Most of the mysteries on my bookshelf, I confess, are cozy mysteries. For those
of you who arenโt familiar with the genre, cozies are a subgenre of crime
fiction where the crime and the detection takes place in a small town. Remember
the old
Murder She Wrote series? Thatโs a good example of a cozy. The
detectives in such stories are nearly always amateurs (cue JB Fletcher)
sometimes retired lawmen or women. The majority of the detectives are of the
female persuasion, and often hold jobs that bring them into contact with the
other residents of their town. More often than not theyโll have a contact on the
local police force whoโll help them out with a clue or two.
The killers arenโt usually hard-boiled serial killer types, and once unmasked,
are most often taken into custody with little or no violence. If there is
violence, it happens offscreenโฆno grisly murder scenes depicted in any cozies!
Foul language is also kept to a minimum. The murders are generally members of or
related to someone in the town wherein the murder occurs and the motives โ
greed, jealousy, revenge โ often are deep rooted.
Cozies frequently revolve around a theme โ for example, Diane Mott Davidsonโs
revolves around cooking, Parnell Hallโs around crossword puzzles, Monica Ferrisโ
needleworkโฆyou get the idea. Animal lovers are also well represented, as well,
which brings me to my cozy mystery series, debuting in December from Berkley
Prime Crimeโฆ..think Jessica Fletcher with a cat and youโve got it!
My series is the Nick and Nora mystery series. Nora is Nora Charles, ex-crime
reporter turned restraunt entrepreneur. Sheโs returned after a 12 year absence
from reporting on crime in Chicago back to her hometown of Cruz, California, to
take over her deceased motherโs sandwich shop. Shortly thereafter, Nora finds a
surprise waiting outside her door โ a stocky, black and white cat. She takes the
cat in and names him Nick (after Nick Charles, the Thin Man, of course). She
later finds out that the cat did in fact belong to a PI, Nick Atkins, who is
currently MIA โ she also finds out that Nick has many talents, among them the
ability to spell out words with Scrabble tiles โ plus, heโs got a nose for
scenting out crime.
Hereโs the teaser, taken from the back of the book:
Nora Charles doesnโt believe in fate, even if she is a crime reporter who
shares a name with a character from The Thin Man. In fact, sheโs moving back to
Cruz, California, to have a quieter life. But after finding an online magazine
eager for material, and a stray cat named Nick with a talent for detection,
Noraโs not just reporting crimes again. Sheโs uncovering themโฆ
Back in her hometown, Nora reconnects with old friends and makes some new
ones, like Nick, the charming feline who seems determined to be her cat. But not
everything about Cruz is friendly. Writing for a local online magazine, Nora
investigates the curious death of socialite Lola Grainger. Though it was deemed
an accident, Nora suspects foul play. And it seems that her cat does too.
Apparently, Nick used to belong to a P.I. who disappeared while
investigating Lola Graingerโs death. The coincidence is spooky, but not as
spooky as the clues Nick spells out for her with Scrabble lettersโclues that
lead her down an increasingly dangerous path. Whether fate put her on this case
or not, solving it will take all of Noraโs wits, and maybe a few of Nickโs nine
lives.
I hope youโll join Nick and Nora on some of their adventures, but even if a
crime solving cat isnโt your cup of tea, Iโm sure that there are many other
cozies out there that are. Sample the genre today โ I think youโll be very
pleasantly surprised!
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