Picture it, the perfect fall evening: you’re sitting in your comfiest chair with your coziest socks, you have a steaming mug of something delicious next to you and an autumnal candle filling the air with the scent of pumpkins or leaves, a cat is curled up next to you, and you have a brand new cozy mystery on your lap.
When we think about cozy mysteries, this is the mood and the setting most people think of. It’s sweaters and tea and fresh-baked cookies. Cold autumn rain falling outside with a fireplace going, perhaps. Cozy mysteries and fall comfort go hand in hand.
There’s a good reason for this: we have an ingrained need to feel comforted as fall sweeps in. Everything about the time of year, from its food and drink to its clothing and décor, is designed to make us feel snuggly and warm, when the weather outside is so regularly the opposite. So it stands to reason that what we are inclined to reach for most in autumn is a book that will give our brain that same jolt of fall-themed serotonin.
But to pigeonhole cozy mysteries to just being “fall-themed” feels like an oversight to the depths of the genre. Yes, it goes without saying that a lot of cozy books are set during fall when they can draw on the things that will make the reader want to settle into the pages as if it were their favorite down duvet, but cozy mysteries surpass seasonal expectations. There are, indeed, cozies for all seasons.
We are just now settling into fall as readers, so the surfeit of fall cozies speaks for themselves. Look for a pumpkin or fall leaves, perhaps a great gourd pun, and you’ll doubtless find yourself drowning in options. But the sign of a great cozy mystery, and a great cozy mystery writer, is that their books still make you feel comforted and set an appealing and welcoming setting, even if they are not writing about crisp foliage or pumpkin-spiced beverages.
So if we’re not talking about the coziest season of the year, then what makes these books so cozy?
The Setting
The hallmark of a truly successful cozy mystery is if you immediately want to move to the town where the story is set. While a small handful of cozies find themselves set in larger cities, one of the most common tropes of the genre is a protagonist coming to a small town for the first time, or returning to a small town where they used to live. These somewhat isolated small towns generally have an unexpectedly robust economy that can maintain many unique and niche shops, and are home to a lot of delightfully unusual people (more on that later). Imagine watching Gilmore Girls for the first time. Who among us didn’t want to pack our bags and move to Stars Hollow? Most of us still do.
What makes a great setting work in cozy books is that it moves with the seasons the way a normal small town would. There are rituals and festivities, things that the town may be known for that have nothing to do with fall or winter, that make it an inviting destination in any season.
The People
Cozies can’t just be about our protagonist.
For one thing, the protagonist in a cozy, at least in the first few books of a series, will be our audience insert character. They are just as new to, and baffled by, this new setting as we are as readers. It allows the joy and wonder of the locale to unfold in front of us fresh and new, because it’s also new to their eyes.
In a good cozy, the protagonist isn’t learning all this on their own, though. The cast of friendly locals are there to guide them through it every step of the way. There are new friends to be made, new colleagues to help unfold the mysteries of their very unique jobs, and of course, a hinted love interest to keep things a little interesting. In successful cozy, these characters will evolve and grow alongside our protagonist, helping them solve their crimes, but also learn to fit into their new home.
People, I think it goes without saying, are not relegated to one season. Unless they are Santa Claus. Whether it’s fall, winter, spring, or summer, these fully realized side characters help make our fictional setting feel like home.
The Cozy
Now, granted, if your book’s heroine is running a pumpkin patch, you might find yourself fairly limited to autumnal-themed stories. But in most cozies, the fun of book is tied to whatever unusual or specific job our protagonist might be involved in. Cheesemaker? Beer brewer? Tea shop owner? Bookseller? Florist? Most jobs you can imagine have their own seasonal ebbs and flows, things that will impact our protagonist in their day-to-day lives and also in helping or hindering their ability to solve crime.
There are very few jobs that are truly seasonal in nature, meaning most of the impetus for our character’s daily activities will often revolve around their work, and their work will adjust according to the season.
Cozy mysteries are rose-tinted version of real life. Sure, there are murders, but they rarely create any kind of real fear in the towns where they happen. The places our characters live in are postcard perfect, an ideal version of the places we would like to live ourselves. And as much as we all love fall, I’m not sure any of us would want to give up the other seasons to live in fall permanently (though I don’t doubt a few of you are shaking your head and saying “speak for yourself, lady). That’s why it’s so important that cozy mysteries exist outside just one season.
So, what works in a non-fall cozy? I’m so glad you asked!
The most obviously cozy season behind fall is winter. In winter, our cozies get to embrace the festive joy of the holiday season. There’s baking, holiday festivals, decorations, and egg nog to be sipped. Think Christina Romeril’s A Christmas Candy Killing, Vicky Delany’s Year-Round Christmas cozies (not all set in winter, either!), and anything Jaqueline Frost.
For spring, it’s the freshness of a new season, of coming out of hibernation and reconnecting with friends and the things we missed outside the house. A literal breath of fresh air. Spring is also when we think about cutting flowers and planting gardens. Think Sofie Ryan’s A Whisker of Trouble and Death in an English Cottage by Sara Rosett.
My favorite aside from fall, though, might be summer. Summer is perhaps the least “cozy” month, and yet there is something wonderful about the settings. The warm, long-lingering nights, the sound of birds and insects, the way we can walk around late into the evening and enjoy the sights and smells of a town that feels like it wants to drink up every bit of sunshine and warmth. Plus there are such wonderful treats with barbeque, ice cream, iced tea, and more. Think Live and Let Chai by Bree Baker, Chilled to the Cone by Ellie Alexander, or Boiled Over by Barbara Ross.
I think it’s safe to say that while cozy mysteries often feel very fall-specific, there really is a cozy for all seasons.
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