# Cozy mystery



## Julie Christensen (Oct 13, 2010)

Can someone please explain to me what a cozy mystery is and how it's different from other mysteries?  This question has been nagging at me for a while, and then I realized, Kindleboard readers will know!


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## dpinmd (Dec 30, 2009)

THANK YOU so much for asking this!  I've been wondering the same thing for ages!  Standing by for some of our wise KB friends to enlighten us...


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

See definition:

http://www.cozy-mystery.com/Definition-of-a-Cozy-Mystery.html

In particular:

"Cozy mysteries are considered "gentle" books&#8230; no graphic violence, no profanity, and no explicit sex. Most often, the crime takes place "off stage" and death is usually very quick. Prolonged torture is not a staple in cozy mysteries! "

Mike


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## Atunah (Nov 20, 2008)

I am glad someone asked that question, I didn't want to come across as clueless so I didn't  . I kept reading that term, also with other genres and just was confused. But then I am really really bad at categorizing to begin with. There seem to be so many terms now and I can't keep up. 

So they are basically "clean" books? Like the "clean" romance books some want? Just that they are about crime? 
Gentle crime? Isn't that a oxymoron?  

Is there a cozy serial killer novel


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## history_lover (Aug 9, 2010)

jmiked said:


> See definition:
> 
> http://www.cozy-mystery.com/Definition-of-a-Cozy-Mystery.html
> 
> ...


I don't think all cozy mysteries strictly adhere to these rules though. I have read cozies which have contained some profanity as well as sex and/or violence, though it's usually brief or not extremely detailed. The thing that makes them cozies to me is the fact that they are still lighthearted with good humor. They are not dark, serious mysteries.


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## MariaESchneider (Aug 1, 2009)

Atunah said:


> I am glad someone asked that question, I didn't want to come across as clueless so I didn't . I kept reading that term, also with other genres and just was confused. But then I am really really bad at categorizing to begin with. There seem to be so many terms now and I can't keep up.
> 
> So they are basically "clean" books? Like the "clean" romance books some want? Just that they are about crime?
> Gentle crime? Isn't that a oxymoron?
> ...


No they aren't really "Clean" in that aspect-- but they aren't violent. You won't find torture scenes and you aren't likely to find one where you "read" inside the Killer's mind. Yes, there can be serial killer ones, but most of the time a number of the deaths will occur without the reader "meeting" the victims.

They generally lack "horror" elements, so while dog or cat might go "missing" you won't find the main character's dearly beloved pet dismembered.

They are quite often about murder. But the 'victim' isn't a character that you get to know and like and then halfway through the book ends up floating face down in the swimming pool. They very often utilize humor as a main component and also often have a subplot of romance (but you won't find erotica scenes in a cozy book.)


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## MariaESchneider (Aug 1, 2009)

Some of the more well-known cozy authors:

Janet Evanovich 
Anne George
Elizabeth Peters
Agatha Christie (often considered the "Mom" of cozy mysteries)

Uhm, there are lots more.  Joan Fluke, Sarah Graves, *looks over at her shelves* Virginia Lanier...no, she's regular mystery.  She in-between cozy and thriller.  

There's more...there's many more...


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

history_lover said:


> I don't think all cozy mysteries strictly adhere to these rules though.


Well, it's not a rule, but an observation of commonality. 

Nobody is going to come in the middle of the night and haul you away to jail (probably) if your work doesn't match the description.

Mike


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## Julie Christensen (Oct 13, 2010)

I'm glad I wasn't the only one who didn't know!  
So basically, cozy mysteries are not going to give me nightmares.  Does anyone know where that term came from?  I've seen agents say they won't represent cozy mysteries.  Does it have a negative connotation among some people?  
Personally, part of what I like about Agatha Christie is that I know I'm not going to get upset when one of her characters die.  (Although there was one upsetting murder of hers on a archeological dig where a woman burnt to death in the sun that did upset me a little.)  However, if she is the mother of cozies, maybe they should be called Christie mysteries.


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## MariaESchneider (Aug 1, 2009)

jmiked said:


> Well, it's not a rule, but an observation of commonality.
> 
> Nobody is going to come in the middle of the night and haul you away to jail (probably) if your work doesn't match the description.
> 
> Mike


It's perfectly legal to be hauled away to jail in the middle of the night in a cozy--so LONG AS YOU AREN'T COMPLETELY NAKED. I'm pretty sure. Let me check the rules...

Yes, yes, there it is on page 27. You must be clothed in some manner. Long trench coats are perfectly fine so long as you have more clothing on underneath the coat that must NOT consist of only a red or black bra with net pantyhose and heels. That attire is only okay for 1. A victim or 2. a perp. It cannot be the clothing for the amateur sleuth (another sign of a cozy is the Amateur Sleuth) UNLESS there is a plot reason for the sleuth to be dressed as such.



P.S. So yeah, Stephanie Plum could probably get away with the heels/pantyhose/trenchcoat...


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## Cardinal (Feb 24, 2010)

In Sinister Sudoku the protagonist was in a hotel bed without a stitch of clothing when she discovered a dead body in bed with her.  By the time the police arrived much to her dismay she only had a towel wrapped around her.  It was a fun scene.


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## chipotle (Jan 1, 2010)

A lot of the cozy mysteries I've read are pretty funny and of course, never scary.

The simplest way to tell a cozy mystery is by the cover - instead of blood stains and weapons and scary things they often look like this:


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## MariaESchneider (Aug 1, 2009)

GREAT covers.  And you'll notice in that last one if you enlarge it, there's a handprint on the table leg.  That's another sometimes-used cozy element in covers--there will be a skull in the picture somewhere.  Or a knife with ...is that blood on it  Or the wine in the wine glass will be spilled--or is that just wine?

That sort of thing.  A kind of "something" in the picture that isn't quite as bucolic as it first appears...


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## history_lover (Aug 9, 2010)

jmiked said:


> Well, it's not a rule, but an observation of commonality.
> 
> Nobody is going to come in the middle of the night and haul you away to jail (probably) if your work doesn't match the description.
> 
> Mike


Obviously. I just think that definition from the cozy mystery website could have been written a little more loosely. A mystery can have a few swear words and still be a cozy in my opinion... but not according to that website.

This was the first cozy I read - I didn't realize at the time there was a whole genre just like it so it took me a while to get into the genre but now that I have, it's my go-to category for light reads.


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## MariaESchneider (Aug 1, 2009)

Cardinal said:


> In Sinister Sudoku the protagonist was in a hotel bed without a stitch of clothing when she discovered a dead body in bed with her. By the time the police arrived much to her dismay she only had a towel wrapped around her. It was a fun scene.


Horrors!

Was she dragged off to jail with only the towel!!!!?


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## Cardinal (Feb 24, 2010)

MariaESchneider said:


> Horrors!
> 
> Was she dragged off to jail with only the towel!!!!?


No, she couldn't get her clothes back because they were part of the crime scene. She became a suspect but wasn't dragged off to jail.


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## MariaESchneider (Aug 1, 2009)

Cardinal said:


> No, she couldn't get her clothes back because they were part of the crime scene. She became a suspect but wasn't dragged off to jail.


Oooh. I like that. VERY good use of cozy and OBVIOUSLY it falls within the rules since it was so well done. Very nice. Very nice, indeed.


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## KindleLovinMike (Jan 6, 2011)

Thanks for the explanation. I think I needed it too.


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## DYB (Aug 8, 2009)

You may sometimes know the victim before he or she is murdered. And occasionally you will learn a great deal about them about them in flashbacks after their death, as in Louise Penny's "Still Life."



I think one other aspect of the cozy is that the Detective/Inspector/Old Lady Down The Street Who Investigates Violent Deaths will never be a mean hard drinking, cursing schmo. They'll generally be goofy and gentle and whose intelligence the criminal will greatly underestimate.

And the covers, yes, here are two more cozy-perfect covers.





I also think generally the crime will not be committed in a big city like London, but in some village or on an estate.


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## MariaESchneider (Aug 1, 2009)

DYB said:


> You may sometimes know the victim before he or she is murdered. And occasionally you will learn a great deal about them about them in flashbacks after their death, as in Louise Penny's "Still Life."
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I thought of Still Life as more a regular mystery than cozy--in fact, I didn't read it because I felt it was of a more serious nature than most cozies. Are there cozy elements? Is there an amateur sleuth for example?


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## DYB (Aug 8, 2009)

MariaESchneider said:


> I thought of Still Life as more a regular mystery than cozy--in fact, I didn't read it because I felt it was of a more serious nature than most cozies. Are there cozy elements? Is there an amateur sleuth for example?


It's definitely a cozy to me. Takes place in a small village, death takes place off page, the detective is quite and polite, there is a character who tries (and does) figure out who the killer is. There is some profanity. I would call it a modern cozy.


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## swolf (Jun 21, 2010)

Murder She Wrote is a good example.

Speaking of which, why would anyone invite Jessica anywhere?  Everywhere she goes, someone ends up dying.


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## swolf (Jun 21, 2010)

sibelhodge said:


> I think Jessica did _all_ the murders herself. She just blamed everyone else and got away with it. Mark my words: she's a serial killer!


   Finally, the mystery is solved.


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## MariaESchneider (Aug 1, 2009)

DYB said:


> It's definitely a cozy to me. Takes place in a small village, death takes place off page, the detective is quite and polite, there is a character who tries (and does) figure out who the killer is. There is some profanity. I would call it a modern cozy.


Thanks for the input. One of the reviews I read (very indepth) talked about how dark and dreary the book was. The reviewer also mentioned something about it being "real life" and dealing with issues. So I took it as a very serious read!

M


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## DYB (Aug 8, 2009)

MariaESchneider said:


> Thanks for the input. One of the reviews I read (very indepth) talked about how dark and dreary the book was. The reviewer also mentioned something about it being "real life" and dealing with issues. So I took it as a very serious read!
> 
> M


I sort of understand what the reviewer meant. But I did not find it dark or dreary. The book does deal with some serious contemporary life issues, however. The characters are very well developed - they are not secondary to the mystery. It's almost like a story of these people with the murder mystery as part of it. It's a "serious" read, but I wouldn't say a "very serious" read.


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## chipotle (Jan 1, 2010)

Most of the cozy mysteries I've read have *A LOT* of characters which can be confusing. Or perhaps I'm just easily confused!  I stopped reading the Diva series for that reason.

I was actually surprised in one of the Joanne Fluke cozy mysteries that there was a domestic violence subplot in with all the cookie baking and coffee klatches. It kind of removed me from the warm and comforting vibe I usually get from cozy mysteries with all the church suppers and small towns full of eccentric characters.


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## MariaESchneider (Aug 1, 2009)

DYB said:


> I sort of understand what the reviewer meant. But I did not find it dark or dreary. The book does deal with some serious contemporary life issues, however. The characters are very well developed - they are not secondary to the mystery. It's almost like a story of these people with the murder mystery as part of it. It's a "serious" read, but I wouldn't say a "very serious" read.


Thanks. I remember the reviewer mentioning something about how caught up she was in the lives or something like that. One of these days when I'm not looking for humor, maybe I'll check it out.

There are some serious elements in cozies of course--we can't always have only fun and games!  The catsitter mysteries added a pretty serious note in...about the third book when it dealt with the death of a pet. That was a real downer for me. It wasn't out of place (and neither are other serious notes in cozies) but sometimes they do catch me by surprise.


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