Monday, July 14, 2008

Cozy Mysteries

The term “mystery” when it comes to books can mean different things to different people. There seems to be so many sub-genres! Thrillers. Noir. Cozy. Suspense. Police procedural And more.

But today let’s talk about the cozy. What is it?

It usually involves an amateur. Most likely, there’s a body, but the murder takes place off camera or off scene. The amateur sleuth gets involved in finding the killer. There does not necessarily have to be a cat involved.

For a more in-depth examination of the cozy, take a look at the Cozy Mystery List. According to this list, some of the parameters of the cozy are:
“a fun read that engages the mind”

“the crime-solver in a cozy mystery is usually a woman who is an amateur sleuth”

“the cozy mystery sleuth is usually not a medical examiner, detective, or police officer”

the sleuth will “casually overhear things at the scene of a crime”

“characters are likeable”

“fast-paced, with several twists and turns”

“emphasis on plots and character development”
Do you have any more “rules” of the cozy to add?

4 comments:

  1. Must have lots of food descriptions. At least for me to consider it a cozy! And a sense of humor.

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  2. You may be right there. Most cozies do seem to have food involved. I'm thinking of Karen MacInerney's Gray Whale Inn series. The protag is the owner of a bed & breakfast. Reading those books makes you hungry.

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  3. Hmmm...is the Gray Whale INn series set on an island? And does she bake all the time? If so, I think I read the first one and yeah, it made me blow my 'no wheat' diet... I'm vaguely allergic, but it didn't stop me...

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  4. Yes it is. And she puts recipes in the back of the book. The diet devil!

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