Search This Blog

Sunday, July 15, 2018

COZIES IN A DANGEROUS TIME, by Mollie Hunt, Cat Writer


Cozy Night by Kim Parkhurst

I know of way too many people who are depressed, stressed, frightened, angry, or all of the above combined in one big ball of woe. Whether you look local— break-ins and vandalism—, national— political unrest—, or global— climate change and garbage in the ocean—, scary things abound, and unfortunately, there is only a limited amount we can do about them. This helplessness causes frustration and anxiety. Psychiatrists and therapists have seen an increase in their patients of late. Uncertainty abounds.

So what  do people do to relieve this angst? Some garden or work out. Some read. There has been a revival of the good old cozy mystery of late, and I believe our dangerous times are responsible for it.

Who wouldn’t want to immerse themselves in a small British town a la Miss Marple or hang out with a sleuthing cat such as Joe Gray? Suddenly, instead of the disturbing thriller, many readers are choosing books they know will give them a happy ending. That doesn’t mean there won’t be mystery and mayhem along the way, but in a cozy, we won’t be inundated with graphic violence, foul language, or riotous sex. And we can be assured it will all work out in the end.


I grew up with cozy mysteries, my favorite author being the underappreciated Mary Stewart. When I discovered Lillian Jackson Braun’s Cat Who series, and found that cats could play a part in mystery stories, I was overjoyed. Since then I’ve been elated to find an abundance of cozy themes such as cooking, baking, gardening, quilting, scrapbooking, knitting, and antiquing— just about anything people like to do in their spare time. There are also more cerebral themes such as science, archeology, forensics, or world travel, and we mustn’t forget the paranormal themes of vampires, witches, hauntings, and hexes. (My personal favorites of course are the cat mysteries, a popular genre unto itself, though you can find many dog and other animal mysteries to suit all tastes.) Most cozies engage an amateur sleuth, often a woman, but there are also cozies featuring police, detectives, and private investigators. Something for every taste.



Cozies vary in technique, intensity, and quality. I’ve read everything from inspired and intelligent writing to formula style that’s as dull as a post. (I’ve also learned that just because it has a cat on the cover doesn’t mean it’s a cat mystery.) Some cozies are referred to as “beach reads” because they are the easy-to-read escapist fare that’s perfect for a costal or other vacation.

I both read and write cozy mysteries, because I’m just plain too burnt out on bad stuff  to enjoy the violence of thrillers, the horror of horrors, or the fatalism of dystopian sci-fi. It’s not exclusive— there are lots of great books out there, and my to-be-read pile holds everything from memoir to Star Trek, but right now I tend to fall back on a gentler story, one that will paint a picture of green countrysides and pretty kitties while offering me a puzzle to solve, the mystery itself. Maybe if the real world becomes an easier place to live in, I’ll begin to long for the exhilaration of a more intense genre, but for now, it’s cozies all the way.




Do you read or write cozy mysteries?

Here are a very few of my favorites:

The Joe Grey series, by Shirley Rousseau Murphy  
Cat in the Stacks Mysteries, by Miranda James  
Bookmobile Cat Mysteries, by Laurie Cass   
The Kudzu Korners Vampire series, by Isabella Norse  
The Ivy Meadows Mysteries, by Cindy Brown  
The Phryne Fisher mysteries, by Kerry Greenwood  
The Hamish Macbeth series, by M.C. Beaton 
The Fethering Mystery series, by Simon Brett   

(I'd better quit, thought there are more!) 

I’m always looking for new cozies to read. Do you have any favorites to add?



Check out my own cozy mystery series, the Crazy Cat Lady cozy mysteries, or read more blogs by Mollie Hunt, Cat Writer at:

Happy reading!





4 comments:

  1. I just discovered pet cozies a couple of years ago and reviewed several this past year. I'm looking forward to reading more of them, once my current review commitments are met.

    I like cozies because they're a fun and quick read. These days especially, I prefer nonfiction or light fiction.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, it may not be great literature, but it works for me. It seems like so many books have very dark themes, bad things that have happened to people. I know there is a need for that, but instead of being reminded of the bad things that have happened to me, I'd rather read about cats.

      Delete
  2. Mollie,

    Your comment is one of my soap box topics. lol I taught literature at the junior high, high school, and community college levels for many years. "Great" literature is not all that 'great', in my opinion. Yes, many of the books and stories that are considered 'great' are so much a part of our culture, that it's important to have at least a passingly familiar knowledge of the storyline, but so many of these 'great' stories are next to impossible to read for the reluctant reader, and even for the determined/advanced reader. They become an endurance endeavor to get through them. Who is to say what is 'great' to one person? If "Twilight" (for example) catches the reading interest of a reluctant young reader and opens the reading door for her, then it is great literature to her. If westerns, cozies, romances, and so on entertain us, then they, too, are great literature to the person enjoying them. *off my soap box*

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I agree totally. What good is "great literature" to someone who is just waiting for the movie to come out? Luckily there are lots and lots and lots of books to spark the imagination.

      Delete