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| Tybee Island Lightouse in Georgia |
At a recent meeting of the Low Country Sisters in Crime
chapter, of which I am a founding and lifetime member, we discussed the various
subgenres into which mystery/suspense/thrillers are cast. We had reasonable
agreement about the broad requirements for a cozy: Sex and violence is off the
page, utilizes a small town or village setting (or at least a closed setting in
which the characters mostly know each other), usually an amateur sleuth, mostly
female protagonists (a few males, some animals, some ghosts, etc.), often a
romantic element (frequently with a professional lawman), often the protagonist
has a craft or small business that brought her to the area in the first place
(often by way of a dead relative).
We had somewhat less agreement on noir, it being a bit
difficult to distinguish from hardboiled. I thought my definition of “first
you’re screwed and by the end you’re really screwed,” hit the nail, but others
suggested I was affected by my politics. Generally, people agree noir stories
are hard-boiled, the protagonist is not police, he (although there are plenty
of shes these days as well) could be a PI, or victim, or crook, and is usually
self-destructive.
We had no real agreement on mystery vs. suspense vs.
thriller. For me, mystery has been a story about solving the crime. In thrillers,
the protagonist is in jeopardy almost from the start and the stakes are larger
than their small piece of the world. Suspense has the reader worrying about how
the protagonist will fare, but the reader may already know who-done-it.
I have the worst time defining exactly what I write.
Take my Empty Promises.
There are definite mystery elements: the amateur sleuth (Seamus McCree) and the
police want to figure out who was responsible for two murders—one recent, one
old. There are suspense elements: the Happy Reaper is in the area and if Seamus
gets in the way . . . And it contains elements of a domestic thriller (a
psychological thriller that focuses on interpersonal relationships)—but that’s
in a subplot.
Enter my new catchall: “North of Cozy; South of Noir.”
I first used the phrase to help guide the authors writing
novellas for Lowcountry Crime: Four Novellas.
It worked well. Without anything more than each author’s understanding of what
that tag line meant, we ended up with a book that includes four different
stories, all linked by crime in the Lowcountry. None would be called cozy; none
noir.
Oh yes, and one of the stories I edited, Tina Whittle’s
“Like a Freight Train Coming” is a finalist for a prestigious Derringer award
in the novelette category (8,001 – 20,000 words). Keeping my fingers crossed
for her.
* * *
James
M. Jackson authors the Seamus McCree mystery series. Empty Promises, the fifth novel in the series—this one set in the
deep woods of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula—is now available. You can sign up for his newsletter and find
more information about Jim and his books at https://jamesmjackson.com.
I wonder if cozy noir is the new traditional.
ReplyDeleteI think Andrew MacRae coined that term to describe his first book and produced an anthology of stories using that theme. While Cozy-Noir (as I understand it something of a gritty atmosphere with a likable character) would fit solidly within my North of Cozy; South of Noir, I don't think it is equivalent to "traditional."
ReplyDeleteBut that's just my opinion.
We will always have cozies, but "north of cozy" is becoming more popular.
ReplyDeleteIt is a areal problem trying to describe a mystery. They are all so different. It becomes a real problem when publishers want your work to fit a defined category so they can shelve it with a particular category. It's hard for readers as well. We have an expectation of what a book in a particular category will be like (no graphic sex, violence, etc. in cozies; lots of thrilling scenes in thriller, etc.). So if a writer veers in a totally different direction, we are left scratching our heads.
ReplyDelete"Empty Promises" by the way, was terrific. It had a good balance of mystery book elements.
Margaret & Grace -- I think they have always been there, but the problem is acerbated by search engines and online bookstores. It used to be you could ask a librarian or the salesperson at your local book store. They'd do what Shari Randall calls the "readslike" thing to help you find new authors. Now readers search on their own to find the exact thing they are looking for and Amazon and others have split the mystery/suspense/thriller genre into 10,000 subsets.
ReplyDeleteAnd Grace -- I'm so glad you enjoyed Empty Promises.
Jim, I thought Empty Promises was definitely a mystery and suspense, too. I certainly worried about the young guy whose name often changed and Seamus McCree, too, but not so much about Seamus since he's the main character in your series. I think even cozies can have an element of suspense in them, too.
ReplyDeleteGloria -- I agree with you that Cozies can have elements of suspense -- and most stories have some suspense elements, they help keep readers turning pages!
ReplyDeleteLove the label for the genre of these novels! The whole piece was just right for my coffee break while learning something. I've always liked the intrigue of things just a little north, or south, of something. Piques the interest, doesn't it? :) Of course I have to go in and have a look at the book now, because of its enticing genre...headin' north to Amazon, then south to my Kindle :)
ReplyDeleteAn awful lot of mysteries defy classification (some even strain the definition of "mystery.") I've always been fond of Margaret Yorke's psychological suspense. I'm not sure they are mysteries.
ReplyDeleteI call my Jesse Damon series "crime novels." Of course, at this point I'm not worried about placement in major books stores, etc. I might change my attitude if I ever get to that point.
The lines are definitely blurring these days. More and more cozies fall closer to the traditional mystery than traditional cozy. It's an exciting time to be writing.
ReplyDeleteLoretta -- Made me smile!
ReplyDeleteKM -- crime novels always works and yours would fit right into my subcategory of "North of ..."
Kait -- I wonder if readers who prefer "pure" Cozies might not object to those traits that carry them toward traditional. I've seen some negative ratings for cussing and such on what I'd take from their covers as cozies. Any experience with that?
An interesting discussion. Yes, 'North of Cozy, South of Noir' is a good fit for what I've been calling 'cozy-noir'.
ReplyDeleteJust as noir doesn't require late night, rain-slick streets, nor do cozies require a small town, just so long as there's a close community of characters.
Regards,
Andrew
Hey Andrew, Thanks for stopping by.
ReplyDeleteJim, I have seen some negatives for true or excessive cussing (I tend to avoid both in my books) but for situations that move cozies to traditionals, no, no negative reviews. I keep detailed death violence off the page, but peril violence is there, situations are gritty, and subplots often are too. Oddly enough, what I have found is that the praise comes in e-mails of the "love that you are dealing with darker, more realistic issues" variety. I strike up a correspondence with most reviewers, but I've never been comfortable asking them to post their opinions online.
ReplyDeleteThat's interesting, Kait. I'm glad that's the response you've been getting. I've never particularly thought of Cozies as dealing with light issues -- after all, no murder should be taken lightly -- and fortunately, society no longer needs to feel protected from the dark underbelly of life.
ReplyDeleteNo, no murder, or death, should ever be taken lightly. I did not mean to give that impression. In cozies, the surrounding circumstances of the investigation often were lighter. Police missed the big clues, failed to follow the leads, or make the connections requiring the amateurs to step in. It's what makes them fun to read rather than perilous. The reader knows there has been a death, but also knows that justice will prevail, and somehow, a sleuth very similar to the reader will have a hand in that justice. They are satisfying reads. In a more traditional cozy, the sleuth may be an amateur, but they often work with law enforcement (although the friction still exists creating a source of conflict) and the ultimate solution is a team effort. More and more in my reading of traditionals, I'm finding that the endings are satisfying, but there are very realistic (dare I say intentional) loose ends.
ReplyDeleteThere are very distinct tonal differences between cozies and traditionals. It's interesting to watch, and participate, in the evolution.
This is the best description ever of what I like to read. I like books that blur the boundaries, so keep it coming!
ReplyDelete