993. There are no cell phones. There’s no internet to Google a suspect. And there’s absolutely no good reason to trust the detective agency that just opened up in a small Wisconsin town where nothing is supposed to happen.
And yet.
The Redemption Detective Agency is a cozy mystery series set in Redemption, Wisconsin — a town that looks, at first glance, like the quietest place on earth. Then the cases start. Then the agency shows up. And not one single person involved is remotely qualified to be here.
That’s the whole charm.
If you’ve been looking for a clean, funny, small-town cozy mystery series you can sink into and not want to leave, pull up a chair. This is the guide to where it all starts and what order to read it in.
First, the vibe: it looks quiet. It is not.
Every book opens the way Redemption itself does — gentle, warm, a little sleepy. A town where everyone knows everyone and the biggest drama is supposed to be whose casserole wins at the church potluck.
And then somebody turns up a case the town would rather forget, the agency takes it because nobody else will, and the quiet little cozy mystery you thought you were reading turns into something a lot more fun. It’s the tonal turn readers keep mentioning: you came for cozy, you stayed because you were laughing.
If you like your mysteries with real heart and genuine laugh-out-loud moments — and none of the gore or grimness — this is your lane.
Redemption, Wisconsin, 1993 — a town you’ll wish was real
Half the joy of this series is the setting, and the ’90s are doing a lot of the work.
No cell phones means no shortcuts. No internet means legwork, landlines, and knocking on doors. It’s a 1990s cozy mystery that uses its era on purpose — the pace, the small-town closeness, the way news travels by front porch instead of by feed. Readers describe Redemption as “a town you’ll wish was real,” and honestly, that’s the goal. It’s warm, it’s a little ridiculous, and by the end of book one you’ll be looking at the real estate listings.
Meet the agency nobody asked for
The whole thing unfolds through the eyes of Emily Hildebrandt — thirty-two, back in her hometown, and not remotely prepared to be chasing down leads in it. She’s your way into Redemption: the one figuring it out in real time, right alongside you.
She’s not doing it alone. There’s her Aunt Tilde, a retired nurse who has always had a lot of balls in the air (whether or not all those balls are legal are another story), and Mildred, a retired schoolteacher who has always known she would make an excellent sleuth. There’s Nora, who owns the used bookstore next door to the agency and loves being a detective (just as long as she doesn’t miss a clue). And there’s Nick, the local attorney who keeps getting pulled into the agency’s messes — and into a slow-burn romantic triangle Emily absolutely did not sign up for (but here we are).
Not one of them is a trained investigator. A nurse, a teacher, a bookstore owner, a lawyer, and a woman who never planned to do any of this — that’s the agency. They’re stubborn, they’re loyal, they bicker, they show up for each other, and they solve things mostly by refusing to quit. Four books in, the single most common thing readers write in is some version of the same question: how do I join the agency?
Funny, warm, and completely clean
Let’s be specific about the promise, because “cozy” means different things to different readers:
- Funny — the kind of banter and situational comedy that earns actual out-loud laughs, not just polite smiles.
- Warm — a found-family core and a town that feels like somewhere you belong.
- Clean — no graphic violence, no grimness. A gentle little cozy you can hand to anyone.
- Bingeable — short enough to finish in a weekend, moreish enough that you won’t want to.
If “you wanted funny and warm” describes what you’ve been hunting for, this series was built for exactly that.
Why readers keep coming back
Some cozy mystery series you read once. Redemption is one you return to.
Part of it is the mystery — each book is a self-contained case with a satisfying solve. But the bigger reason readers reread and keep going is the town itself. You come back for the people, the running jokes, the feeling of walking back into somewhere that’s glad to see you. As one reader put it, you’ll never tire of returning.
The Redemption Detective Agency in order
The series is best read in order, since the town and the relationships build book to book. Here’s where to start and where to go next:
- The Mysterious Case of the Missing Motive (Book One) — start here. The case that opens the agency’s doors and introduces Redemption.
- The Mysterious Case of the Missing Dog Walker (Book Two). Emily is REALLY not having a good week, especially since she’s been tasked with helping Nick’s girlfriend out. And then things get weird.
- The Mysterious Case of the Missing Ghost (Book Three). Emily is learning to settle into some of the very strange cases that come through The Redemption Detective Agency’s door. But even she isn’t prepared for a missing ghost.
- The Mysterious Case of the Missing House (Book Four) — the latest, just released. Emily has a big decision ahead of her. And then someone’s house disappears.
Prefer to grab the whole town at once? Go here.
Start with Book One
If any of this sounds like the warm, funny, slightly ridiculous place you’ve been wanting to escape to — there’s a seat for you here.
Begin with The Mysterious Case of the Missing Motive, meet the agency, and see how quickly a quiet little cozy mystery turns into your next favorite series.
The Redemption Detective Agency is a clean, small-town cozy mystery series set in 1990s Redemption, Wisconsin, by USA Today bestselling author Michele Pariza Wacek.