Writing the Cozy Mystery: The Right Motive

by Elizabeth Spann Craig, @elizabethscraig

I can only imagine the number of murder motives that I’ve come across in the last 35 years that I’ve read and watched mysteries.

While writing cozy mysteries, I think finding a motive can be a bit tricky.  Although there’s some breadth out there in terms of how writers approach cozies, a large number of cozy readers seem to appreciate a very traditional approach…nothing too gritty. They want an escape in which the reader helps the sleuth find the killer.

This means that a recent mystery I watched where the motive involved revenge for past child abuse wouldn’t really be a great pick for the audience. Drug addiction can be tough too, although doable if treated carefully.

In my books, I tend to play it very safe.  The motives are still what I consider real life motives, but they’re more toned down.

Frequently, they’re the common annoyances that just get out of control: the obnoxious neighbor, for instance.

Deaths of blackmailers are fun because first we have to discover the fact that the blackmailer was a blackmailer and then we have to find out what he knew about various suspects.

The usual trio of jealousy, greed, and revenge are also good for cozies.

The killers can be really awful or they can be good people who were pushed a little too far.

I’ve written victims who seem like delightful people, which worked out well (the sleuth later uncovers that some suspects didn’t consider the suspect that delightful). I’ve written victims who were particularly nasty people, too, who stirred up a lot of resentment against them. This used to worry me because I was concerned if the victim was too horrid, no one would care who killed her. But now I’ve come to the conclusion that this is more of an accepted part of a cozy mystery.  It’s part of the process and the point is still to solve the case and bring the murderer to justice. Taking a life is serious and, even in a humorous cozy, the crime is taken seriously. The secondary characters, the supporting cast, more than makes up for the deficiencies of character in the victim and keep the books from getting too dark.

The point is that the motive is personal.  These are not the types of mysteries where there are political motivations or hitmen or international intrigue or drive-by shootings.  The killer is well-known to the victim and the other suspects (all of whom are usually not too upset by the victim’s death) and there is a closed group of people who might be the murderer.

There are now many cozies that don’t necessarily follow these guidelines.  Some cozies have become a bit edgier.  As a writer, you don’t have to do anything.  The story, its world, its crimes and people are totally up to you.  My thoughts are that it’s just easier to find an audience if you deliver what readers of a specific subgenre expect to find.

For further reading, see mystery writer Camille LaGuire’s post on motives (some are cozy motives, some aren’t).

Any other thoughts on what makes a good cozy mystery motive (from readers or writers)?

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