Cozy (genre)

Cozy is a subgenre of crime fiction whereby sex and violence are downplayed or treated humourously. The term was first coined in the late 20th century when various writers produced work that tried re-creating the Golden Age of Detective Fiction. [ [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cozy_%28genre%29#References] ]

Characters

The heroes of such stories are usually female amateur detectives, who often have a college degree and use their life experiences as a tool for solving crimes. Often they have a husband, lover, friend or family member working for the police force, who can therefore provide them with important information about a case which they would otherwise not have access to. [ [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE4DC103BF93BA25753C1A964958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all] ]

The authorities usually dismiss the heroine as little more than a nosy gossip and barely register her presence. However, this makes it easy for her to eavesdrop on their conversations at the scene of the crime, and thus gather clues. [ [http://cozy-mystery.com/Definition-of-a-Cozy-Mystery.html] ]

There are usually an array of eccentric supporting characters, who provide light relief and are generally very likeable.

Content

Cozies very rarely focus on sex, profanity or violence. The murders take place off stage, and are often relatively bloodless (e.g. poisoning), while sexual activity (if any) between characters is only ever gently implied and never directly addressed.

Notable examples of the genre

*The Miss Marple character by Agatha Christie.
*"Hetty Wainthropp Investigates" is a British crime-comedy drama television series which aired from 1996 to 1998 on BBC One.
*"Murder, She Wrote" is a popular, long-running television mystery series, starring Angela Lansbury as mystery writer and amateur detective Jessica Fletcher. The series aired for 12 seasons, from 1984 to 1996.

References