T: Traditional

Make Mine a Mystery: Reader's Guide to Mystery and Detective Fiction by Gary Warren Niebuhr (2003) defines a traditional novel this way: 

"In a traditional novel, the action uses violence to establish the seriousness of the crime without trivializing its importance or glorifying its horrifying effects. Most violent action takes place on stage but is not graphically described. The emphasis can be equally on the perpetration and solution of the crime. The protagonist's goal is to find a solution to the crime, but not necessarily through the administration of justice by an official court of law. However, the intent of a traditional novel is to restore the balance of right and wrong in a society gone wrong."

Laurie King's Mary Russell novels (which I love!) are an example of the historical/traditional. Dog On It is an example of a traditional with a humorous twist to it. Sue Grafton's alphabet series is an example of traditional mystery as are the Adam Dalgleish novels of P. D. James. The traditional novel is essentially a book that combines elements of the cozy and the hard-boiled without tipping all the way either direction.

This post is part of the Crime Fiction Alphabet 2012 at Mysteries in Paradise.   

H: Hard-boiled

Make Mine a Mystery: Reader's Guide to Mystery and Detective Fiction by Gary Warren Niebuhr (2003) defines a hard-boiled novel this way:

"In a hard-boiled novel the action is high on the description of violence, with sexual content and language of the streets. A hard-boiled world is a society where everything is suspect, including established institutions and the people who work for them--even the legal forces. The inclusion of a mystery in a hard-boiled world is inevitable. Most violent action takes place on-stage. The emphasis is on the perpetration of the crime, and characters are often driven to do what they do by circumstances that are often out of their control. Hard-boiled novels can feature protagonists who are not clearly defined as being on either the right of wrong side of the law. The administration of justice is not certain in a hard-boiled novel, and morality may have many definitions in a hard-boiled world"

Hard-boiled isn't a genre I have read a lot in, and separating it from "noir" was the topic of a recent discussion in the Crime Read-Along which I found quite interesting. I just finished The Maltese Falcon which is a classic hard-boiled crime story.


This post is part of the Crime Fiction Alphabet 2012 at Mysteries in Paradise.  

C: Cozies

Make Mine a Mystery: Reader's Guide to Mystery and Detective Fiction by Gary Warren Niebuhr (2003) defines a cozy this way:

"In a cozy (or soft-boiled) novel the action is low on the description of violence, with little overt sexual content or abusive language. A soft-boiled world is one in which society is viewed as orderly and controlled, and the crime is a failure of the society to function correctly. The society portrayed is often a closed or confined set. The inclusion of a mystery in a soft-boiled world is an intrusion. Most violent action takes place off-stage. The emphasis is on the solution of the crime. Readers anticipate a world where right and wrong are clearly defined. The society depicted in a soft-boiled novel is more moral than in a hard-boiled world, and the reader expects the detective to follow clues left by the perpetrator to an eventual administration of justice. The detective is often an amateur, although not limited to this type of detective."

Agatha Christie's Jane Marple books are a classic example of the cozy. The Agatha Raisin books and the Booktown Mysteries are also cozies. Other examples include the Cat Who... books, the Phryne Fisher novels (though they are a bit racy for the classification) and most of the crime novels where a caterer (or a quilter, weaver, herbalist, home renovator, knitter, etc.) gets mixed up in a criminal investigation.

There is a website dedicated to listing and classifying these books at http://www.cozy-mystery.com/

This post is part of the Crime Fiction Alphabet 2012 at Mysteries in Paradise.