I love mysteries but my favorite sub-genre is the Cozy Mystery. In Nancy J. Cohen’s book, WRITING THE COZY MYSTERY, she states: “A cozy mystery can be defined as a whodunit featuring an amateur sleuth, a distinctive setting, and a limited number of suspects, most of whom may know each other. These stories contain no explicit sex or violence. While murder is usually the basis for the story, the focus of a traditional whodunit is on the solution rather than on forensic details.” (page 3)
Of course every rule is meant to be broken and there are cozy mysteries that feature professionals (police or constables) rather than amateur sleuths (M.C. Beaton’s Hamish McBeth’s series, P.D. Jame’s Adam Dalgliesh, and Rhys Bowen’s Evan Evans series). But the cozy mystery is primarily focused on the puzzle rather than the process that the sleuth uses to solve the crime.
Lately, I have been re-reading some of my favorite cozy mysteries in an attempt to better understand what the authors have done well so I can, hopefully, learn from them. I thought I’d list a few of my favs here:
1) Agatha Christie, Miss Marple Series, Hercule Poirot, and Tommy and Tuppence
2) Patricia Wentworth, Miss Silver Mysteries
3) Emily Brightwell, The Inspector and Mrs. Jeffries Series
4) Victoria Thompson, Sarah Brandt and Frank Malloy Series
5) Rex Stout, Nero Wolf Series
6) Jill Churchill, Jane Jeffry’s series
7) Dorothy Gilman, Mrs. Pollifax series
8) Anne George, Southern Sisters Mysteries
9) Georgette Heyer
10) Sue Grafton, Kinsey Milhone Mysteries
Don’t have time to read all of these? There are some really great television series and movies based on several of these authors (Agatha Christie and Rex Stout). But here are a few others you might want to consider:
1) Hetty Wainthropp Investigates, PBS, DVD
2) Bletchley Circle, PBS
3) Murder She Wrote, Hallmark Channel
4) Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, PBS
5) Father Brown Murder Mysteries, PBS
6) Ellery Queen Mysteries, DVD
7) Midsomer Mysteries, PBS
8) Sherlock Holmes, PBS, DVD
9) McBride Mysteries, Hallmark Channel
10) Mystery Woman Books, Hallmark Channel
This list is certainly not exhaustive and some programs may not be available in all areas. However, these are some of the mysteries that I try never to miss no matter how many times I have seen them before. I also feel that these shows are a great representation of the genre. The authors play fairly with the reader/watcher.