An Observation

[VTChEwbecca]

I've recently (in the past three years) gotten into reading cozy mysteries. I've noticed something fascinating...cozy authors almost always tend to include cats in their books. The cats might not be main characters, but they're present. It makes me curious as to whether those who write mysteries tend to be cat-people. I'm a cozy mystery-reader, and I'm a cat-person. I wonder if there is some sort of connection.

 

[fluffy bunny]

I guess by their very natures, cats seem mysterious and enigmatic. This, along with the connection to witchcraft lends itself well to creating an atmosphere for a mystery.

I've always associated the English mansion with mystery rather than the cat though.

 

[Freya]

I went through a mystery phase a few years back, and whilst I don't remember enough to comment on the amount of cats in the books, I can tell you I don't like cats

 

[bobbyburns]

(New Lifetime network, featuring real-life women.)

 

[VTChEwbecca]

I went through a mystery phase a few years back, and whilst I don't remember enough to comment on the amount of cats in the books, I can tell you I don't like cats

I'm probably more likely to notice, as I love cats. My husband tells me I have "cat-vision" in that I can spot a cat from quite a ways out. There can be a ton of interesting things happening around me, but I notice the cat first.

 

[Freya]

My dog's like that... but she can do it with squirrels and rabbits too

 

[funes]

I would also tend to think that cozy authors incorporate cats into their books as a sort of marketing tool (though that doesn't really get at what I am trying to say). I mean, it plays into the stereotype, not just of the writer of cozies (Angela Lansbury, for example), but also the readers of cozies. I'm sure that it isn't totally cynical, but it does have that element in it. It's not too many years ago that tailored mysteries were being cranked out by the truck load. You had gardening mysteries, tea mysteries, medical mysteries, cooking myseries, biblio-mysteries, etc. In that climate, cat mysteries must have seemed like a natural.

 

[Sentinel]

Is "cozy mystery" some sort of official term? What does it mean?

 

[Cathy C]

A "cozy" mystery is generally aimed at older readers. They're less action filled and more intellectual puzzles. Miss Marple from Agatha Christie is considered a cozy mystery. They are often set in small towns or villages and the pace moves a little slower. "The Cat Who..." books are also considered cozies, along with the "Sweetie Pie Brown" series.

There are a lot of them that incorporate cats, but one that doesn't is Mrs. Pollifax by Dorothy Gilman. That series is also very good.

Cathy

 

[VTChEwbecca]

I would also tend to think that cozy authors incorporate cats into their books as a sort of marketing tool (though that doesn't really get at what I am trying to say). I mean, it plays into the stereotype, not just of the writer of cozies (Angela Lansbury, for example), but also the readers of cozies. I'm sure that it isn't totally cynical, but it does have that element in it. It's not too many years ago that tailored mysteries were being cranked out by the truck load. You had gardening mysteries, tea mysteries, medical mysteries, cooking myseries, biblio-mysteries, etc. In that climate, cat mysteries must have seemed like a natural.

I actually didn't mean the cat-mysteries, but rather the other ones that include cats here and there. I love cats and still hate the cat mysteries, so I'm not sure that is a stereotype that worked with me!

 

[funes]

Yeah, I really didn't do a good job of explaining my thoughts there. What I meant to say was that cozies represent a "lifestyle" mystery - like legal mysteries, medical mysteries, gardening mysteries, cooking mysteries, etc., and that cats are a pretty safe bet for set dressing when writing to portray that type of lifestyle. Actual cat mysteries are something else altogether, as they are pretty much aimed directly at cat fanciers.
And, I don't mean that to sound pejorative. If I wrote cozies for a living, you'd better believe there be lots of tea flowing, lace antimacassars on every chair, and a couple of cats around (though I don't much care for cats). It also doesn't mean that cozies can't be good writing.

 

[VTChEwbecca]

If I wrote cozies for a living, you'd better believe there be lots of tea flowing, lace antimacassars on every chair, and a couple of cats around (though I don't much care for cats). It also doesn't mean that cozies can't be good writing.

Actually not all of them have that, but the majority do. Tea & cats are almost unavoidable

 

[Danna]

Good news for dog lovers... Cozies have started featuring our canine friends... not quite as many as our feline buddies, but there are more and more dog trainers or sleuths who have dogs "who" tag along during the crime-solving...