Cosy crime trouble

 

Image of a 'cosy space' from Pixabay

I had to look twice when first seeing the word Cosy Crime, wondering how a murder story could be seen as cosy. But apparently, it’s a lovely subgenre, one I enjoy reading a lot. I even accidentally started writing one a couple of years ago, prompted by a course on Writing Funny by Fran Hill.

Not long ago, the wonderful History Writers group led by Wendy H. Jones had a guest speaker in talking about Cosy Crime, a brilliant and inspiring talk. I had no idea what classed a book as cosy or not, but apparently lack of gore, not focussed on the police procedure but rather, on the main characters who figure out the whodunnit. The main characters are amateurs, ideally, and there should be a good dollop of humour in the story.

I decided to start another short story, using the cosy crime idea and set in early 1800s, but within the first few paragraphs, I began to worry. It didn’t feel very cosy as my main character slithered along a wet path through thick mist, trying to escape a homicidal husband…

I couldn’t think of much humour either, but then, the story has just started, so maybe there will be some redeeming moments where she manages to smile again. She will find out that the first wife wasn’t murdered, in fact, she wasn’t even his wife, so what was going on there? A cosy mistress then? Of course, there was a first wife, probably murdered I expect, not being a planner but a making it up as I go along kind of writer. But I like the idea of a murdered first wife, another wife that wasn’t a wife and the second wife on the run with his money, finding out his dark secrets.

Misty woodland, Image from Pixabay

The cosy bit means no gore and no dark stuff, which I find hard. Not so much the gore bit, that gets a bit heavy when you read or write in the evening, but how to keep suspense light and funny, rather than sinister? Just walking through the mist, sticking to the garlic plants to stop dogs from being able to find you and weaving in and out of trees before dawn is rather creepy as it is, but it’s a suspenseful feeling I enjoy.

In the back of my mind there’s another question. How can this story, these characters be redeemed? How can the running away and struggle to stay alive be for this woman’s good; how can beauty come from ashes in this story? I don’t want her to stay in the darkness and fear, I want her to come to the Light and to see how she was led and guided all through the dark night. That’s the part I love the most about reading as well as writing. Not just how the bad person is caught and dealt with, but to see how weeping may last for a night, but joy comes in the morning, to see how God makes all things new.

Anyway, off to research Mission work in big cities in the 1800s, travelling Evangelists or church cleaners who were at work in the daytime, ready to explain the Gospel to a woman on the run from a murderous husband (or was it the husband?). Happy to hear some cosy recommendations as well!

Maressa Mortimer is Dutch but lives in the beautiful Cotswolds, England with her husband and four (adopted) children. Maressa is a homeschool mum as well as a pastor’s wife, so her writing has to be done in the evening when peace and quiet descend on the house once more. She loves writing Christian fiction, as it’s a great way to explore faith in daily life. Maressa is part of a special Dystopian book group online, which you can find here: https://reamstories.com/faith-based-ya-dystopian/.

Her debut novel, Sapphire Beach, was published in December 2019, and her first self published novel, Walled City, came out in December 2020, followed by Viking Ferry, a novella. Beyond the Hills is the second book in the Elabi Chronicles, and was released in 2021, followed by stand-alone novel Burrowed, released in 2022. The third book in the Elabi Chronicles, Downstream, has just been released. All of Maressa’s books are available from her website, www.vicarioushome.com, Amazon or local bookshops.