2 years ago
109
Ever since I chanced upon the works of Joan Lowry Nixon arsenic a child, I person loved execution mysteries. I loved the precocious play and precocious stakes, the puzzles and clues that person to beryllium enactment together. And that emotion has continued to this time wherever execution mysteries astir apt represent the bulk of my reading. But my emotion for cozies has not been arsenic consistent. I stopped speechmaking them for the astir portion for astir a decade. Instead, I gravitated towards detective fabrication by authors similar Rex Stout, Arthur Conan Doyle, and Raymond Chandler.
But past I came crossed Vivien Chien’s Death by Dumpling 1 time astatine the bookstore. It was my mode backmost into the genre. Now I emotion cozies erstwhile again, acknowledgment to the Noodle Shop Mysteries.
The Break Up
Like galore execution enigma fans, I work a batch of Agatha Christie, whose books person traditionally been called “cozies.” Almost everything I could get my hands on. Initially I felt fortunate that she was specified a prolific writer that I could conscionable support speechmaking and reading. But past I started to recognize that I mightiness beryllium getting excessively bully astatine figuring retired who the murderer was. I work capable of them to marque it truly casual for maine to fig retired whodunnit. So that took a batch of amusive retired of it.
I was besides bothered by the avoidance of substantive issues successful the bid I read. One of the hallmarks of cozies is determination successful the name. It’s meant to beryllium comfortable. No graphic violence, nary sex, nary swearing. Generally, these books are meant to beryllium upbeat and happy, and not dwell excessively overmuch connected the darker sides of beingness (aside from murder, of course).
But with immoderate bid from a fewer decades ago, it feels that they were taking that excessively far. It seems similar those authors erased immoderate intrinsic facts successful their works. To usage an illustration that I made up, it would beryllium similar talking astir 1950s Germany without immoderate notation of the Nazis and the unit they wrought upon the state and the remainder of the world. Or similar mounting a bid successful Ancient Rome without immoderate notation that determination were enslaved people. As a historian, it got truly annoying. And fixed the battles contiguous implicit books, it seemed rather problematic.
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But portion of it came from my ain prejudices astir genre fiction. I felt that I shouldn’t work “these” types of books, alternatively I should beryllium spending my clip speechmaking “substantive” literature. So yet cozies were retired and literate mysteries were in. (Also, I could person taken a people connected execution mysteries successful assemblage but didn’t for the aforesaid reason. It’s 1 of galore regrets from my assemblage years.)
How I learned to emotion again
Back successful 2018, I retrieve browsing successful the aisles of a definite concatenation bookstore erstwhile I stumbled crossed Death by Dumpling. I loved food, and I particularly loved nutrient mysteries. I besides had a batch of accent and I wanted thing fun. So aft picking it up disconnected the support a fewer times, I decided that I needed to instrumentality a accidental again.
Thank goodness I made that leap of faith. Inside, I met Lana Lee, the amatuer detective astatine the bosom of the novel, who was truthful comic and relatable. She was a small mislaid successful life, having discontinue her occupation and breached up with her fellow and returning to the household restaurant, but she wasn’t down and out. She was feisty and caring for her household and friends, adjacent erstwhile they drove her nuts. Plus, she had a canine named Kikkoman, aft the soy condiment brand, and a elephantine emotion for donuts.
Death by Dumpling by Vivien Chien
It was amusive pursuing Lee arsenic she tried to wide her and her family’s sanction successful the book. I loved getting a glimpse into her life, the restaurant, and the people/businesses successful the Asia Village. It was precisely what I needed. And truthful the dam broke, I eagerly awaited further books successful the series. And past I kept uncovering much and more.
Now cozies are the bulk of my speechmaking and I’m amended for it. I emotion these worlds that cozy writers unfastened up to me, whether it’s owning a bookshop, favored grooming, oregon moving a restaurant. And I’m blessed that I was capable to determination distant from the anserine thought that I shouldn’t work definite types of books. If they marque maine happy, past I should work them. Plus these newer cozies whitethorn person a wide rosier presumption connected beingness but they bash woody with substantive issues. For instance, caller cozy bid I’ve work sermon issues similar organization racism and the lodging crisis.
The Love That Keeps On Growing
Hot and Sour Suspects by Vivien Chien
And Vivien Chien keeps it going with each delightful summation to the series. But thing struck maine precise personally. In her astir caller book, Hot and Sour Suspects, she writes successful her foreword astir her diagnosis and attraction for cancer. It was moving that she felt she needed to stock this with her readers. But the timing of it was uncanny. I had saved the publication for my archetypal infusion of caller medicine for my Crohn’s. I retrieve speechmaking that foreword portion waiting to beryllium called into the attraction country for an hr and feeling highly touched. While I spell to cozies erstwhile I request immoderate axenic joy, this was different level of the close publication astatine the close moment.
So convey you to Vivien Chien for bringing maine backmost to cozies and for sharing challenges with us.
The adjacent rubric successful the series, Misfortune Cookie, is expected to travel retired adjacent year. Now backmost enjoying each the Agatha Christie mysteries, and americium yet rectifying my regret and readying connected taking a people connected Native American transgression fabrication done the Newberry Library this fall.
Want much treatment of cozies? Here’s a thoughtful effort connected new cozies. Here’s different effort connected the expanding diverseness successful cozy mysteries.
English (US) ·