DETAILS

Title: Cosy mystery

Categories:

Mystery

Location: Agatha Christie, The Body In The Library Agatha Christie, The Mirror Crack'd Lillian Jackson Braun, The Cat Who Could Read Backwards

Pagination: 0

Illustrations: - amateur detective - genteel, privileged world - frequently British

Document Type: Graffiti

Notes:

The 'cosy' mystery provides a few vicarious thrills within an otherwise safe and comfortable world. The order of genteel life is disrupted by a crime, the clues of which are pieced together by an astute (or nosy) character in the community. Order is central to the cosy - the mystery is unravelled by orderly rules, procedures, and conventions, so that order can be restored to society once more. The setting of the cosy is usually rural or suburban, populated by mundane characters. It is important to note that the detective figure, such as Christie's Miss Marple or Hercule Poirot, is incorporated by his/her world and entirely ordinary in his/herself. The appeal of the cosy lies in the reader's ability to project himself into the detective role by piecing together the clues, while remaining grounded in the familliar. See also: Mystery