Why don't you like "cozy" mysteries?
For those readers who aren't sure what a "cozy" mystery is, think Agatha Christie. Cozies most often have amateur sleuths--bored housewives and sweet little old ladies typically--who bring their noses into other people's business and solve murders. To be fair, they also feature well-mannered investigators such as Hercule Poirot who can solve bloodless murders and wander in and out of crime scenes with complete impunity. And people who own a cat; I almost forgot them. (There are exceptions to this, I know, but I'm making a point, so don't get your boxers or bikinis in a bunch.)
For me, something about them just smacks of fake. Call me jaded but I like some blood in my murders. I want my main characters to be in every increasing danger the closer they get to solving the mystery. I like to see my mystery solvers have to jump through the hoops and work around the cops (rather than having the cops be more or less a public library for investigators). For me, a mystery shouldn't merely be a puzzle to be solved but an adventure to be survived.
Some of the best for those who want to experience my kind of mysteries:
- Of course my own The Ruby Files story in Vol. 1
- Ed McBain's 87th Precinct novels
- Ed McBain's Matthew Hope novels
- Just about any Hard Case Crime thriller
- the Parker series
- Anything by Dashiell Hammett, Mickey Spillane, or Raymond Chandler
- A new favorite, No Business for a Lady by James Rubel
I quite like 'cozies', myself. When done well, they're a bit like an interactive puzzle for the reader. Christie cheated outrageously with some of her 'parlor summations', but writers like Dorothy Sayers played fair with the audience, doling out all the clues. If you were quick enough, you could figure out who done it before the sleuth.
ReplyDeleteAdventure is awesome, but a good puzzle can get the brain juices flowing beautifully.
That said, I'll take the latest John Sandford 'Prey' novel or any of the 87th Precinct novels over a hundred cozies any darn day.
I tried, but just couldn't get into them. Maybe I'll try again some day.
DeleteThey aren't necessarily my favorite but I find them quick reads when I need to cleanse my palate from some heavier reading. They are easy to read with out having to put tons of brain power behind them.
ReplyDeleteFor me, that's exactly the purpose my hard-boiled fiction serves, quick, light reads. Big on action and characterization but short books and not a little of brain power needed.
DeleteAs I write and publish cozies, I obviously like to read them. It's not that I haven't read other types of mysteries, but I find when I'm reading one of those high adventure books with lots of blood and thrills, I tend to skim quickly through the chase scenes and descriptions of gore, and move on ahead to the spots where the hero (or preferably, heroine) is figuring it all out. I can savor those pages.
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