What is a Cozy Mystery?

 Nikita has her copy of Dead Ahead, Book 1 of the Ruthless-the-Killer Mysteries.

I recently attended a large writers' conference where a successful author of cozy mysteries took a session focusing on the characteristics of that genre. Having recently published my first-in-series cozy mystery, Dead Ahead, I wanted to know how close I’d got to the ideal.

Before I go further, this is an Australian blog and I should spell cozy, as cosy, right? I usually do. However, as the US spelling is used for much of the discussion of the genre online, I use 'cozy' when I'm talking about the genre. If someone is snuggling under a cosy blanket, I use the Australian/ English spelling. 

The speaker's definition of a cozy mystery

It was an interesting talk, but I was surprised at how adamant the speaker was about the characteristics of a cozy mystery. In her eyes, if a story didn't strictly follow these criteria, it wasn't a 'cozy':

• The main character (MC) must be an amateur sleuth. They can’t be a police officer or a private detective. 

• Serious issues (other than the murder) have no place in a cozy, other than backstory. The protagonist may have escaped from a bad marriage and be starting again, but we don’t see any serious issues on the page. Suicide can’t be mentioned.

• Absolutely no blood. Poisoning is good. Stabbing is bad.

• Absolutely no mention of sex or of intimate scenes of any kind. You can't even have the literary equivalent of the dimmer switch that causes the scene to ‘fade to black’. 

• Absolutely no swearing—ever.

• Not only should animals never be harmed, but they should also never come within a sniff of being harmed.

• Only nasty people die. You should amp up the nastiness. The victim shouldn’t have any redeeming characteristics. It can be cathartic to put the people who have hurt you into a story and kill them (you get into less trouble with the law that way).

• Cozy mysteries happen in closed communities. Small towns are excellent locations, as are any closed communities. Television shows like Only Murders in the Building use an inner-city building as their closed community.

The speaker is an extremely savvy businessperson who obviously writes down the middle of the genre—that’s probably why she sells a heap of books—but as she spoke, you could hear the murmur of but… but… but… all around the room :).

Not everyone agreed with her criteria for a cozy mystery

Before I wrote Dead Ahead, I read widely in the genre. I discovered that successful cozy mysteries—especially more recent ones—covered a wide gamut of storytelling.

While cozy protagonists are usually amateur sleuths, Zara Keane’s popular Movie Club Mysteries, set in Ireland, feature an ex-cop-turned-PI Maggie Doyle as the investigator. 

It's true that many cozy mysteries have minimal swearing, but that doesn't mean there's none. I'd say at least a third of the books I've read contain 'light swearing'. Australian based HY Hanna, author of the Oxford Tea Room Mysteries, uses the Aussie/ British exclamation ‘bloody hell’ several times in her stories. 

Hanna bills her books as clean reads, and they are lovely and funny and sweet, but by the conference speaker's definition they aren't cozy, which is crazy. When I asked about this during the session, she said Hanna's readers didn't seem to mind.

I actually think that's the key. Cozy mystery is a wide-reaching genre where there are lots of different kinds of books for different kinds of readers.

In my reading, I also discovered that there are quite a few cozy mysteries, especially those with younger protagonists, that include sexual intimacy. This can range from the barest mention of attraction, to make out sessions that would make your toes curl. 

Yet the reviews still celebrate these stories as cozy mysteries. And these books sell well under that banner.

This is also true of books that sit at the edge of cozy. I’d call Margaret Lashley’s hilarious Val Fremden Midlife Mysteries cozy-adjacent, and Patricia McLinn’s, Caught Dead in Wyoming mysteries more small town ‘amateur sleuth’. But some people still call these books cozies. 

My conclusion is that the contemporary cozy mystery is evolving. The conference speaker was describing the classic cozy, but as tastes evolve and readers crave fresh reads, the genre is shifting.

The term cozy mystery now encompasses a diverse range of stories from Christian/ inspirational through cutesy, through to the more offbeat character-driven tales. As well as contemporary stories, cozies can be paranormal, light paranormal and historical mysteries. There are even millennial cozies pitched at readers in their twenties and thirties. 

This is one reason I like writing in this genre. While it does have rules, it also gives writers the freedom to be themselves.

My own cozy mystery books

I’ve recently released Dead Ahead, the first book in my Ruthless-the-Killer mystery series, and according to the conference speaker I've broken a few of the cozy rules.

Romantic elements: The series has romantic elements that really matter to the story. While these elements are closed door, I don't deny the existence of love and desire, even if I do frame it in a light, romantic comedy vibe. And even though the genre is still primarily a mystery, the romantic subplot is woven through the mystery and character growth arcs in each book. It's not a tacked-on optional extra.

I've had readers call this refreshing :).

Deeper Issues: I can’t help myself—my cozies will touch on deeper themes occasionally—but I'll use a light touch.

Bad guys and gals: While I love the sentiment that stories are a great place to the kill people who are awful to us in real life, I think that villains and victims in murder mysteries should have at lease some good qualities. Good writing is about more than catharsis. Complex characters are fun and in real life even the worst villains can be good to others. In Dead Ahead, the victim is hated by a lot of people, but not by everyone.

Animal adventures: I’m a former veterinarian, so animals will always run, jump, skitter, slide or crawl into my stories. But the animals in my books may occasionally face mortal danger, like my humans. However, while I’ll happily kill off any number of people, the animals will be okay in the end. I promise!

Vernacular: I’m Aussie and that means my natural vernacular is relaxed. I don’t like a lot of swearing in my cozies—you won’t get F-bombs—but you might find an occasional ‘crap’ or ‘hell’.

Every writer is different. I love a twisty murder mystery with lots of surprises. I’m also a self-confessed genre butterfly—or genre-rebel when I’m in an edgier mood—so I like some freedom. Cozy mysteries suit me because they allow me to be me, yet fit my work within a wider genre.

If you are an aspiring cozy mystery author and you have the type of personality where you enjoy writing in the exact middle of your genre, like the conference speaker suggests, you will probably do well to write classical cozies. It will give you widest access to the greatest number of readers and the potential to make the most income. Writing to the largest market is always a good idea.

But if you are more like me and want to explore the broader definitions of the genre, then I think there is scope to go for it. Niching down can also be a good strategy as long as you can find your readers. I'm just starting out, but there are a bunch of successful authors out there who are doing well writing cozies that don’t fit the classic form. 

Readers are discovering and enjoying these stories. 

Find authors who are like you and see what they do. Cozy mysteries are a fun sandbox to play in, and the breadth of the genre means there is something for everyone, whether you are a reader or a writer.

And if you'd like to read a deliciously twisty Aussie cozy mystery with a side of rom-com, you can find one right here :). 

Do you like writing cozy mysteries? Who are your favourite authors? I'd love you to let me know in the comments.

Susan J Bruce is a former veterinarian who writes mystery and suspense stories with heart. If you love tales where characters discover courage they didn’t know they had, you’ll like Susan’s books. If you like some romance and humour along the way, you’ll find her new Ruthless-the-Killer mystery series suitably binge-worthy. Susan is a self-confessed animal addict and creatures regularly run, jump, fly or crawl through her books. Susan’s writing group once challenged her to pen a story without mentioning any animals—she failed! 

Dead Ahead is Susan's second novel. Her first novel, Running Scared, won the 2018 Caleb Prize for an unpublished manuscript (YA). You can visit Susan at www.susanjbruce.com.