Wanderlust Mysteries Books in Order

The Wanderlust Mysteries open with a cozy premise that is a little more emotional than it first appears. At the center is Leia Peterson, who discovers a forgotten box filled with childhood wishes. Instead of letting it sit on a shelf, she decides to use it to honor a late friend by finally making one of those old wishes come true. That choice sends her and her best friend Kat out of their usual routine and into a trip that quickly turns into a murder case.

That mix of grief, friendship, and adventure gives the series its shape.

As the series begins in Death at the Ice Hotel, Leia trades her sensible Seattle life for a winter getaway at the Northern Magic Ice Festival. The destination matters. This is a mystery set in a place people actually want to linger in, an ice hotel, sculpting competition, snowy corridors, festival crowds, and the strange glamour of a temporary world built from cold, light, and showmanship. It is a travel mystery, but not in a glossy postcard way. The unfamiliar setting is part of the problem. It makes everyone a little harder to read and every wrong turn a little riskier.

Kat is just as important to the setup as Leia. This is a best-friends series, not a lone-sleuth one. The two women bring different instincts, different energy, and a shared history that gives the investigation warmth. Fox leans into that easy back-and-forth. The jokes land because the friendship feels lived in, and the danger matters more because neither woman is in it alone.

The first mystery turns on a disappearing festival star, suspicious accidents, sabotage, and the question of whether an old death and a current crime are tied together. That gives the book a classic cozy engine, a closed circle of suspects, a strong themed location, and amateur sleuths who have to keep moving before the killer gets there first. But the emotional hook underneath is still the same one from page one: a trip meant to remember someone becomes the thing that forces these characters back into motion.

That is a good foundation for a series.

Even with only the opening book in hand, you can see the larger promise. The title points toward destination mysteries, and the wish-box setup gives the travel a personal reason. That makes the concept flexible without feeling random. New places can enter the story, but they are still tied back to memory, friendship, and choices made years earlier.

Tone-wise, expect cozy mystery with a travel sheen and a strong friendship core. There is less paranormal chaos here than in Fox's ghost and demon books, and more emphasis on atmosphere, amateur sleuthing, and the pleasure of being somewhere unusual when things go very wrong. If you like mysteries where the setting is part of the fun and the partnership at the center really matters, this is an easy place to start.

Begin with Death at the Ice Hotel. It introduces the pair, the wish-box idea, and the kind of destination-based mystery the series is built to deliver.