Cozy Mysteries discussion
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Looking for Mysteries with non-murder plots
Elizabeth Peters is a favorite of mine. She has her Egyptology series and another that involves art of which there are only five or six. I have collected them to read for my wish list. Her books are fantastic mysteries with lots of historical facts and settings!!! It has been said that her novels had to be kept locked at the library!
The Mysteries of Sparrow Island published by Guidepost with a variety of authors has a whole slew of them. Also their Church Choir Mysteries series.
Elizabeth Peters is great, especially the Amelia Peabody series which usually takes place in Egypt.
If you're interested in non-murder mysteries, check out some of Josephine Tey's books such as The Franchise Affair or A Daughter of Time. Dick Francis also has quite a few without murders such as Enquiry.
Great thread,exactly what I was looking for! So many wonderful suggestions,thank you! :]
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That's what we're here for. :)
The Ladies Number One Detective Agency series by Alexander McCall Smith is charming, not a murder in sight. A wonderful setting in Botswana with totally engaging characters who are hired to investigate a host of common conflicts; jealousy, cheating and so on. I loved them. My book, Burying Ben: A Dot Meyerhoff Mystery, is about police suicide, not murder.
Diane Kelly writes a whole series of cozy mysteries that do not include murder...
Also Right and Left Grand by Rosalee Richland does not have a murder
Dorothy Gilman's Mrs Pollifax books are more focused on rescues, spying, and other "secret agent" stuff than on murders. Occasionally a murder happens somewhere along the line, but not always, and it's rarely (if ever) the focus of the story.
Christa wrote: "Diane Kelly writes a whole series of cozy mysteries that do not include murder...Also Right and Left Grand by Rosalee Richland does not hav..."
Those look like fun!
Diane Kelly's books are great and I second that recommendation! In fact I'll see her this weekend at Readers & Ritas in Texas.
Vicky wrote: "The Miss Julia books have mysteries but they are of the home and neighborhood kind, sometimes involving relations, missing money, missing people, and problems that need resolution. I just finished..."Love the Miss Julia books. They are the only books I pay that price for!
I haven't read the Beatrix Potter mysteries but they are on my list now. The "darkening" of the China Bayles' books has moved them from my cozy list to mystery and I look forward to them less. Still good. Thanks for all of the intriguing suggestions.
Just found this discussion. Great suggestions here!So...now I'm curious. Which do you personally enjoy more: a cozy with a murder, or one without?
Susan wrote: "Just found this discussion. Great suggestions here!So...now I'm curious. Which do you personally enjoy more: a cozy with a murder, or one without?"
It totally depends on the characters and writing. A good humorous story doesn't need a murder. The right characters moving along apace doesn't need a lot to keep me reading.
A murder can lend authenticity to the "need" to solve a crime, but it isn't absolutely necessary and sometimes not having one makes the plot more believable. I mean, let's face it, not every sleuth is going to want to go to that dark boathouse at midnight when a murderer is afoot!
Many of the Ladies Number One Detective Agency books do not have murders. My Year of Fog by Michelle Richmond is about an abduction. My book Burying Ben: A Dot Meyerhoff Mystery is about police suicide. A rookie kills himself and leaves a note blaming his therapist.
Wow silly me never thought about cozys that don't involve murder will check these out! Thanks
Executive Lunch (Sedona O'Hala series) involves crimes other than murders. Executive Retention and Executive Sick DaysExecutive Lunch
The Aunt Dimity series - if I recall correctly there aren't murders in the first 4. Have only read 4 so far and really enjoyed them!
Sandy wrote: "The Aunt Dimity series - if I recall correctly there aren't murders in the first 4. Have only read 4 so far and really enjoyed them!"I've read them all and with the exception of maybe 3 or 4, there are no murders in the vast majority of the series.
Kate wrote: "I've finished the third book in the Spellman series by Lisa Lutz. The series is fun (maybe not a cozy but still light enough) and has yet to feature a murder or any real violence."I loved this series read I believe there are only 4 books but they are fast and fun reads.
Chris wrote: "Kate wrote: "I've finished the third book in the Spellman series by Lisa Lutz. The series is fun (maybe not a cozy but still light enough) and has yet to feature a murder or any real...I loved this series read I believe there are only 4 books but they are fast and fun reads. "
There are actually 6 in the series: https://www.goodreads.com/series/4514...
Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers is about the search for a poison pen letter/vandal at Shrewsbury College in Oxford. The letters accuse the professors of murder, but as I recall, no murder took place during the course of the book.
I first read these comments in June 2014 and they were a great help to me. I had finished writing a book, but decided it needed revision. I had just begun to hear about cozy mysteries as a genre. This helped me find some cozies to read and I also rewrote my book to fit this genre. I expect "Broken Windows" to be released in November 2014.
I would like to revive this topic, see if people's opinions have changed, and if new books have appeared. I've grown weary of gruesome TV murders, having to watch autopsies, etc. I am drafting a book now that is a missing person mystery. Maybe that's too tame for readers today?
Miss Aggie's Gone Missing by Francis DeVine is a missing persons mystery. I actually think it would be great to have more mysteries that aren't murders. I think a lot of people read mysteries for the puzzle, but like me, grow weary of the murders. Of course, cozy mysteries take the graphic violence and gore out from the beginning. I think a missing person mystery is a great idea!
Cherie wrote: "I would like to revive this topic, see if people's opinions have changed, and if new books have appeared. I've grown weary of gruesome TV murders, having to watch autopsies, etc. I am drafting a bo..."Not too tame at all. I think a lot of people get tired of the gore we see all too often. I've read other mysteries without a murder and enjoyed them. : )
I would enjoy reading mysteries that don't have a murder in them. I have recently started reading the Aunt Dimity books and have enjoyed the change from the typical murder central mystery.
Thanks for the feedback! Now I'll get busy thinking up a good plot puzzle that does not involve a murder. How about something like finding a baby left on your doorstep?
Maria wrote: "Susan wrote: "Just found this discussion. Great suggestions here!So...now I'm curious. Which do you personally enjoy more: a cozy with a murder, or one without?"
It totally depends on the chara..."
I would definitely prefer 'without a murder'.
Judy wrote: "Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers is about the search for a poison pen letter/vandal at Shrewsbury College in Oxford. The letters accuse the professors of murder, but as I recall, no mu..."This sounds very good.
C. wrote: "Judy wrote: "Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers is about the search for a poison pen letter/vandal at Shrewsbury College in Oxford. The letters accuse the professors of murder, but as I ...""Gaudy Night" is BRILLIANT, but a word of warning: if you haven't read "Strong Poison" and "Have His Carcasse" first, you will probably be a little lost. The relationship between Harriet and Lord Peter is really complex.
Thanks for the list. I have been wondering how to find these.
Vicky wrote: "The Miss Julia books have mysteries but they are of the home and neighborhood kind, sometimes involving relations, missing money, missing people, and problems that need resolution. I just finished..."These are such wonderfully fun reads!This is a 16-book series!
Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind (1999)
Miss Julia Takes Over (2001)
Miss Julia Throws a Wedding (2002)
Miss Julia Hits the Road (2003)
Miss Julia Meets Her Match (2004)
Miss Julia's School of Beauty (2005)
Miss Julia Stands Her Ground (2006)
Miss Julia Strikes Back (2007)
Miss Julia Paints the Town (2008)
Miss Julia Delivers the Goods (April 2009)
Miss Julia Renews Her Vows (2010)
Miss Julia Rocks the Cradle (2011)
Miss Julia to the Rescue (2012)
Miss Julia Stirs Up Trouble (2013)
Miss Julia's Marvelous Makeover (2014)
Etta Mae's Worst Bad-Luck Day (2014)
Miss Julia Lays Down the Law (2015)
I am currently enjoying book#4~
I do like easy reads so this may be right up my alley. Thank you so much.
C. wrote: "Vicky wrote: "The Miss Julia books have mysteries but they are of the home and neighborhood kind, sometimes involving relations, missing money, missing people, and problems that need resolution. I..."Thanks-Leona
Dorothy L. SayersGaudy NightI don't know if this qualifies as a cozy, but it's undobtedly a mystery, and there's no murder in it.
I got so tired of murder-centric plots a couple of years ago, that I switched over to espionage for a while, mainly John Le Carre's George Smiley novels. He is known as the anti-Ian Fleming, these have cerebral spies and are not "thrillers." There were still deaths, and they definitely were NOT cozies by any stretch of the imagination, but were all international puzzles with interlocking elements of intrigue.
My books are non-murder mysteries. They Don't Shoot Horses and Cold Springs Sanctuary. I got tired of 'I fell over a body, who did it." too. I decided they were not imaginative and were dull and boring, so, I wrote two books and am working on books three and four.
One of my favorite mystery plots is the missing/vanishing person.Can anyone recommend good clean examples with this plot?
One I have in mind does start with a woman finding her dead husband at the bottom of the stairs. Haven't read it yet, so not sure if it's clean~
I understand that Donald E. Westlake wrote mysteries without murder.
and the Carol Higgins Clark: Regan Reilly Mystery Series
and~
Bec/ Audiothing This book is a bit different, I'd still call it cozy, it's a bit funny, and more than a bit heartwarming. It's about a couple of seniors who's families think that no, they shouldn't fall in love but just stay quietly in the seniors home ...... So they run away! Their awful children are trying to catch up with them. I did review the audiobook on here and here's a link to the bookChocolate on a Stick
I know at least one of Nancy Atherton's books from the Aunt Dimity series is a non-murder mystery, but I don't remember which one. Maybe someone will read this & be able to help you out.
I love the Ellie Haskell mysteries by Dorothy Cannell, they don't all include a murder and she has a few stand alone books that are mysteries with no murder. They are available on audiobook narrated by Barbara Rosenblatt, one of the best narrators I've ever listened to. Also Alexander McCall Smith has a bunch of series', some of them have a little mystery but not all the series. Check out his website for a list of all the series.
The Paige MacKenzie Mysteries (Above the Bridge, The Moonglow Cafe and Three Silver Doves) do not have murder, but all have cozy mystery formats. Cranberry Bluff also does not have murder in it. All of those books above are by Deborah Garner, me.
Also, let me add Allen B. Boyer's Bess Bullock Retirement Home mysteries (5 in this series) and Rita Seedorf and Margaret Verhoef's "Letters" series (2 in theirs). None of these series feature any murders but all have definite cozy "mysteries."
I read this thread with interest several years ago because I wanted to write my own cozy which didn't revolve around murder. I found these comments helpful. Now I've written 2 non-murder cozies: Broken Windows (Silly crimes linked to a graffiti artist and eventually a big burglary. The protagonist's reputation as an artist is at risk.) and Deja Who? (forgery).
I write a series called The Bumpkinton Tales that don't involve murders. They're more humorous but they're quite an easy read.One story involves the opening of a new shop, one is about a self-proclaimed 'ladies man' arriving for the inaugural Singles Night while another is about an open day at the grand mansion.
I don't have murders in them as I don't feel they fit the village. They're quite fun stories and not set quite in our world. Any celebrities mentioned are a slight twist on a real one, for example.
I'll thank anybody who wishes to read them. It's so hard to pitch where humour goes and I was told that they are humour, but come under cozies too. There's mystery in the stories, but not in a 'whodunnit' kind of way. There's plenty of heart and pathos too, all in all a nice light read.
The Bumpkinton Tales: Volume One
I just read one called Hide in Plain Sight by Marta Perry. No murder here.
Set in Amish country about a grandmother and daughter that are opening up an Inn.
Cozy Mysteries
Books mentioned in this topic
The Knitting Fairy (other topics)The Calling (other topics)
Hide in Plain Sight (other topics)
The Bumpkinton Tales: Volume One (other topics)
Chocolate on a Stick (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Dorothy L. Sayers (other topics)Lisa Lutz (other topics)
Lisa Lutz (other topics)
Lisa Lutz (other topics)
Jennifer Chiaverini (other topics)
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Just did a re-read of Elizabeth Peter's Borrower of the Night. It centers around finding an old lost/hidden artifact rather than whether a murd..."
Thank you for the recommendation. I just put Elizabeth Peter's book on my PBS wishlist.