Mysteries: What is a Cozy Murder Mystery? Cozy Defined ---- Maybe

Well, cozies have no violence or blood.

Or, do they?

If you read some of the resource material online (some links below) and off, you'll see that there's not exactly a complete consensus on this. Some commentators say that there's violence and blood, but it's "offscreen". Others say that there's violence and blood, but it isn't described in detail, so it doesn't gross us out. Either way, though ---- it's minimal.

Therefore, I always thought the preferred method for murder was poison. Or, maybe lethal gas. I think perhaps blunt instrument, also.

Violent, but not bloody.

But, now, I'm not so sure about that, either.

One of the essayists I quote from says that the murder weapon can be a silver letter opener. That's violent AND bloody. But, still ---- pretty refined.

Another thing cozies don't have is sex.

Or, do they?

Apparently they can have it, but just not "show" it much. Maybe a little romance here and there, but none of that heart-thumping stuff.

(On the other hand, I've been seeing alleged "cozies" lately where they seem to break this rule, which I don't appreciate. I don't want to have to skip over something. I might miss a part of the story. Yet, I dislike reading about someone's intimate nonsense.)

If you're starting to think, "Hmm --- this cozy mystery business sounds like it would really appeal to old ladies," ---- Bingo!

That's me.

That's also Miss Marple --- who, as you know, is Agatha Christie's most famous detective, second only to Hercule Poirot himself. (But, he's not an amateur.)

The Seattle Mystery Bookshop website (there's a problem with the link, so I've deleted it from my Hub for the time being) says:

"In her entertaining 1977 book, Murder Ink, Dilys Winn described the cozy as 'a small village setting, a hero[ine] with faintly aristocratic family connections, a plethora of red herrings, and a tendency to commit homicide with sterling silver letter openers and poisons imported from Paraguay.' "

Not so sure I agree with that definition, but one thing that seems very clear: Perhaps there's no consensus on the definition anyway.

The Oxford English Dictionary says that the word can be spelled various ways: cosy, cosey, cozey. Apparently "cosy" is preferred in the U.K.; "cozy" here in the U.S.

The OED also has an entry --- "A cosy little murder mystery," dating from 1958, published in The Observer. I've been trying to find this article for a long time --- for free. I can't afford a subscription to the archives of The Observer.

Susan Oleksiw writes, in her article "Cozy Mystery" ---- link appears below:

A term first used in a review in the Observer 25 May 1958, "cozy" refers to a sub genre of the novel of detection defined by its light tone, element of fun, and closed world. A detective, amateur or professional, investigates the eruption of violence in an apparently tranquil world; the cast of characters is limited, and suspects are known to each other. The plot is often intricate, the story told with a sense of humor, the setting one of material comfort, and the emphasis on verbal jousting rather than physical violence. The quintessential cozy is a murder in a country house during a snowstorm as family and friends gather for a holiday, when no one can escape, or rescue the houseguests, from their opulent prison.

Fair question.

I'm no expert --- although I do love cozies, and try to read them frequently. So, in my humble opinion, here's what they DO have:

Usually an amateur female sleuth. The "official" crime-fighters keep saying she should keep out of it, or mind her own business. The amateur sleuth turns out to be correct.

I don't know if Agatha Christie's Poirot mysteries are considered cozies or not, by folks who know about such things. Poirot is neither female nor amateur.

A sleepy, quiet little town, village, or other municipality, where "nothing ever happens."

Or, does it?

A large list of characters who can be eliminated one by one when the amateur sleuth interviews them all.

Or, can they?

But, it does seem that the amateur frequently has some sort of a special relationship with the official crime-fighters.

Skye Denison is going to marry the local chief of police, Wally Boyd, in the Scumble River Mysteries.

Charlotte Adams, the amateur sleuth and full-time organizer in the series by Mary Jane Maffini, went to high-school with Nick and Pepper Monaghan, two cops who are now married to each other --- perhaps not too happily.

Angelina Amalfi, the food critic in Cooking Most Deadly --- which I refer to in my Hub entitled, "Mystery Log" --- is dating Paavo Smith, also a cop. Paavo has asked Angelina to marry him.

I have some Hubs about the Scumble River Mysteries here on Hubpages. There's a general one, entitled "Scumble River Murder Mysteries, Featuring Amateur Sleuth Skye Denison". There are also four reviews of individual books from the series: Murder of a Botoxed Blonde; Murder of a Chocolate-Covered Cherry; Murder of a Royal Pain; and, Murder of a Wedding Belle .

The main character in Fatal Flip is the mom-in-law of a police officer. The mom and the daughter --- married to a cop --- both solve crimes against the advice of the local police department.

I'll be publishing more reviews of Scumble River Mysteries as I go. There are twelve in all. Lucky number thirteen is coming out in April.