For the Love of Books

Winter Time for Cosy Crime

Winter is here! Time to grab a hot drink, snuggle up under the doona, and try some cosy crime. “Cosy” crime is charming, a bit quaint, and lower in violence than general crime fiction.

It focuses on solving puzzles, the storylines and relationships. Here are some of my favourites…

You would have to be living under a rock if you’ve not heard of the Thursday Murder Club series by Richard Osman. These books redefined cosy crime and involve a foursome of senior citizens who solve cases from their retirement village in Coopers Chase.

These books are delightful and get better with each one as you fall more and more in love with the characters. There are five books, and a Netflix movie adaptation. A sixth book is coming but no release date has been set.

Another gorgeous series is the Bookshop Detectives, written by husband-and-wife duo Gareth and Louise Ward. Set in a bookshop in a small NZ town, the first is the story of a missing girl and how the bookshop owners (both ex-police) get drawn in to try to solve the case. There are now three books, and the authors do not look to be stopping just yet.

Finally, another series that adds a fair chunk of humour to the cosy mix is the Ernest Cunningham series written by author and comedian Benjamin Stevens.

The first in the series is Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone. Stevens loves a puzzle and word play and prides himself on sticking to the classic “rules” of crime fiction. These are a lot of fun and there are now four books, with more set to come.

Happy reading!

@sarahsbookchat

Author and images: Sarah Krause