It’s Agatha Christie’s Birthday — Let’s Celebrate International Cozy Mystery Day
Did you know September 15 is Agatha Christie’s birthday? Since Dame Christie’s mysteries started the mystery genre now known as cozies, both England and the United States celebrate today as International Cozy Mystery Day. Officially, cozies are all about murder in a small community that is solved by someone other than the police. (Amateur detective, please step forward!)
English cozies can be quite mannerly, with Lords and Ladies. American cozies often involved dogs or cats, and especially food, or a small shop that sells a variety of things.
Cozy communities come in all varieties: small towns, fishing villages, farm communities, the sea shore, and even aboard ship. The time zone may certainly be current, but many cozies are set in the past. Some are even set in the future. There might be ghosts involved, artificial intelligence, or aliens, and even romance. Holidays bring out a new batch of titles. (Nothing quite like a little murder for Halloween, right?) In fact, anything or anyone can be included in a cozy — except a truly gruesome killing, a world-wide threat, or a professional crime solver!
I’ve illustrated a bit of variety with twelve covers. A couple of authors answered when I asked for volunteers. Some, I selected from a Guppy post. (Guppies are Sisters in Crime members.) I’ve read some of the books myself. And, others I just happened to have the cover copied to my canva dot come file. (Made it easy.) Some of the titles are quite old, some brand new. (I’m enclosing the Kindle links I find at Amazon — one is only available in print.)
What cozy do you love the most? Do you have a cozy series you can’t get enough of? One of my favorites is the series that includes Click Here For Murder by Donna Andrews. Unfortunately, I must be in the minority, as her publisher only wanted four of them. There definitely was an overall ongoing plot that never happened. (Oh, and the fact that the alphabet now ends at Y. But that one is understandable.)
Death By Dissertation — Christmas Cocoa Murder — Down in Flames — Portrait of a Dead Guy — Click Here for Murder — Cliff Hanger — A Souffle of Suspicion — Judge Thee Not — The Family Way — Strangled Eggs and Ham — Play It Again, Spam — Fat Cat at Large