What is a Cozy Mystery?

Most people are familiar with the concept of genre and could probably name you a few, even if they don’t read any. Historical romance, western, horror, sci-fi, thriller. They map quite easily to films and tv, but what exactly is a cozy mystery?

When talking to people, I usually describe it as a light-hearted mystery. There is a murder (at least one) but no graphic descriptions of bloody violence. Think Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple or Jessica Fletcher in Murder She Wrote.

There is a bit more to it than that though. Cozies are usually set in interesting places – my first takes place in Crete, the second in Switzerland – often small villages or large houses, even a cruise ship, where it’s reasonable that all the suspects would know each other. The murder victim is often a nasty piece of work who no-one will mourn and never, ever, a much-loved regular cast member.

There is usually some humour in a cozy mystery, and the sleuth is surrounded and helped along by a quirky set of characters. The main character won’t be anything to do with law enforcement but one of those quirky sidekicks might well be – just to make sure we get all the forensic evidence we need to solve the crime!

There can be some romance but no graphic sex scenes; anything along that line stops at the bedroom door and preferably sticks just to a few chaste kisses and promises for the future.

Readers of cozy mysteries are looking for a bit of escapism from the harsh realities of life. They want a bit of excitement and a bit of humour but they’re not looking for their emotions to be dragged through the wringer. Just a pleasant meander through the countryside, with a bit of (clean cut) death thrown in.

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