Mary Ellen Hughes | Does Romance Belong In Mysteries?

My answer is it depends. Why? Because readers look for different things in
different kinds of mysteries. Thrillers, police procedurals, traditional
mysteries and cozies all have their fans, who bring their own expectations to
each sub-genre.

Cozies mystery readers probably look for romance the most in their mysteries.
Why? Because cozies focus on characters much more than other kinds of mysteries,
which is just fine with their fans. They like getting to know the people in a
series, watching their lives change, and enjoying the interactions. Some of
those interactions are logically going to be romantic—especially if the main
character is single (though there can certainly be romance between married
couples) and also, but not necessarily, if they are young.

In my Pickled and Preserved series, my main character, Piper Lamb, is single and young. At the beginning of the first book, THE PICKLED PIPER, Piper had broken off an engagement and moved to a small town to start a new life. The only problem was that her ex-fiancé, Scott, didn’t take the break-up seriously. During his travels around the world to “find himself” he sent Piper messages and gifts as though they were still a couple, much to her annoyance and frustration.

The frustration grew as a new man entered Piper’s life—Will Burchett, a handsome
Christmas tree farmer who lived just outside of Cloverdale, where Piper had
relocated. Local townspeople picked up on the attraction between the two and
dropped many sly comments, much to Piper’s embarrassment and consternation,
since she had no intention of getting involved in a new romance so soon.
Luckily—at least for that particular situation—a murder occurred in Cloverdale
that diverted everyone’s attention, but only until the killer was caught near
the end of the book. Then interest returned to Piper’s love life, especially
when her ex-fiancé announced he was coming to Cloverdale.

In the second book, LICENSE TO DILL, part of the focus was on the gentlemanly tug-of-war between Piper’s former and current love interests, which ramped up as the former fiancé showed signs of having changed for the better. This brought about some emotional confusion in Piper, which she was more than happy to set aside for a second murder investigation. Not that she was happy over another murder, but… well, you know. In SCENE OF THE BRINE, the just-released book of the series, things heat up a bit. (But since this is a cozy, “heat” comes mainly in the form of hints, and love scenes discretely fade out.) A new murder occurs which hits close to home, quickly pulling Piper into the investigation and taking precedence. But since new-boyfriend, Will, and ex-fiancé, Scott, play important parts in solving this mystery—a poisoning that nearly kills Piper’s pickles-and-preserves business as well—the two men’s ongoing presence in the action means that Piper’s quandary over choosing between them remains in the forefront. Can Scott’s persistence pay off? Does Will’s patience and understanding win out? Is the murder solved? Which question is deemed the most urgent depends the reader, but my guess is that most cozy fans will see them as deserving equal time. SCENE OF THE BRINE, after all is a cozy. A cozy mystery, of course, but one populated with characters who lead fairly normal lives that are only occasionally interrupted by the inconvenient murder.

Murder, of course, is terrible. And cozy characters deal with it with all the
seriousness it deserves. But readers want to see all sides of their favorite
characters, and that includes their love lives.

Does romance, then, belong in mysteries? For most cozy readers, and for this
particular cozy writer, I’d say the answer no longer depends. It would be a
resounding, “Yes!”