Exploring Book Genres-What is a Cozy Mystery?
There have been many times that I have come across the term "Cozy Mystery" and even a "Cozy Murder Mystery." My question was always how can a mystery be cozy, and the biggest question is how can murder be cozy. So I decided to take a closer look at this question, and here is what I found.
Most times, in theses cozy books you find amateur sleuths attempting to solve a crime. Many times this sleuth is a woman, although I am not sure why that makes a difference. You will usually find the setting to be that of a close-knit community where people come together to solve a crime.
Here is how they describe the violence in a cozy mystery on Novel Suspects,
"No on-the-page violence, murder, sex, or swearing are the tenets of the cozy mystery genre. While protagonists can and often do encounter some kind of peril in the course of their sleuthing, that peril is never exceptionally violent or dark".
"Novel Suspects" also go on to say a cozy book does not always contain murder, but there are various topics included in cozy books.
Sarah Rosette says,
"What is a cozy mystery? Some people have a narrow definition: Cozies are “cute” books about women who bake cupcakes or knit or cook and who have a cat or dog. The pet might talk or help the protagonist solve the crime. The stories have lots of humor, a little mystery, and probably a murder, but not always."
Here is what Wikipedia says about cozy mysteries
Cozy mysteries, also referred to as "cozies," are a subgenre of crime fiction in which sex and violence occur off stage, the detective is an amateur sleuth, and the crime and detection take place in a small, socially intimate community. Cozies thus stand in contrast to hardboiled fiction, which features violence and sexuality more explicitly and centrally to the plot. The term "cozy" was first coined in the late 20th century when various writers produced work in an attempt to re-create the Golden Age of Detective Fiction."
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I have recently read a cozy mystery called Arsnec and Adobo. This book received 3.64 stars on Good Reads, and I gave it. It was an enjoyable read and I am glad to say it was not graphic. There was murder, several murders, and even a stabbing but no graphic murder scenes and no detailed descriptions of the actual murder at the scene itself. This lack of description of violent acts is great for me because I can't take much detail when it comes to violence.
I thought I would check out Good Reads for a list of highly ranked cozy mysteries and put a few on my reading list. So let's take a look and choose 5 books.
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Book One- "Big Little Spies"
A group of wealthy pet moms has come to Wagtail to pamper their furry friends and to organize a glamorous ball to raise money for animal rescue. At the same time, a pet detective also strolls into town working on a case and winds up offending the luxurious ladies. When he's found dead, Hollie and her faithful four-footed companion Trixie must now sniff out clues to catch an upper-crust killer.
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Book 2-"The Rocky Road to Ruin"
Riley Rhodes, travel food blogger and librarian at the CIA, makes a bittersweet return to her childhood home of Penniman, Connecticut – land of dairy farms and covered bridges - for a funeral. Despite the circumstances, Riley’s trip home is sprinkled with reunions with old friends, visits to her father’s cozy bookshop on the town green, and joyful hours behind the counter at the beloved Udderly Delicious Ice Cream Shop. It feels like a time to help her friend Caroline rebuild after her mother’s death, and for Riley to do a bit of her own reflecting after a botched undercover mission in Italy. After all, it’s always good to be home.
But Caroline and her brother Mike have to decide what to do with the assets they’ve inherited – the ice cream shop as well as the farm they grew up on – and they’ve never seen eye to eye. Trouble begins to swirl as Riley is spooked by reports of a stranger camping behind the farm and by the odd behavior of the shop’s mascot, Caroline’s snooty Persian, Sprinkles. When Mike turns up dead in the barn the morning after the funeral, the peace and quiet of Penniman seems upended for good. Can Riley find the killer before another body gets scooped?
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Book 3-A Curious Incident
Book Description
"I am not a Consulting Detective," Gemma Doyle reluctantly tells 10-year-old Lauren Tierney, when the little girl comes to the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop and Emporium to beg Gemma to find her missing cat, Snowball. Gemma might not be able to follow the clues to find the cat, but her dog Violet follows her nose to locate the missing kitten in a neighbor's garden shed. Gemma and Violet proudly return Snowball to her grateful owner, and Gemma basks in praise for a job well done. But a few days later Lauren is back with ten dollars in hand, wanting to once again hire a consulting detective, and this time for a far bigger job: Her mother has been accused of murdering her garden club rival.
Sheila Tierney's garden, which everyone said was the one to beat for the West London Garden Club trophy, had been vandalized the night before the club's early summer tour. Sheila confronted her former friend and gardening partner Anna Wentworth in a towering rage, and the women nearly came to blows. Later that night, after having won the trophy for best garden, Anna is found murdered and Sheila Tierney is the police's prime suspect.
Despite herself, and despite the disapproval of her police detective boyfriend Ryan Ashburton, the game is once again afoot, and Gemma finds herself and Jayne Wilson using their powers of deduction to ponder yet another curious incident.
Book 4-Tall Tails Secret Book Club
Book Description
When Laura Lee took the summer job as a housekeeper at the old Thornberry Estate, she knew it was a creepy place, but she had no idea how creepy. Mrs. Fitzwater warned her to keep her mind on her work and her nose in her own business, but one thing after another leads her astray, between the mansion giving up its puzzles as she goes about her work, fun secrets to share with the clever ladies in her book club who are always up for a mystery, and a cat that seems to know more than she does.
The death of a chauffeur just outside the estate gates changes everything and suddenly creepy turns to deadly as Laura Lee finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation. When the police seem unable to solve the crime, can Laura Lee and her intrepid club find the killer before the killer finds Laura Lee?
Book 5-Murder by the Bookend
Book Description
The quaint warehouse district of Hokes Folly, NC, is hopping despite the drizzly November chill. The occasion? The mountain town's beloved antiquarian bookstore, Twice Upon a Time, is throwing a bash for its grand reopening. But bookseller Jenna Quinn's peace of mind is shattered when the local library's Director of Antique Books turns up dead in the parking lot--his head bashed in by a glittering pair of vintage glass bookends.
As they examine the murder scene, Jenna and her police detective boyfriend happen upon the only witness--the victim's dog, who flees the scene leaving a trail of bloody footprints behind. If only dogs could speak, Jenna might be able to make quick work of the murder case and get back to stocking her bookcases.
Alas, finding the killer won't be so easy, even though this is not Jenna's first murder investigation--indeed, she inherited Twice Upon a Time from her slain uncle. The suspect list is voluminous--the late librarian had not-so-friendly run-ins with numerous guests--but suspicion eventually centers on three unsavory individuals who left the party shortly before the victim did.
Now, Jenna must edit her inventory of suspects from three names to one, before the bloodthirsty bookend-wielder becomes the author of Jenna's demise.
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