Cozy Mystery Corner discussion

Hello everyone. I'm looking for ideas for cozy mysteries that are short in length. I prefer to read books that are less than 200 pages. Can anyone recommend some cozies that are short??

The books in M.C. Beaton's Hamish MacBeth series are short, quick reads.

Phoebe T. Eggli and Janel Gradowski have both got series that are 200 pages or under

If you think of Agatha Christie as a cozy writer, then almost all of her books are less than 200 pages.

☯Emily wrote: "If you think of Agatha Christie as a cozy writer, then almost all of her books are less than 200 pages."

Agatha Christie is the Queen of cozy/traditional mysteries. She basically created the genre. The annual awards for traditional/cozy mysteries are named after her.

Nell wrote: "☯Emily wrote: "If you think of Agatha Christie as a cozy writer, then almost all of her books are less than 200 pages."

Agatha Christie is the Queen of cozy/traditional mysteries. She basically cr..."

Some people have indicated that a cozy does not include novels with detectives and since Hercule Poirot is a detective, I wasn't sure if all of Christie's books would be considered cozies. (I agree with you and believe Christie is the epitome of cozy writing.)

I've just finished and had great fun with it. Just started and that is shaping up to be a good read too...

I prefer to read short, I'm sure I have undiagnosed shiny object syndrome and get bored uber quickly.

Kerry Greenwood's Phryne Fisher series are short and very enjoyable. The first book is Cocaine Blues.

I would also recommend anthologies which includes short stories and novellas from 8 or more authors. There are a lot of those.

Also, I agree with Emily. A cozy is a mystery that features a non-professional sleuth. If you have a detective or other cop official as the primary sleuth, then it falls under straight mystery or crime, depending on your preference. For instance, even though the Stephanie Plum series has a strong cop presence, Stephanie is the primary character and she is a non-professional which makes that series a cozy. A series like Castle would not be a cozy because the cop is equal to the author rather than a secondary character.

Stephanie wrote: "... Also, I agree with Emily. A cozy is a mystery that features a non-professional sleuth. If you have a detective or other cop official as the primary sleuth, then it falls under straight mystery or crime, depending on your preference..."

Some do agree with you that the sleuth has to be non-professional to be a cozy (although that's not what Emily said [msg 6]). Others define cozy more broadly. Different opinions is why the first discussion thread for this group is just about this. Find that thread here. One element everyone agrees about is the absence of blood and gore in cozies.

btw - I don't think of the Stephanie Plum mysteries as cozies. They have been classified as soft-boiled.

Jessica Beck writes short novels. She (actually he, since it's a pen name for Tim Myers) writes The Donut Shop Mysteries, The Classic Diner Series, and The Cast Iron Mysteries. Most, if not all of them are under 200 pages.

Helen wrote: "Jessica Beck writes short novels. She (actually he, since it's a pen name for Tim Myers) writes The Donut Shop Mysteries, The Classic Diner Series, and The Cast Iron Mysteries. Most, if not all of ..."

Are they any good?

Most of them are. I really enjoyed her cast iron mysteries and classic diner series. Most of the Donut Shop Mysteries are good, but I don't enjoy the ones where Jake is away for until the end of the book as much as I do the others. I just get the feeling he's gone because the author doesn't know what to do with him for the particular plot.

I'm look into them. I haven't read any of Jessica Beck's shorties.