Cozy Mysteries Under the Christmas Tree

I’m in my post-Christmas bliss, enjoying a few days off, snow, and snuggling with hubby and kids by the fire.  And reading, thanks to Santa and my loving family.  Books!  How many of you got books and/or eReaders under your Christmas tree or Hanukkah Menorah?

My name’s Melissa and I write cozy mysteries.

The funny thing about this is that I didn’t know what cozy mysteries were before I started writing them.  I got a quick tutorial from The Naked Hero’s own Jennie Bentley/Jenna Bennet and I took off from there.

For those of you who don’t know what a cozy mystery is, I’m here to enlighten you!  They are what I like to call ‘feel good murder’, if there is such a thing.  Here are the tenets, as I see them, of a cozy mystery.  If you didn’t get one under your Christmas tree or Hanukkah Menorah, go fill your eReader with a few right now!

There are even websites devoted just to cozy mysteries!  Check out Cozy-Mystery.com, twitter clubs like Cozy Mystery Review and their site

1) The murder takes place ‘off screen’ and there is a minimum, if any, detailed violence. 
2) There is an amateur sleuth, not a professional crime solver.  
3) The reader knows what the sleuth knows as the stories are usually told in first person and tries to solve the mystery right alongside the sleuth.
4) Cozy mysteries tend to center around a ‘hook’ of some sort.  Think crafting, bookstores, baking, or, as in my case, dressmaking!
5) Justice is always served in the cozy mystery with the villains paying for their crimes.

There’s a cozy mystery for everyone and I hope some of you will give these fun, feel good, cozy books a try in 2013!

My Magical Dressmaking Cozy Mysteries on Amazon

Two of my favorite Cozy authors:

Wendy Lyn Watson’s Mysteries a la Mode

Jennie Bentley’s DIY Cozy Mysteries

And just browse!

And here’s a random list of more Cozy Mysteries

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