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Cozy Mystery Authors: Is It Better to be a Woman than a Man?!?
You know, I started thinking the other day, (my husband always likes it when I do that!) – am I more likely to try a new Cozy Mystery series by an author who is a woman, or would I look at both female and male authors in the same manner?
I know which authors fill my TBR (to be read) bookshelf, and I have to admit that there are a whole lot more women authors than men crammed into each tier of my TBR (To Be Read) shelf unit. I mean, I have male authors in my "favorites" group but there are, by far, a lot less of them than women authors.
Is it because women authors simply lend themselves to being "Cozy"-er than their male counterparts? Is it that several best selling male authors have "ruined it" for the other male authors by including their craziest male fantasies into every novel they publish? I mean, I can only take so much of the 007 graphic "womanizing" (and that's a tame word for it!!!) before I simply say… "In your dreams, Buddy!"
Do any of you have definite preferences when choosing to try a new mystery author?
13 Comments - Click Here to Read the Comments or to Add Another
I find I gravitate more toward women authors – not intentionally – but that's how it turns out. They just seem to have a certain edge on writing cozy mysteries – although I do love John Lamb's Teddy Bear mystery series. He is the exception.
I'm with you on that one. I read very few men authors. Harlan Coben being the exception that proves the rule. It just seems I identify with the ladies more.
Edie Dykeman says
For some reason I just don't see men as writing cozies, although that is probably being somewhat sexist. If women can successfully write a good thriller or hard-boiled crime novel, then men should be able to write a good cozy.
Maybe I should not look at the author's name until after I read the book, not before.
Maria (BearMountainBooks) says
I don't read a lot of male cozy authors, but I do read some. Overall, I read quite a few male authors (especially in the urban fantasy, fantasy and just mystery categories). But in cozy mysteries, I'd say my shelf definitely has more women authors.
Patricia Harrington says
Interesting question, and looking at it from a different perspective, that of the author, I'm sure that women cozy mystery authors outnumber their male counterpoints. Part of that is the male vs. female psyches and mindsets. Kind of natural, so to speak. Which doesn't mean that men can't write a good cozy, nor women, hardboiled. Something about predilections, I suspect. So, yes, I read more cozies by women.
Dru says
If I'm reading a book by a male author, most likely it is a suspense/mystery or thriller novel.
Most of the cozy authors that I read are women with the exception of Jeff Cohen.
Gail Wood says
I prefer mysteries by women, as does my mother, an avid reader. I recently heard a scholar speak about the reading habits of girls and boys. According to him, it goes to the difference between the way men and women think. Women tend to go towards books with characterizations and emotional connections; while men like books that explain the world works. I think writers tend to write in those veins too. It's not sexist or anything, but the way our genders operate in the world.
This youtube video gives a humorous take on it…
Kate Collins says
My decision became clear after judging the Edgar Awards best book in crime fiction category last year. I tired very quickly of all the books whose plots centered on the gruesome murders of young women. I like to read before bed, and that kind of book kept me in knots. So give me a traditional (cozy) mystery any day. I want good dreams not nightmares.
I thought of this so many times too, that i just can't find myself as interested in male sleuths. And to tell you the truth, I'm not really an extreme feminist type of girl but this is one thing where I think that I only want to read about women sleuths!
Like Jen's comment… I do not have a preference for the author's gender, but I do have a preference for the main character's gender. I am not interested in male leading characters. I don't mind male authors who write books about woman. For example, J. A. Konrath. Great (and somewhat gruesome) reads with his main character being Jacqueline "Jack" Daniels.
Danna - cozy mystery list says
Hmmm >>> "gruesome" says a lot to me! He must write thrillers…
Gabi says
I so agree. I have always gravitated to female writers because I like the way they think and explain and move with a story. I also don't like gruesome, I prefer cozy because it makes me laugh, and I can still go to sleep. I have some male writers that I read but there is nothing cozy about them, and yes many times they are concerned with their sexuality or violence. Dick Francis is a good example, I love his books and have read almost all of them, but they are not cozies.
Gabi,
I love Reginald Hill and Colin Dexter, neither of which is Cozy.
You know that old TV chocolate bar jingle… "Sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don't…" >>> Sometimes I just feel like a police procedural, NON-Cozy!
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