I've finished reading Alicia Giménez-Bartlett's Death Rites. At first I wasn't really sure what I had gotten myself into, but it's one of those books that turns out to be surprisingly good the more you read. It's definitely good enough to write a proper post about, but I'll share that later. I was all set to choose a nice cozy mystery next. Perhaps one of the new Patricia Wentworth books I recently bought or a favorite author like Carola Dunn who writes a nice series set in 1920s England featuring Daisy Dalrymple. I never seem to stick with plans when it comes to my mystery reading choices, though. Somehow I found my hand reaching for Tana French's In the Woods instead. I've had it for a while and this is a perfect example of a book I "planned to read next" on several occasions but then didn't. However I don't think I can bear to read another thing about it, because everything I read is so glowing and I hate being left out. And, of course I am always on the look out for that "perfect read". If the first chapter is anything to go by, I think I've made a good selection.
So the next best thing to picking up a cozy mystery is talking about them. I was almost going to just go ahead and start one as well, but for once I think I'll make myself wait. Besides I have this wonderful Rough Guide to Crime Fiction to peruse and see what suggestions they might have. I found an excellent definition of cozies here:
"In the Cozy, the body is often offstage; and most of the time, the author does not explicitly describe death or any other violence. The sleuths are almost always amateurs who have stumbled on a murder or crime that needs to be solved. The sleuth is usually, but not always, a woman, who solves the mystery through intuition and her knowledge of human nature. Small-town settings and gossip are integral parts of these mysteries. Real forensic evidence or police work has less to do with the solving of the crime than in most mysteries, and more than likely the amateur sleuth annoys the police even more than she may help them. In many cases, the protagonist’s significant other is on the police force. Cozies feature eccentric characters, a sense of community (small-town or enclosed communities like a college), and more than likely a humorous tone with witty dialogue. Cozies are usually fast-paced and shorter reads. Even the lightest of Cozies often offers a wry look at human nature and some exploration of social ssues."
I'm afraid the Rough Guide doesn't specifically address cozy mysteries, but there is a chapter on "The Golden Age: Classic Mysteries", which is close enough as I've read that cozies are a "reinvention" of Golden Age mysteries. The Rough Guide really doesn't give any history or analysis of the genre but mentions Agatha Christie as the "most celebrated writer of the period". She's joined by Margery Allingham, Dorothy Sayers and Ngaio Marsh who are known as "the Four Queens of Crime". I've read and enjoyed all of them and want to read more of their works. However the guide does share a few new-to-me authors to try as well and I imagine many of these are classic mysteries.
- The Beast Must Die, Nicholas Blake (Cecil Day Lewis)
- Green for Danger, Christianna Brand
- The Hollow Man, John Dickson Carr
- Love Lies Bleeding, Edmund Crispin
- Hangover Square, Patrick Hamilton
- Rogue Male , Geoffrey Household
- Malice Aforethought, Frances Iles (Anthony Berkerley Cox)
- The Franchise Affair, Josephine Tey
I have my own favorite cozy mystery authors, but I am pretty predictable in what I like. I know contemporary cozies feature sleuths of just about every professional persuasion or possibility. I like mysteries that are very much in step with actual Golden Age mysteries including setting and type of sleuth, which means I prefer the historical ones (generally set between the wars in England) and love country house murder mysteries. A few of my favorite contemporary cozy mystery authors:
- Dianne Day - These are set in turn-of-the century San Francisco and the sleuth is Fremont Jones. day hasn't written anything for ages unfortunately. I've read them all, but maybe I need to go back to the beginning and start over.
- Kate Kingsbury - Manor House mysteries.
- Elizabeth Peters - Amelia Peabody is great, but you should also check out art historian Vicky Bliss.
- Georgette Heyer - Her mysteries are being reissued in the US this year.
- Amanda Matetsky - It appears there are only going to be five Paige Turner books. They are set in 1950s NYC.
- Miriam Grace Monfredo - Her mysteries feature a librarian in Seneca Falls on the eve of the Civil War.
- Jacqueline Winspear - I've mentioned Maisie Dobbs here lots of times already.
- Kerry Greenwood - Phryne Fisher is a spunky (and excellently dressed) 1920s heroine living in Australia and getting mixed up in murder. She's a very strong character and perhaps not to everyone's liking, but I get a kick out of her.
Do you have any favorites? Should I be on the look out for anyone especially good?