Starfire Cozy Mystery Books in Order

The Starfire books move London Lovett's cozy mystery style into a very different setting: Los Angeles in 1923. The result is lighter on small-town charm and heavier on movie business glamour, city bustle, and vintage style, but the core appeal is still there. At the center is Poppy Starfire, a young private investigator who is determined to prove she can do real detective work and not just fetch tea and file papers.

She is not short on confidence.

When the series opens in Murder on Lot B, Poppy has recently moved out on her own and wants to show her retired Uncle Sherman that she is capable of helping run the Starfire Detective Agency. Her brother Jasper works beside her, and their sibling dynamic gives the books some of their best energy. They bicker, tease, and chase leads together, which keeps even the darker cases feeling bright and quick on the page.

The setting does a lot of heavy lifting here. Lovett grew up in Los Angeles, and Starfire makes good use of that familiarity. These books wander through silent-era movie lots, Bunker Hill, Angels Flight, Christmas attractions, ostrich farms, and Egyptology fever. They feel interested in old Hollywood without getting bogged down in research for its own sake. The period details are there to support the fun, not to turn the series into homework.

The cases themselves often begin with deaths the police are too quick to label accidents. A stuntman falls. A woman keels over on a trolley. An elf from Santa's Workshop is murdered. Several Egyptologists die under suspicious circumstances. Poppy and Jasper step in because somebody close to the victim wants answers, and because Poppy is not very good at leaving a mystery alone once it lands in front of her.

What makes Starfire different from Lovett's contemporary series is the blend of city pace and historical atmosphere. There is still a romantic edge and still plenty of humor, but the books trade flower shops and boarding houses for detective offices, studio gossip, and 1920s ambition. Poppy herself is smart, stylish, and eager to be taken seriously, which gives the series a clean through-line from one book to the next.

If you want cozy mysteries with a historical setting but do not want something overly heavy, Starfire is a good fit. The books are brisk, approachable, and full of motion. Start with Murder on Lot B for the best introduction to Poppy, Jasper, and the particular mix of glamour and danger that makes this series stand out.