Crafting the Perfect Cozy Mystery: 8 Essential Elements for a Charming Whodunit (Plus What to Avoid)

And a look at Publishable by Death by ACF Bookens

What distinguishes a cozy mystery from other mysteries, like thrillers or procedurals? In large part, I think it’s the tone. It’s lighter, more humorous, less graphic, less intense. I’ve found eight elements that are typically found in cozy mysteries, and three things you won’t find in this gentle genre.

Photo by Jen P. on Unsplash

A cozy mystery needs some essential features:

• A charming location

• An amateur sleuth

• Friends who help the sleuth

• A close-knit community

• Quirky characters

• A victim who deserves their fate

• Light-hearted humour

• Red herrings & misdirection

So far, I have the first six bullet points covered. This is the fun part of imagining the whole world of the story and the cast of characters. The plot, however, is something I’ll really need to sit down and consider. After all, what’s a great setting and fun characters without something happening?

A cozy mystery must not include:

• Graphic violence

• Swear words

• Sex

No problem. I don’t love writing anything graphic, rarely use swear words in my work (and infrequently IRL) and prefer sex off the page (you know what I mean!).

While cozy mystery authors generally consider the elements above, they don’t always, and it really depends on what they are trying to achieve. After all, writers are creative folks who play fast and loose with the rules sometimes.

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Let’s peek at Publishable By Death by ACF Bookens

With these elements in mind, let’s look at a novel I recently picked up at @mountainashpress writing retreat on the historic Niagara River by one of the organizers, Andi Cumbo-Floyd who writes under the pen name ACF Bookens. Love that name!Publishable By Deathis the first in theA St. Marin’s Cozy Mysteryseries.

I also had the privilege of chatting with Andi for the Women Writing podcast, so please check it out. Andi is a wealth of knowledge about cozy mysteries and writing series, as well as many other genres.

Publishable by Death by ACF Bookens

1. A charming location: The novel is set in the quaint town of St. Marin’s Maryland and it’s everything you want a small town to be. I imagined myself walking down Main Street, anxious for the new book store to open in the old mechanic’s location, and sipping my Chai Latte.

2. An amateur sleuth: The protagonist is Harvey. She sounds a lot like me: greying hair, a little round, but enthusiastic and driven to make her business succeed. Her sole focus as the book opens is to get her bookstore ready for opening day. Of course, she doesn’t expect to find a body.

3. Friends who help the sleuth: Harvey has a best friend with whom she lives. Mart is so wonderful, in fact, that she moved all the way from the West Coast, but her winery expertise means she is in demand on the East Coast, so she’s currently covering the house bills. Now that’s the kind of friend I need.

4. A close-knit community: The reader is introduced to a host of community members who look out for one another. It’s evident when two of them arrive to help Harvey put up her storefront sign.

5. Quirky characters: Yup, St. Marin has a lot of quirky characters, from the local journalist, the police officer, and the woodworker, everyone has their own set of skills and personalities.

“I loved that bell, not just because it was part of the charm of this building, but because I looked forward to hearing it when it meant people were visiting my bookshop.”¹

1. A victim who deserves their fate: I’m cautious about the word “deserves” because does anyone deserve to be murdered? But since this is a convention, the victim here certainly fits the bill.

2. Light-hearted humour: I love the author’s humour infused in every chapter. It helped me connect to the characters on such a human level and made me smile as I read.

3. Red herrings and misdirection: Of course! Since I’m a student of cozy mysteries, I really am paying attention, but the storyline had me guessing throughout. I won’t provide any spoilers!

4. As for the must-not have list, no issues here. The tone was just right and I anxiously turned the page to find out what would happen next. I will definitely continue reading more books in this series. I loved the substitution for swear words. They made me laugh out loud.

So that’s what I’ve learned so far. I’ll keep planning out my location and characters, and dreaming of all the unique characteristics I can infuse them with, but at some point I really do need to tackle plot. That makes me want to bite my nails a little.

Do you have a book you’d like to recommend that I should read? What do you love about it? Feel free to leave a comment or send me a message.

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JOIN MY COZY MYSTERY BOOK CLUB

If you’re interested in joining my summer Cozy Mystery Book Club we ride at dawn. Just kidding. We’ll start in June and read for three months (and maybe continue through the year if there is interest). Once we have a small group going, we’ll decide on a monthly date and time that works for the group. Please share the word!