SLCLS Genre Study discussion

So, what makes it a cozy mystery? Here are some common characteristics:

-A non-professional investigator who solves mysteries through social connections and gossip. The main character is usually a woman and has to be likeable.

-The mystery takes place in a small town or in a group with a limited pool of people. The suspects all know each other and the main character.

-They usually involve an ‘official’ source as a friend or romantic interest so the lead character can get ‘inside information’. The main character is not taken seriously by official investigators.

-There is no significant violence and no explicit details.

What do you think? Do you agree with this definition? Is there anything you would add or change?

For more information, see www.cozy-mystery.com.

COZY AUTHORS


Aird, Catherine
Albert, Susan Wittig
Andrews, Donna
Atherton, Nancy
Babson, Marion
Bernard, Robert
Beaton, M.C.
Bishop, Claudia
Bowen, Rhys
Boylan, Eleanor
Braun, Lilian Jackson
Cannell, Dorothy
Carl, Joanna
Churchill, Jill
Conant, Susan
Dunn, Carola
Fowler, Earlene
Gilman, Dorothy
Granger, Ann
Grimes, Martha
Hart, Carolyn G.
Hess, Joan
Kahn, Sharon
Lakin, Rita
Maron, Margaret
Martin, Lee
McCrumb, Sharyn
O’Marie, Sister Carol Anne
Page, Katherine Hall
Pence, Joanne
Peters, Elizabeth
Ripley, Ann
Sawyer, Corrine Holt
Shaber, Sarah
Smith, Barbara Burnett
Spencer-Fleming, Julia
Sprinkle, Patricia Houck
Strohmeyer, Sarah
Temple, Lou Jane
Trochek, Kathy Hogan
Viets, Elaine
Waldman, Ayelet
Walsh, Jill Paton

For the most part I think this is still accurate. I am seeing more graphic descriptions in cozies occasionally but nothing like a police procedural or thriller. I am also seeing more sex in them but again not as much as a thriller. There never used to be much swearing in them either, but that rule does not hold anymore.

Jan wrote: "For the most part I think this is still accurate. I am seeing more graphic descriptions in cozies occasionally but nothing like a police procedural or thriller. I am also seeing more sex in them bu..."

You think that's a trend then? I'm sorry to hear that, at least from a RA point of view. I was really surprised when I was reading Twelve Drummers Drumming and I started running into the f-bomb. Normally, it wouldn't bother me (Junot Díaz is one of my favorite authors, after all), but I was frustrated to see it in a cozy because I felt like that limited who I could recommend that book to. Most of the cozy readers I know would be put off by swearing.

I have noticed the language trend as well. Often seems that the main character is younger - I think publishers justify it by saying "that is how they talk"

Linda wrote: "I have noticed the language trend as well. Often seems that the main character is younger - I think publishers justify it by saying "that is how they talk""

Yes- maybe they are trying to expand cozies beyond the tradition cozy audience.

That definition sounds pretty good to me. I would recommend including author JoAnne Fluke on the list. She's my favorite in cozy mysteries!

I always thought of the No. 1 Detective Agency books as cozies too. What do you think?

Also Josi Kilpack. I think her books appeal to those really looking for a "clean" cozy. We read Lemon Tart for our book club here at West Jordan, and it was well recieved by many.

Betsy Brannon Green is an LDS cozy mystery writer. She frequently places her books in Georgia and has a reoccurring character Mrs. Eugenia, a spunky older woman who usually plays a part as a secondary or tertiary character in many of her books. Her books are usually quick, fun reads—some are more suspenseful than others.

How about when the investigator starts out amateur but turns professional? I'm thinking of MC Beaton's Agatha Raisin books, since halfway through the series Agatha got her investigator's license has started her own agency. The Hamish MacBeth series by the same author feels like a cozy series, even though Hamish is a policeman- you get very little of the police procedures and more of Hamish using his wits and understanding of his community to solve crimes.

Personally, I think cozy is more a tone/style of clean, light mystery, that has a broad appeal and that may have certain characteristics. You could have a cozy mystery that had a police officer, a paranormal cozy mystery, a cozy set in another country, and so on.

I think Lillian Jackson Braun's mysteries are too well-written, informational, and intelligent to be a cozy. The characters, their relationships, the history and the geographical outlay of an imaginary place all make her "Cat Who" mysteries more artful than most cozys.

That is a great definition. I know a lot of people object to language, but I find I don't really notice it if it isn't that often. Even in some of the older cozies one would find an occasional (for that time) expletive. I like Twelve Drummers Drumming, and Eleven Pipers Piping. It is a bit on the edge of cozy at times, but pretty close! Still a straight mystery. Some of the other newer cozies are all mashups--librarians who are witches, etc.

BlushingZebra wrote: "I think Lillian Jackson Braun's mysteries are too well-written, informational, and intelligent to be a cozy. The characters, their relationships, the history and the geographical outlay of an imag..."

That's interesting because when I read the definition of a cozy I mmediately thought of "The Cat Who ..." books which I really enjoy. But I'm pretty sure that I am mostly drawn to cozies. Would you classify Braun's book as a different subgenre or just call them a mystery?

I'd classify it as a mystery. It's hard for me to explain, but "The Cat who. . ." books are written more intelligently than most cozies, i.e "Assault with a deadly glue gun," "Woman strangled, news at 10." which I thought were stupid.

BlushingZebra wrote: "I'd classify it as a mystery. It's hard for me to explain, but "The Cat who. . ." books are written more intelligently than most cozies, i.e "Assault with a deadly glue gun," "Woman strangled, new..."

I think that is a great way to put it. I didn't want to call "The Cat Who..." books cozies, because they seemed fundamentally different than the silly cozies. I definitely think they are more intelligently written.

These seem like subjective judgements, I could as easily say that traditional cozies are more fun and The Cat Who books are stodgy. It doesn't seem productive to call books stupid/intelligent. I feel like it really comes across to library patrons when the librarian is judging what they are reading as stupid.

Oops! You're right it is not productive to label a book. I do feel that LJBraun is extremely knowledgeable about antiques, decorating, and plaid. I also think she does an excellent job in her descriptions of geography of fantasy places (Moose Falls, Brr, The potato mountains) and relationships of all the inhabitants. Making and keeping the complexity of a fantasy world, simple, is what makes her stories interesting to me.

Okay, so here's a new cosy genre mashup-I just checked out Last Wool and Testament-it's a murder mystery that takes place in a yarn/fabric shop (my favorite sort of store!)and has a ghost. Paranormal cosy yarn mystery?

That sounds fun--I think the busy body ghost is a natural extention of the cosy! So I can see the occasional ghost fitting right into the cozy!

BlushingZebra wrote: "I think Lillian Jackson Braun's mysteries are too well-written, informational, and intelligent to be a cozy.

I used to run a Lyle Lovett fan site. Your comment reminds me of all the folks who would say that Lovett wasn't really country music because they didn't like country music.

I think Timothy has a good point, one that often comes up in relation to romances, but also genre fiction in general. Why do we consider some types of books of inherently lower quality than other types? A hundred years ago, all mysteries were considered suspect :-), and a few hundred years ago, any kind of fiction was thought low quality.

As a person who likes Lyle Lovett, but not country music, I understand that temptation to write off an entire genre as "less than", but I think that's basing our judgment on what we think something should be rather than on what it actually is. There are some really excellent, well-crafted cozies just like their are some really crappy literary novels out there.

I also love Mary Chapin Carpenter, Emmylou Harris, Nanci Griffith... but, you know, not country music.

Monica Ferris has a cozy series "Needlecraft" mysteries. They center around a yarn shop, but the main character always gets involved, often against her will, to solve a murder. I have not noticed any language, nor sexual situations. This series seem a little more serious in plotting--some new cozies strike me as vapid.

I just finished Dick Francis's Bloodline (enjoyed Marin Jarvis as the BCD narrator). It's a cozy because its a nonprofessional who solves the mystery, is set in a limited horseracing community...but in this case it's a guy who solves the mystery of his twin sister's death and he is also targeted to be killed. I was drawn to it because it is about horseracing and reminded of my life in Upstate NY and the Saratoga Springs horseracing there.

The Lover's Knot by O'Donohue is another cozy I recently read. It is part of the Someday Quilts Mystery series and caught my attention because I love quilts and quilting. I enjoyed the character development, the bit of romance and Nell,the spunky young protagonist who wasn't afraid to take it upon herself to play detective to figure out the intricate relationships in the small closeknit community of Archer's Rest where she went to visit her grandmother and recover from a jilted relationship.

Is it possible for the cozy characters to be private investigators learning the ropes? I'm also wondering if Janet Evanovich books are considered cozy?

Marie wrote: "Is it possible for the cozy characters to be private investigators learning the ropes? I'm also wondering if Janet Evanovich books are considered cozy?"

Sure, but I wouldn't call Evanovich cozy. They are a little too edgy- both in language and sexiness. I think the "cozy" label is more about the appeal of the book than the details of the plot or characters.