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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Cozy mysteries are to be fun and make it too intense, gory, dark, or as you said unpersonal, and it’s no longer fun. (Might be enjoyable and good, but not fun.)
Exactly. And definitely not what the reader is expecting (and why upset readers for no reason?)
You make such good points here, Elizabeth. I think even in novels that are grittier, it’s important to consider what the motive is, and whether it’s a fit for one’s book. There aren’t that many motives, in real life, for one person to take another’s life. So, creating a realistic motive, that’s fits with the sort of book one’s writing, is a challenge.
It’s definitely a challenge. And there are only so many good motives!
Like most good stories, it’s all about the characters involved.
Right. They all need to be known to the victim and have some sort of shared past.
The murderer’s motive is a bit more limited in a cozy mystery – very true! I’m fond of a secret from one’s past being a factor for the murderer, but as you point out, the secret itself can’t be too cringe-y in the cozy subgenre. Thanks for a great post!
Keeping the secret PG is tricky! Thanks for coming by, Kathy. :)
Alex is so right: a cozy mystery should be fun, something that you can curl up and enjoy without cringing … too much. :-) Diane has a great point: cozies are all about characters. I think about how many sociopaths are driving beside us during the length of the day. One out of twenty-five, that’s four out of every hundred drivers we pass in a day. What if, in a hurry to get our child to school, we cut one off?
Very good idea! Road rage is an everyday type of motive (leading to a heat-of-the moment murder) that would work well for a cozy. :)
This has certainly made me think deeper into the why of motives. I’ve just realized that what’s been bothering me about my current WiP is that the motive is okay, but I need to go deeper into the personal “why” behind the motive. Thanks, Elizabeth!
Happy to help! Good luck with your WiP. :)
Great post, Elizabeth. This is something I’ve been thinking about quite a bit lately as I work on my third cozy manuscript. I’ve been trying to come up with an interesting motive while also trying to keep it cozy.
It’s tough, isn’t it? For me it’s just about the most challenging aspect of cozies. Good luck with book 3!
Hi Elizabeth – a ‘cozy’ is a cozy … which needs to satisfy, even if the story is for ease of consumption – without rattling the bars too much. Keeping the tale within the bounds of a normal life … that makes sense. I wonder how many murderers brood and work up to a killing in real life … interesting to think about – but that’s enough! Cheers Hilary
An excellent way of putting it! No, we wouldn’t want to rattle the bars. :)
And I also love your example over broody murderers, which made me think. In a commercial cozy, we could *say* (in the denouement) that the murderer brooded for years over the incident that made him finally murder…but we couldn’t show it! Would be way too dark (and would entail an anonymous separate POV, which is way too thrillerish for the traditional cozy).