Cozying Up to a Cozy

Hey-ho, it’s Rey today.  We’re still reviewing mysteries and I won, er, got the cozy!  For those not in the know, yet, a cozy is like a traditional mystery, with a few differences.

It’s a popular sub-genre (my new word) where, basically, an amateur sleuth solves a murder or puzzler in a pleasant setting while learning a whack of interesting stuff.  These mysteries often comprise a series and there’s usually a theme or profession—such as the world of gardening, publishing/writing (think Jessica Fletcher), cooking or baking, catering, and even, yeah, possibly, a detective agency.  Our sleuth is an everyday kind of person, like you or me, who possesses good judgment (common sense) that [eventually] enables him or her to figure out who the perp is.

Besides having said sleuth and a bona-fide mystery to solve, a cozy will generally contain the following:

♦ a “family” oriented approach, where swear words and sexual exploits are at a minimum, if at all

♦ a degree of wit and fun or eccentricity, be it through the characters, dialogue, or events

♦ a main character—the amateur sleuth—the reader can relate to or root for . . . an “everyday” someone (again like you and me) who, when faced with the challenges of the crime, accepts them and valiantly does his/her best to ensure the crime is solved

♦ clues, which are revealed to the reader, as well as a few red herrings to provide those fun twists and turns while we’re guessing who did it

♦ an unlikable victim, so we can’t really feel that remorseful that he or she gets axed, er, leaves this mortal coil

♦ a smart cookie of a villain/killer, so our amateur sleuth is challenged, but not outwitted

♦ murder committed behind the theater curtains, so to speak, so the reader doesn’t have to hear the nasty or gory details (or know who the murderer is)

♦ a small-town or rustic setting (back to Jessica and quaint Cabot Cove) that makes for a picturesque, tranquil location.

Lastly, what makes a cozy a cozy?  The title.  They’re “cute”.  Given Jessica is so well-known, still, here are some titles, Murder She Wrote . . .

 Gin and Daggers

A Palette for Murder

Martinis and Mayhem (love it)

Highland Fling Murders

Murder in a Minor Key

 You get the idea.  Cozy titles are fun, whimsical, playful . . . like me.  <he-he>

Author: tylerus

I'm primarily a writer of fiction and blog posts, and a sometimes editor and proofreader of books, manuals, and film/television scripts. Fact-checking and researching, organizing and coordinating are skills and joys (I enjoy playing detective and developing structure). My fiction audience: lovers of female-sleuth mysteries. My genres of preference: mysteries (needless to say), women’s fiction, informative and helpful “affirmative” non-fiction. So-o, here I am, staring up a new blog for aspiring and established e-Book writers. The plan: to share the (long) journey of getting to this stage, and share "learnings" and "teachings". There's a lot I hope to accomplish with this blog, but it may be a while before that happens as there's a lot on the ol' plate - taking care of Mom, working full-time, and attempting to get another book in the Triple Threat Investigation Agency series written (never mind blog postings and other writing projects). It's very challenging and it's all good. As I like to say: teeny focused baby steps are just as effective as long forceful strides. It may take a little longer, but we will get there. View all posts by tylerus