If you’re a fan of mystery novels, you’re probably aware of the “cozy mystery” subgenre.
They’re kind of anti-thrillers, focusing on solving whodunit, while most sex, violence, or trauma takes place off-screen (so to speak). The works of Agatha Christie and the 80s TV show, Murder, She Wrote might be the best examples of this style. They make for fun, low-stakes, low-tension entertainment.
And it seems as though other genres of storytelling are now learning lessons from cozy mysteries as “cozy” is branching out to other literary styles. So, let’s look at some books that are part of this cozy revolution.
Although novels are primarily linear, mystery novels are also brainteasers where the reader is invited to outwit the killer (and/or author). And although cozy mysteries are not new, recent years have seen an explosion in their popularity, with new formulas, technologies, and cultures coming to the fore.
To me, the most surprising trend is the “person in a non-crime-related profession becomes an amateur detective in their community, and their profession is extremely relevant somehow” trope.
Kaitlyn Dunnett writes about a professional Scottish folk dancer who solves mysteries, in her Liss MacCrimmon mysteries. Connie Shelton writes books about Charlie Parker, an accountant who solves mysteries. Dolores Johnson writes about a dry-cleaning store owner, Mandy Dyer, who solves mysteries. And there are literally dozens of series about bakers and chefs who also solve mysteries (often with recipes you can try): the Hannah Swensen mysteries; the Beach Tea Shop Mysteries; the Noodle Shop Mysteries, and it goes on.
A newer development is the introduction of “cozy science fiction.”
Similar to cozy mysteries, they are books that focus more on characters and their relationships than on plot and action.
One of the more popular authors of these books is Becky Chambers.
Her series The Wayfarers is about humans and aliens on a starship and their everyday struggles and interpersonal interactions as they cruise the cosmos. After the success of this series, she wrote a pair of novellas, Monk & Robot, where a disillusioned, roaming monk on a distant planet meets an inquisitive, sentient robot who wants to understand humanity. The two slowly form a friendship as they reflect upon the meaning of life, coexistence, and community.
Finally, the field of “cozy fantasy” took off recently with Travis Baldree’s Legends & Lattes.
It subverts the action-packed dungeons & dragons-style novel with a story of someone turning their back on that life. Viv is an orc, a muscular ogre-like warrior, who has decided that she needs a change. She leaves her merry band of violent adventurers to open a coffee shop in the big city.
The story focuses on Viv’s mundane actions of opening and maintaining her new business in a city of fantastical creatures and magical forces, making friends, making enemies, and changing the face of her community.
This book’s runaway success led to a prequel about a young Viv stranded in a small town who befriends the owner of a struggling bookstore in Bookshops & Bonedust.
Stop by the La Mesa Branch Library to get cozy with these titles and more.
You can also join us this month for two art classes for adults, “Painting Fundamentals” on Saturday, March 16, at 1 p.m. and “Wonderful Weaving” on Tuesday, March 26, at 5:30 p.m.
Register at www.sdcl.org/lamesa.
