Cozy Mystery Tropes: A Guide for Writers
by Mary Kole | Former literary agent, now a freelance editor, writing teacher, and IP/story developer for major publishers and creators.
If you’re curious about using cozy mystery tropes, read on. Cozy mystery is a subgenre of crime fiction, where sex, violence, and cursing are kept to a minimum (or happen off-stage, if they must). The vibe is overall inviting and contrasts well with the crime at hand.
The tone of cozies is generally light, comedic, and comforting. Writing an engaging cozy mystery story requires high stakes crime, red herrings, a good protagonist or detective, a believable conclusion, the reader knowing more than the characters at times, a strong atmosphere, multiple suspects with strong motives, and letting the reader take the lead in guessing some of the outcomes—while letting other key events be a twist or surprise.
Writing Cozy Mystery Tropes
If it sounds like there are a lot of cozy mystery tropes, you’re right. This is a very specific category, with a lot of reader expectations. When you’re writing a cozy mystery, know that your readers have expectations.
Examples of these could be a protagonist who is an amateur sleuth, a detective animal, a friendly ghost, cuddly pets, love triangles (but a low spice level), cops who threaten the sleuth for being too nosy, overheard conversations, deaths that look one way but turn out to be something else, and pun-based titles. Magical realism and psychic powers may also be used in some cozy mystery tropes, as well as holiday settings.
It is important to put a unique spin on your cozy mystery tropes, or even break or subvert the trope altogether, in order to make the story fresh and interesting. Additionally, it is important to motivate the main character in a believable way to show why they’re invested in the events of the story. If they’re the town busybody, all the better.
Get to Know Your Cozy Mystery Tropes
When reading various cozy mystery books, it is helpful to develop one's own instinct as to which cozy mystery tropes are being used. Choose what you like, subvert what you don’t, and keep an eye on building your own cozy mystery tropes list for your very own idea bank. The great thing about tropes is that they can’t be copyrighted, so you are able to draw writing inspiration from stories that have been told already.
Cozy mystery tropes are a great way to make a story both fresh and familiar to readers who love to rip through cozy mystery after cozy mystery. By putting a unique spin on classic tropes, or even breaking them altogether, writers can create an engaging and entertaining story in this very specific genre.
Elevate Your Storytelling
Wherever you are in your writing journey—from an initial outline to a draft to pitching your project—the experienced team at Good Story Editing can take your work to the next level.