Today Words of Wisdom takes a slightly self-indulgent turn to look at a personal favorite mystery sub-genre: the cozy.
I’m a fan of cozy mysteries, everything from Agatha Christie and Dorothy Sayers to books by authors like Joanna Fluke and Sara Rosette, and also greatly enjoy TV cozy mysteries such as Murder, She Wrote and Mrs. Sidhu Investigates.
I also write cozy mysteries, and in fact, just this week, I published the second book in my 1980s Meg Booker Librarian mystery series, Book Drop Dead.
With that that in mind, I present three excerpts from the Kill Zone archives dealing with different aspects of cozy mysteries. Kathryn Lilley discusses how she found her cozy voice. Elaine Viets differentiates between cozies and cutsies. Finally, Debbie Burke asks cozy mystery author Leslie Budewitz about dealing with difficult themes in cozies as well as differences in settings in cozies.
Those of you who have been hanging around this blog for a while may know that I became a fiction writer somewhat by accident. Back in the 90’s, I started writing Nancy Drew mysteries when a college buddy-turned-editor invited me to submit a story proposal for the series. When my editor friend moved on in her career, I stopped writing. I remember having vague notions back then about trying to write a manuscript on my own, but the idea seemed too intimidating. Without my editor friend as a Spirit Guide, I was at sea.
In 2003, I got RIF’ed from my job as a corporate writer. In retrospect, being laid off was the best thing that could have happened. With the blessing of a supportive spouse, I used my copious spare time to write the manuscript I’d been dreaming about.
I had a main character in mind for my story and a rough outline, but I struggled to find a “voice.” Writing in the Nancy Drew voice had been relatively easy, because Nancy already had a voice. My first attempts at finding my own voice failed miserably. Everything I produced sounded dry and flat, like it had been written by the journalist I once was. My main character came across as angry and slightly bitter. Completely unappealing.
For inspiration I started binge reading mysteries. Like Ariel’s song in The Little Mermaid, I hoped to hear a voice that would rescue me from the sea. One day I pulled a mass market mystery off the shelf and started skimming. This book sounded different, I discovered. It sounded funny. I didn’t know it at the time, but I had just discovered the world of cozy mysteries and “chick lit”.
I can write like that, I remember thinking. From that moment on, writing in a brand new voice flowed smoothly. My character Kate became a little bit like Nancy Drew, if Nancy had gained weight and developed a potty mouth.
Kathryn Lilley—January 20, 2015
First, what is a cozy?
A cozy is usually a mystery with no graphic sex, cuss words or violence. Generally, the murder takes place offstage. Dame Agatha is the queen of cozies, but Miss Marple is no pushover. “I am Nemesis,” the fluffy old lady announces, and relentlessly pursues killers.
Conan
Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes mysteries are not cozies, though they have many of the same elements. Sherlock has a hard edge to him, and some of his stories, like “The Man With the Twisted Lip,” border on noir. Doyle, like Grafton and Sayers, writes traditional mysteries, but they aren’t considered cozies. You’ve lumped a lot of traditional novels together under the cozy umbrella. Traditional mysteries play fair – they give readers all the clues, though they may be cleverly disguised. You may be writing a traditional mystery. The “cutesies” that you object to are simply one branch of the cozy sub-genre.
The so-called “cutesies” exist for one reason: They sell.
Amazon does not waste space on books that don’t move. Many readers love to read about knitters, cookie bakers, candy makers and florists who solve murders. In fact, the more arcane the sleuth’s profession, the better. There are cozies about pickle shops, jam shops, antique shops, plus tea, chocolate and coffee shops galore.
The readers for these cozies are primarily women.
And that leads us to another issue: Books by women cozy authors are often relegated to the pink ghetto. They are given a cute title, a cartoon cover featuring high heels, lipstick, or maybe a cat (and never underestimate the importance of cats in cozies) and sent out into the publishing world with little or no support – and I’m not talking about lingerie. Some of the cozy mysteries published by major houses don’t even rate their own press release. They get a “group release” with three or four other similar cozy authors.
This problem exists for many books written by women. The Boston Globe wrote about a Radcliffe alumni panel on women’s fiction. The article said: “Women of letters have been marginalized since the dawn of Western literature. It is nonetheless surprising that this predicament remains so entrenched. In a yearly study VIDA, an organization for women in the literary arts, reliably finds that major publications still carry more male bylines and cover more books authored by men.
“Although their impact is unquantifiable, book covers certainly have something to do with this disparity. Marketing affects the way readers of both genders perceive the artistic merits of a book. Stereotypically feminine signifiers— a lipstick tube, a woman’s naked back — can inadvertently disqualify a novel from the world of serious literature.”
Elaine Viets—April 16, 2018
Question: Although you write cozy mysteries, you also tackle serious themes. How do you balance the lighthearted tone of a cozy with grim issues like homelessness and family dysfunction?
Leslie: Any mystery—any novel—depends on conflict, some internal, some external. Those conflicts often arise from the world around us, whether it’s family tension or a dispute over whose turn it is to beg on a particular street corner. Other cozy authors have tackled social justice issues as well—Cleo Coyle, Elaine Viets, and Diane Mott Davidson among them. The trick in a cozy, I think, is to explore the emotions and motivations that the issues raise and make sure that the external actions flow from those internal tensions, because a cozy is ultimately about the personal impact of a crime and the community response to it.
I tend to use an ABC plot structure, with the murder the A or primary plot, the protagonist’s relationships the B or main subplot, and life in the shop or community the C or secondary subplot. That keeps the balance, I hope, and allows me to sneak in some humor and lighter moments while giving the murder the respect it deserves.
Question: The Spice Shop series is set in Seattle; the Food Lovers’ Village series takes place in a tiny Montana town. Can you talk about the differences in handling urban vs. rural settings? Do the personalities of your big city characters differ from those in a small town?
Leslie: To me, the heart of a cozy is community, and the role of the amateur sleuth is to probe and protect it. That makes a small town a natural setting. An urban cozy works when it is set in a community within a community—the Pike Place Market and Seattle’s restaurant community, or Coyle’s Greenwich Village coffee house and the coffee business in NYC.
On the flip side, small-town series are prone to Cabot Cove Syndrome—after a while, there’s no one left to kill! You can root the conflict in the town, bring it in from outside, or create a clash between locals and visitors. An urban setting makes a high crime rate more credible, and allows you to move around the various neighborhoods of a city, although you have to simplify geography and keep the protagonist’s home or shop at the center.
As for differences in personalities, that’s a great question and not one I’d considered. Both my main characters grew up where they now live and identify deeply with their communities. Erin Murphy in the Village series left for 15 years before returning; that’s a common story, especially in Montana; it’s my story, and I’m enjoying exploring it through her eyes
Debbie Burke—December 11, 2018
There you have, three aspects of the cozy mystery genre.
- Do you read cozies? If so, what are some of your favorites?
- How do you arrive at a voice for your characters, whether that’s cozies or something gritter?
- What do you see as the appeal of cozies? Do you see cozies as beginning to break out of the “pink ghetto” as described by Elaine?
- What do you think of Leslie’s A-B-C plot structure? Do you agree that the heart of a cozy is community (spoiler: I certainly do)?
***
There’s a sign above the library book drop: NO TRASH OR VIDEOTAPES. Meg never thought she’d have to add: NO DEAD BODIES.
It’s May 1985 and Meg Boo
ker already has her hands full, what with running the busy Fir Grove branch library, helping her flaky actor brother with his latest onstage project, and caring for an orphaned kitten that shows up outside the branch.
Then a rare bank note goes missing at a library event, igniting a feud between two local collectors, and Meg thinks her life couldn’t get any more complicated… until a dead body turns up in the book drop room.
Racing against time, Meg must use all of her librarian skills to discover the real killer’s identity, before the police arrest her for the crime.
Book Drop Dead is the second title in the 1980s Meg Booker Librarian Mysteries series. It’s available at the major ebook retailers via this universal book link.
Great collection of articles, Dale. Excellent information from Kathryn, Elaine, and Debbie/Leslie.
I read some cozies. My favorite series is Lawrence Block’s Bernie Rhodenbarr series.
My Mad River Magic series has characters based on my grandchildren. I’ve developed their voices by spending time with my grandchildren and studying their personalities.
I like Leslie’s plot structure, and need to spend some time studying that. I certainly agree that the heart of cozies is community.
Have a great day!
Thanks, Steve.
The Bernie Rhodenbarr series is a very fun read.
I also like Leslie’s plot structure—I do A and B in my own series, while C is more episodic.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Sorry I forgot. CONGRATS on the launch of Book Drop Dead! Good luck with marketing and sales!
No worries, Steve. Thank you!
“A cozy is usually a mystery with no graphic sex, cuss words or violence.”
I’d be interested to hear thoughts on this, because I still have a hard time defining cozy in my mind. To me there can be traditional mystery without graphic sex, cussing and violence (which I take to mean graphic violence. Obviously if someone dies or is hurt there is violence).
My point being it’s hard for me to draw a defined line between simply being a traditional mystery vs. cozy.
Leslie’s ABC structure fits into how instinctively my first mystery turned out–although reading her thoughts reminds me I need to think about those community aspects over the course of the series and not just book by book so there is less risk of writing myself into a corner. So many things to think about! 😎
If we stick to that definition of a cozy, then the Sherlock Holmes stories can be considered cozy, including Dorothy L. Sayers’ Lord Peter Wimsey stories, because neither of their stories has graphic sex, excessive cuss words, or on-screen violence. But I wouldn’t call them cozies, because I think the definition of a cozy is broader and narrower than that.
BK Jackson, I think if we stick to that definition of a cozy, then Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes stories or Dorothy L. Sayers’ Lord Peter Wimsey series can be considered cozy, because neither of these authors used graphic sex, excessive cuss words, or graphic on-screen violence. But neither of these author’s series would be called cozy by the masses, so I think the definition of a cozy is more specific than a mystery without graphic sex, cuss words, or violence.
I think there can be considerable overlap between the cozy and traditional. I actually consider Christie’s novels to be traditional mysteries that contain the seeds of the cozy genre within them. The Miss Marple novel Nemesis for instance, is darker than a modern cozy, but has some of the elements–the little community of the tour bus, the small, quaint villages they visit, the kindle main character, who knits. But there’s steel beneath Marple’s pleasant exterior and a determination to bring the killer to justice.
A lot of it is vibe and tone. Cozies tend to have an element of whimsy to them, as well as humor, along with the elements mentioned in the excerpts.
I don’t know if I would consider Agatha Christie to be cozy. Today’s cozies are cute, soft, fluffy, and Agatha Christie’s books, even the Miss Marple’s though they take place in an English village, if you look at them carefully are anything but that. I would consider her books in the vein of traditional mysteries. I think Christie is often considered cozy due mainly to the TV adaptations and because her mysteries fit the definition of cozy mysteries—partly that is—with no graphic sex, cuss words or violence. But Christie’s books can get pretty dark, maybe not as dark and brooded as today’s modern thrillers. Another reason why I think Christie is considered cozy is because her books ARE cozy in the sense that the writing is comfortable to ease into without any complicated words getting in the way of the reader, the language is simple that anyone can read them, and when things are down in the world her books make us feel safe in the sense that we know by the end everything in the world of the story will be made right.
Well said, Brian! I agree with your points. As I mentioned in my reply to BK, I feel that Christie’s novels contain the seeds of the modern cozy within them, but the tend to be darker, as you note. You also nicely lay out why she endures as the queen of mystery.
Congratulations on Book Drop Dead, Dale!!! Wishing you much success!
Thanks for reprising Leslie’s post. She really knows her cozies and I always learn a lot from her. A core value of most crime fiction, no matter the genre, is a quest for justice and righting wrongs.
Thank you so much, Debbie! Your interview with her was terrific, filled with lots of insights on the cozy genre, as well as her A-B-C plotting structure. And I agree completely with you about the quest for justice and righting wrongs is at the heart of most crime fiction.
Or, is it “writing” wrongs?
(Asking for a friend…)
🤡
Yes, I read cozies. There are so many talented cozy authors out there, many more than a FEW of my faves: Debbie Young, Tamar Myers, Caron Allan.
I have never thought about Budewitz’s ABC structure, but it totally fits a cozy.
Congrats on the release of Book Drop Dead, Dale. I just picked it up. It’s gonna be a fun read!
Thanks for sharing some of your favorite cozy writers, Priscilla. Thanks as well for picking up Book Drop Dead, I hope you enjoy it. I certainly had great fun writing it 🙂
I cut my “eye” teeth on Dame Agatha, Nancy Drew, and the Hardy Boys.
But, now I prefer thriller, espionage, and Charles Martin.
Thanks for the great post, Dale. Learned more about the cozy genre than I knew before.
Have a wonderful day!
Thanks, Deb. You cut your teeth on classic mysteries for sure.
Hope you have a great weekend!
Thanks for shining the spotlight on the cozy today, Dale and friends, and for reprising part of my discussion with Debbie, who has been a valued friend and critique partner for ages. Brian and Dale have highlighted some of the issues that come up in analyzing the subgenre. I see the cozy as a subset of the traditional mystery, amateur sleuth branch. Ultimately, I think, it’s defined by the world view — the belief that the amateur sleuth has a role in pursuing truth and justice, for the sake of the community, and that right will prevail. And ideally, dinner will be tasty and on time. 🙂 (Humor is often an element, as are pets, food, and crafts, but none is a defining characteristic.) More authors are addressing social justice issues in the cozy, and expanding our view of who the sleuth is, with more racial, gender, and sexual orientation diversity.
Some of my current faves, with ongoing series: Cleo Coyle, Barbara Ross, Raquel V. Reyes, VM Burns, Emmeline Duncan, Ellery Adams, Misha Popp (who pushes the edges in a fun way, while firmly camping amid the cozy tropes), and Ellen Byron.
Thanks so much for dropping by and commenting today, Leslie! Your observation that the world view defines the cozy really resonates with me.
I attended a wonderful panel at this year’s Left Coast Crime on the cozy which discussed how it’s morphing and changing at the edges of the genre. Combine this with your point that social issues are can be part of the modern cozy and this beloved sub-genre will continue to be vital and growing.
Thanks also for the author recommendations.
Dale, so sorry we didn’t connect at LCC! I saw you at the New Authors’ Breakfast and looked for you later, but no luck.
Yes, newer authors are casting the cozy in a new light, and it all adds up to great fun for readers and writers alike!
I’m sorry I missed you as well! I had the privilege of moderating “Murder Between the Stacks” on Thursday and then was on the “Devils in the Details” research panel on Saturday. An awesome conference. I’ll be at LCC Denver next March. Hope to see you there!
It’s a date in Denver!
Sorry to be so late to the party, Dale. Just got in from a very long day.
Cozies are definitely my thing. I love the lane I write in.
Congratulations on Book Drop Dead, Dale!
No worries, Kay! Thank you!