Something that I have (quite obviously) noticed is that most of the authors on the Cozy Mystery site are women. That’s not to say that I don’t enjoy mysteries written by men… But, I think that it gets back to the fact that female authors simply have a better grasp of what women want to read, and also of what women find “acceptable”… The women authors tend to “play down” the rather unrealistic … let’s just call them… “male fantasies.” (You know the type… gorgeous blond with legs that don’t stop on Monday, beautiful brunette with over-developed bust on Wednesday, phenomenally sexy red head with… whatever! on Friday… only sleuthing while taking a break between the “knock ’em dead women” >>> or better said “girls” … who quite obviously love the leading men.)
I hope that this does not make me a female chauvinist cozy-reader… I am more than happy to read books by men who write cozies… and indeed I do!
Dennis says
I like to read cozy mysteries as well as others mysteries. And I guess I like to read some things I may call mysteries that are not really mysteries after all. So … I will have to check your categories to see if you have one for cozies written by men.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
I don’t have a category of cozies written by men, Dennis… but it does sound like a great theme!
Chris Forman says
Of course the real exception is Alexander McCall Smith. His writing sounds like a woman wrote it. I heard him speak once and he was asked how he did it. His response, “I am wearing a skirt”. He had on a kilt at the time.
The reverse can work too. Take the great Agatha Christie in the Hercule Poirot series where a woman is writing a male lead. She does it well and leaves out the typical male stereotypes.
Chris Forman
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Chris,
Thanks for telling us that story about Alexander McCall Smith… You are so right about his writing as a woman>>> Sometimes when I am reading one of his books, I actually stop and ponder about how sensitive he is to a woman’s perspective. (Usually this happens when I am reading a Number One Ladies’ Detective Agency novel.)
Sue says
I find men are a bit too graphic when they write about sex and violence. I don’t care to read every detail of some guys sexual encounter (especially when it starts out “she said “no” but his sexual prowess left her “panting for more”). I feel the same way about violence. I love Nevada Barr’s story lines, but I hate that her main character,Anna Pigeon, is nearly beaten to death in every book. I can’t recall Brother Cadfael ever being seriously injured. I haven’t read an “Aunt Dimity” recently, but I don’t recall Lori Shepherd even tripping over a corpse. You don’t need murder and “hot” sex to have a good mystery.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Sue,
You stated that perfectly!
Sara says
The same could be said for romance writers. The majority are women. Romances are about developing relationships. Women understand relationships.
In cozies, women (generally) solve mysteries through the observation of characters actions. Again, something women understand. A strength. Fascinating and something I’d never thought through before.