Order of Maddie Day Books

If you’ve ever found yourself snuggled under a quilt, a mug of cocoa in hand, and a craving for small-town mysteries laced with mouth-watering recipes and a hearty dose of charm, chances are Maddie Day has already pulled you into her web of cozies. But who is the mastermind behind this warm, crime-ridden world?

Let’s break the fourth wall: Maddie Day is actually the deliciously devious pen name of Edith Maxwell, a woman of many talents, identities, and plot twists. Born Edith Maxwell, this California native didn’t exactly tumble straight into the world of murder and muffins. No, she took the scenic route — which, as any good cozy mystery fan knows, is where all the juicy clues hide.

Born in California in the mid-20th century (her exact birth date remains as elusive as the final clue in one of her whodunits), Maxwell has lived a life that could fill a cozy series of its own. Before diving into fiction full-time, she earned a PhD in Linguistics from Indiana University, dabbled in organic farming, wrote tech documentation, and even taught English in Japan. That’s right — a linguist-farmer-writer hybrid. How’s that for a plot twist?

Her academic background in linguistics may seem an unlikely training ground for mystery fiction, but it’s this exact precision with language — the art of nuance, tone, rhythm — that gives her prose its subtle, homey power. Her ability to create vivid, relatable characters who juggle local gossip with gourmet meals and dead bodies in pantries is uncanny. And while her readers are devouring tales of amateur sleuths like Robbie Jordan or Cece Barton, they’re often unaware of the methodical genius crafting every scene behind the curtain.

Under the Maddie Day alias, Maxwell is best known for her Country Store Mysteries and Cozy Capers Book Group Mysteries, both of which are set in fictional, food-loving towns filled with secrets, pies, and the occasional corpse. What makes her stand out in the crowded cozy field is her immersive detail — you can almost smell the cheddar biscuits or hear the gossip swirling around the diner booths.

Still alive and thriving (no deaths to report — ironic for someone who pens so many), Edith/Maddie splits her time between Massachusetts and California, often baking, gardening, or plotting her next fictional murder. She’s also a member of Sisters in Crime, Mystery Writers of America, and a former President of the New England chapter of Sisters in Crime, championing women writers in a genre that still fights for its cozy place at the table.

Her writing is not just entertainment — it’s empowerment disguised in cinnamon rolls and cold cases. Maddie Day’s heroines are women who own their space, their businesses, their towns — and their ability to outwit the local police force when justice is on the line.

So, is Maddie Day real? In the way that cozy mysteries make you feel like you’ve stepped into your favorite diner, or returned to a hometown you never had — absolutely. But like any great mystery, her real identity adds just the right touch of irony: the woman behind the crime-solving heroines is a scholar, a grower of vegetables, a woman who builds worlds where justice is served with a side of cornbread.

And the biggest cliffhanger of all? What’s next for Maddie Day. Will her next series involve murder in a knitting circle? A sourdough starter that hides secrets? Or a literary festival where fiction bleeds into reality?

You’ll just have to keep reading.