Quite
unknowingly, I stumbled into the Cozy Mystery genre without realizing it. I was
looking for an easy book-on-tape for traveling. I picked up an M.C. Beaton
mystery because I seemed to remember the name from somewhere.
First
to clarify, a Cozy Mystery generally features a talented, non-professional,
mystery solver, such as Miss Marple of Agatha Christie fame or Jessica Fletcher
from the popular Murder She Wrote
series by Donald Bain. When I started researching this I remembered that
Hallmark also has gained quite a following for their untrained female sleuths
on several mystery series. So this genre is quite popular. Who knew?
I
did read a few Agatha Christie novels in my teens. And in my mind, she is
probably the master. But my first Cozy Mystery in adulthood is Death of A Liar by Beaton. I have to
say, I may be hooked. For an easygoing, not-too-gruesome mystery fix it was
great fun. The detective, technically a professional (although albeit an
unconventional one) is Hamish McBeth (Great name, right? Turn around three
times and spit over your shoulder!) It was entertaining to watch him work out
the murder and navigate a score of beautiful women to boot. His greatest
challenge may be his somewhat bumbling sidekick, Dick.
Beaton
is extremely prolific. The Hamish McBeth books, thirty-three and counting,
is only one of several popular series by her. If you indulge, you won’t run out of
material soon.
Fun,
easy, escapist.
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