Musings - Cozy, Traditional, and Amateur Sleuth

When I tell people I'm an author they inevitably ask what I write.  When I reply cozy mysteries they either light up and mention their favorite series or they stare blankly and ask what is a cozy.  Somehow when I simply answer I write mysteries, the broad term ends up confusing them.  Every genre has subgenres that further narrow the field.  A cozy fan will know exactly what they expect, but they too will get confused by the differences an amateur sleuth or a traditional mystery.  There are certainly many elements in common, but there are distinct difference between the three.  

Are the following categories absolute?  No, they aren't.  But they are a good guideline, particularly if you are a reader trying to stay away from hard core violence or other sensitive content.  If you are a writer, this helps you know your audience and how to classify what you've written.  What I have included here actually took some research because some views vary.  This is a fairly good guideline, but amatuer sleuths and traditional mysteries seem to have more wiggle room.

Cozy mysteries: almost always have an amateur sleuth with an occupation (baking, crafting, innkeeping) or hobby theme that's a hook for a segment of readers.  Cozies invariably include colorful friends and frenemies, pets, no bad language, no explicit sex on the page, no gory descriptions, and take place in a small town or a tight community in a larger city.

The cozy focuses on the relationship between the characters as much as, if not more than, solving the mystery.  As I like to put it, cozies are the kinder, gentler murder mystery.  They have a more positive outlook and the murder disrupts the peace and sense of safety and the hero(ine) seeks to heal the community by bringing the killer to justice.  Examples:  "Murder, She Wrote: Trick or Treachery" by Jessica Fletcher, "The Cat Who Saw Red" by Lillian Jackson Braun, "Strawberry Shortcake Murder" by Joanne Fluke, and "On What Grounds" by Cleo Coyle 

Amateur Sleuth:  Although all cozies feature an amateur sleuth, not all amateur sleuth mysteries are cozies.  They may contain a few swear words sprinkled throughout and may have a stronger sense of sex without it being explicit, and may have more violence on the page.  It is more common to have a larger city but still have a tight pool of suspects for an amateur to identify and snoop around, although I've read several that were in small towns.  Amateur sleuth novels can have an emotional environment between the tight cohesiveness of a cozy to a slightly more jaded outlook.  Examples:  "The Crossing Places by Ruth Galloway", " The Woman in the Library" by Sulari Gentill, "One for the Money" by Janet Evanovich [Stephanie Plum isn't a trained police official or investigator for hire so she is an amateur sleuth].

Traditional mysteries:  Can be a lot like a cozy if you strip away the themed hook of cooking etc. occupation or common hobby.  The focus is definitely more on the mystery than building a close-knit community.  Drop the eccentric or kooky friends and provide more developed and deeper characters.  There may be a similar jaded outlook like the amateur sleuth but likely more twists and turns plus blood than a cozy.  The hero(ine) may have a tougher background that makes them good at understanding criminals, but their ability to understand the dark side of human nature is most important.  The small cast of characters includes the villain and a confined setting such as a small town or an isolated mansion. The plot focuses on solving the murder and “fair play” ( all clues are provided for the reader to solve the murder) is emphasized.  Examples:  "The French Powder Mystery" by Ellery Queen, "One by One" by Ruth Ware, and "The Mirror Cracked From Side to Side" and "Then There Were None" both by Agatha Christie.  

Each of these can have elements of other genres.  A cozy paranormal will have a fun witch or such. Example: "First Bite" by Avery Daniels and "Witch and Famous" by Angela Sanders.  A historical cozy or amateur sleuth will meet all the specifications mentioned but be placed in a historical setting.  Example: "A Body in the Garden" by Katharine Schellman and "A Lady's Guide to Ettiquette and Murder" by Dianne Freeman.

I hope you enjoyed this foray into the cozy, traditional, and amateur sleuth genres.  May this guide you in increasing your TBR stack!  You're welcome *wink*.