I just finished a quirky little cozy mystery that I wanted to tell you about. A Skeleton in the Family (M) by Leigh Perry.

Every mystery story has a detective and usually a sidekick of some kind (think Sherlock Holmes’ Dr. Watson). This story has a wonderful sidekick with Sid. Sid is the Thackery family skeleton. He is a walking, talking ‘live’ skeleton and he has “lived” in the family home ever since Georgia can remember. Even Sid doesn’t know where he came from or how he came to be. When Georgia moves back to the family home with her teenage daughter, Madison; Georgia and Sid team up to see if they can figure out where Sid came from.

I found this story delightful. Sid was a hoot and the mystery was successfully concluded. I look forward to further adventures of Sid and Georgia.

This story got me thinking. What other stories have I read that included strange or quirky sidekicks?

Alice Kimberly writes the Haunted Bookshop series (M) with a ghost sidekick. The series starts with Penelope Thornton-McClure returning to Quindicott, Rhode Island, to become co-owner of Buy the Book bookstore with her Aunt Sadie. She has a seven year old son and her husband has recently committed suicide. When she starts hearing a voice in her head after a death in the bookstore, she is worried that she might be losing it. Turns out it is the ghost of a private eye who was shot in that location fifty years earlier, Jack Shepard. Jack and Penelope team up to solve the murder in first story, The Ghost and Mrs. McClure. They have since reunited for five more books.

Of course, I can’t leave out the Aunt Dimity mysteries (M) by Nancy Atherton. This series starts with “Aunt Dimity’s Death” and the 19th title in this series “Aunt Dimity and the Wishing Well” comes out in April 2014. This series stars Lori Shepherd and her long-dead Aunt Dimity who communicates with Lori by writing in her old journal. These stories are great and you get to see the development of Lori’s life, as well as solve a mystery.

Casey Daniels writes a series with ghosts as a sidekick but they change in every book. In the first book of the Pepper Martin series (M) “Don of the Dead“, Pepper falls in the cemetery where she works as a tour guide and hits her head. After this accident, she can see and hear ghosts. Each book brings her a new ghost that wants her to “help” them avenge their death before they move on. Pepper isn’t took thrilled with her new ability but some of these ghosts are pretty persistent!

If you like cozy mysteries and you are looking for something just a little bit different, check out some of these titles. You won’t be sorry!