Cozy Mystery Corner discussion

How do you feel about mysteries with no murder? What about a body, a long search, but in the end no crime?

The obvious series that brings to mind is the Aunt Dimity books, which are (IMHO) a bit saccharine, but could something with less sweetness still be satisfying if, say, the corpse ended up having died of natural causes? (Perhaps in the process turning up all sorts of things that would like to stay hidden?).

Just toying with an idea...

Sounds great to me! I have thought about that kind of scenario before and I think it would work.

Well, that's one vote :) I will keep playing with the idea and see if it works out for me.

The problem is that murder mysteries are at their core a fight between good and evil. It would be anti-climactic if there was no murder. (Unless evil was vanquished, somehow, prior to the revelation of no murder.) This would be a real trick of plotting to make that happen!

BTW, I also agree that Aunt Dimity, while very readable, is just a little too quiet for my taste. I prefer more conflict and tension.

Sometimes I wish there weren't a murder in nearly every cozy. There are other crimes - blackmail, theft, kidnapping even attempted murder - that can be presented as battles between good and evil. When I read this question I thought about a great mystery by Dorothy L. Sayers where no one is killed.

I will confess that I do like a corpse to be there!

Obviously there would have to be some kind of conflict. In real life, some deaths appear to be suicide, but there is no evidence. Some deaths appear to be natural, but aren't. Some deaths might look unnatural, but are. The conflict between different viewpoints would work.

I also agree with Nell that murders in every book can be tedious, especially when there are other crimes available for use. One of the most memorable mystery book I read involved a little boy who was found wandering alone. He refused to speak. Who was he, why wouldn't he talk, what had he seen, why isn't someone looking for him?

I love the Aunt Dimity series but I also like Travis McGee series by John D. Macdonald and others with more violence. So I guess I'm kind of a middle of the roader and can go either way. JR Rowling's (under Robert Galbraith) new series is extremely violent and I can tolerate it because the psychology of the crime is so fascinating.

Rebecca wrote: "How do you feel about mysteries with no murder? What about a body, a long search, but in the end no crime?

The obvious series that brings to mind is the Aunt Dimity books, which are (IMHO) a bit ..." I like the idea of a mystery that opens with a corpse that died of natural causes, or even a truly accidental death. Death brings families, and friends, and odd interested parties into the same space, and the plot could arise from the gathered group rather than the death that causes them to gather.

Reading these comments, and thinking about the Sayers novel referenced...I'm thinking it might take more skill than I have at this point!

Attempted murder and real danger in that direction can do it. Thanks for lots of good input! The next book may not diverge from the standard, but I'm going to be thinking about how I define a mystery.

Donna wrote: "...and the plot could arise from the gathered group rather than the death that causes them to gather..."

That doesn't sound like a mystery.

Nell wrote: "Donna wrote: "...and the plot could arise from the gathered group rather than the death that causes them to gather..."

That doesn't sound like a mystery."

The line between "mystery" and "novel" could get pretty fuzzy. Just as, frankly, the line between "cozy mystery" and "romance" is often pretty fuzzy. The latter might be a more marketable blurring than the former.

An out-of-town relative could go home after the funeral, back to a home in another state, and do a copycat murder there. Just wait for trash day and then a little push, a big slip, and an elderly annoyance eliminated. Perhaps a neighbor who always complains about the local dogs, or a neighbor who gossips too much about a man who has much to hide like an affair, etc.. The murderer's wife could write to his great-aunt about the sad death of the dear older neighbor, and great aunt (amateur sleuth) could come to visit the grandnieces and grandnephews and make sure nobody else conveniently gets helped to slip on some ice and die.

Although it's traditional to have a body, I wouldn't mind a mystery without a corpse.

There could be a theft of something insanely valuable, instead, like jewels or art, or there could be a missing person involved in the story line to keep the mystery aspect flowing.

Jennifer wrote: "Although it's traditional to have a body, I wouldn't mind a mystery without a corpse.

There could be a theft of something insanely valuable, instead, like jewels or art, or there could be a missin..."

I think a missing person (with potential for foul play) might stick closest to the traditional mystery format. The theft always makes me think of Donald Westlake and the absurd caper, but of course it can work from the other direction as well.

For the moment, I'm sticking with the traditional structure. I found someone I was happy to kill off :D

Rebecca wrote: "For the moment, I'm sticking with the traditional structure. I found someone I was happy to kill off :D"

Ain't that the way it always happens. However, one of my all-time favorite novels is Sayers' . It's beautifully written. There's plenty of conflict and no stiff. So it's possible to write a good story without a corpse, it isn't easy.

Rebecca wrote: "Reading these comments, and thinking about the Sayers novel referenced...I'm thinking it might take more skill than I have at this point! ..."

That's certainly true if you're comparing yourself to Sayers! Her writing is exquisite - few can reach that level.

Anne wrote:... However, one of my all-time favorite novels is Sayers' Gaudy Night (Lord Peter Wimsey, #12) by Dorothy L. Sayers. It's beautifully written. There's plenty of conflict and no stiff. So it's possible to write a good story without a corpse, it isn't easy.

That's the Sayers' I was thinking of in message 6.

I prefer murder, but I do love the Dimity books when I'm in the right mood -- especially the earliest ones.

I much, much prefer mysteries that are about missing/vanished persons, relics, or archaeological, or counterfeit heir types of stories.

Anything goes for a short story, but for a novel, I prefer murder. There's something about the web of motives in a murder mystery that I do not think I'd find elsewhere. And I think the pattern of investigation would be different as well.

Interesting to keep following this thread! Looks like (big surprise) there's someone for every approach.

I just had an interesting idea float through my brain...a story where the corpse is a red herring (natural death), leading attention away from the real crime...

Rebecca wrote: "Interesting to keep following this thread! Looks like (big surprise) there's someone for every approach.

I just had an interesting idea float through my brain...a story where the corpse is a red ..."

That IS an interesting idea, Rebecca! :]

Rebecca wrote: "Interesting to keep following this thread! Looks like (big surprise) there's someone for every approach.

I just had an interesting idea float through my brain...a story where the corpse is a red ..."

I read a mystery recently where the author did just that. You find out near the end that it wasn't a murder after all.