If someone tells you they enjoy cozy mysteries, you may find yourself asking, “What makes a mystery cozy?” The term ‘cozy mystery’ gets its name from the typical setting of the mystery: a quiet spot in the country, a seaside resort, village, etc.
The modern cozy mystery has its origins in the Golden Age of detective novels which dominated fiction in the 1920s—1940s. Popular Golden Age authors include Agatha Christie, Margery Allingham, Anthony Berkeley, Dorothy L. Sayers, and many more.
A group of these authors even formed their own “Detection Club” and published a couple of novels that were a group effort. This club (which is still active) even had an ‘oath’ to which each members pledged:Do you promise that your detectives shall well and truly detect the crimes presented to them using those wits which it may please you to bestow upon them and not placing reliance on nor making use of Divine Revelation, Feminine Intuition, Mumbo Jumbo, Jiggery-Pokery, Coincidence, or Act of God?
This ‘oath’ speaks to the emphasis that these authors put on the detection process; each detective was to use their own wits, without any “cheats.”
The Golden Age slowly declined during the post war period, giving way to the rise of “hard boiled” detectives and thriller novels. However, its influence is still felt in the works of many “cozy” authors today, including JoAnne Fluke, Laura Childs, Kate Carlisle, Kate Young, and dozens of others. Each of these authors maintains the relaxed atmosphere of their Golden Age
counterparts, and the same general plot structure(s), yet adds certain modern elements (i.e. smartphones) undreamt of in the 1940s.
The next time you're looking for a good book to wind away a stormy afternoon, consider giving a cozy mystery a try.
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