'Cozy?'

[Gaile Hughes]

Okay fellow travellers, what's your take on a ‘Cozy Story’, who writes them, what qualifies them?

[Lindy Cameron]

An amateur sleuth and no blood!

[Jim Thomsen]

And no on-stage sex.

[Caroline Trippe]

A closed crime scene with a finite number of suspects, such as a country manor house with a group of weekend guests. Or a similar setup. Sleuth may be amateur, like Miss Marple, though not necessarily. Inspector Alleyn wasn't exactly an amateur. A minimum of blood, yes.

I don't know who writes them these days---but they're still out there for readers who want a little caper, an amusement for a long weekend at the beach, or a plane trip. Nothing wrong with that.

Of course even writers who don't write cozies can still use some of those elements from time to time. I can think of several offhand, including P.D. James.

[John McFetridge]

Admittedly I don't read many cozies so I have no idea how may good ones are being written these days, but Louise Penney's novels are very good and would likely qualify - they take place in a small village with a limited number of suspects and usually the killer and the victim knew each other.

[Caroline Trippe]

Louise Penney's novels are very good and would likely qualify -

Most definitely. Probably why I only got all the way through one of them.

[B.R.Stateham]

Amen, brother.

[I. J. Parker]

All of those things plus a very old-fashioned format, and there is a big market for them.

I should add that authors of cozies believe that their mysteries are the only ones that are "character-driven."

Admittedly, I don't like cozies (also called traditional mysteries by those who believe they are character-driven), and I cringe when people call my protagonist an amateur sleuth.

[Richard Sanders]

A cozy always features an amateur woman sleuth working in a small, picturesque location and every page gives off the unmistakable smell of camphor balls and old, wet wool.

[I. J. Parker]

LOL.

[Caroline Trippe]

camphor balls and old, wet wool.

I beg your pardon, young man! That's the lavendar water you smell! :)

[Richard Sanders]

Young man? May fortune always smile upon you, Caroline.

[Gaile Hughes]

Very funny guys!!

Hey, do you think some '4711 Eau de Cologne' or 'Lily of the Valley' talcum powder would make the list – LVL