It’s been a bit of a long summer in Seattle, but fall is here and I saw on the weather app that it’s supposed to cool down and finally rain this weekend. This means I can start breaking out my blankets and start getting ready for cozy season. And what better way to bask in cozy season than reading a cozy mystery?
Cozy mysteries are quickly becoming one of my favorite genres of books to read. I love a good mystery and puzzle and there is nothing as rewarding as figuring out “who done it”. But there are a lot of other things that make cozy mysteries so fun to read.
Here are 6 reasons I love to read cozy mysteries:
They are like watching an episode of Murder She Wrote.
Cozy mysteries are a subgenre of crime books where sex and violence happen off the page. They usually take place in a small community and the main character (most likely a woman) is an amateur sleuth who sets out to solve the crime. Sound a bit familiar? If you like watching shows like Murder She Wrote or Father Brown (as I do), then you will probably like reading a cozy mystery.
Fun jobs and hobbies.
A lot of cozy mystery series have some sort of theme involving the main character’s job, pet, or hobby. Honestly, this may be one of the things I like most about cozy mysteries. Do you want to read a series where the main character is a bakery owner who also solves crimes? How about one where the main character is a bookstore owner? What about a series of books about a librarian and her cat who solve mysteries on the side? There are so many different topics to pick from that there is just about something for everyone.
Great friend groups.
The main character usually has a close group of friends that help them solve the mysteries. Of course, while asking questions and overhearing conservations, these friends are probably also talking about how the main character should leave the sleuthing to real detectives. Whatever they have to say, you know there will always be some great character development for this core group of friends that allows the readers to get to know them over the course of the series.
The stakes are low.
You know going into a cozy mystery that the main character is going to make it out alive. In fact, most cozy mysteries will tell you who is murdered in the synopsis. The victim is rarely a regular character and is usually a new person to town or someone the reader has never met yet. You also know that the book will have a happy ending and that the main character, no matter what they may have done in pursuit of the killer, will be okay.
The puns!
I didn’t realize how much I love a good pun until I started reading cozy mysteries and realized that so many of the titles are puns. I like them just for that. Some great titles are Cheddar Off Dead, Another One Bites the Crust, Caught Read-Handed, and Knit One, Kill Two. Who wouldn’t want to read any of those punny books?
Cozy mysteries are low stress.
Unlike suspense and thriller novels that can raise your blood pressure, cozy mysteries are low-stress and relaxing to read. If I am already reading an intense or complex book, a lot of times I will reach for a cozy mystery to read at the same time to balance everything out. I am always in a good mood when finishing up a cozy mystery.
If you haven’t read a cozy mystery I suggest you try it!
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