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tiredcath's review
informative
fast-paced
4.0
I don't typically read writing advice because I find them redundant or too restrictive, but I found this one very helpful. Cozy mysteries are new to me, and Cohen gives good advice on characters, settings, and plot. I particularly appreciated the tools for creating a setting that almost works as a character itself.
kpeninger's review against another edition
2.0
Given that I think I'll be losing my job in the next few months, I'm preparing by looking at side gigs I could conceivably do. As I write mystery fanfic all the time, I am, naturally, considering the self-publishing route. I thought it important to look into books that talk about the mystery genre, and this was the first one I read.
It was fine.
Look, if you've never written much of anything before, or if you haven't written anything in the style of a mystery, you're probably going to find this book helpful. It is a nicely succinct overview of the sort of things that typically go into a cozy mystery, and what the writing process can look at. But for me, it was a little too simplistic.
There were, however, some useful resources at the end that I'll be looking into. I really do think if you've never written anything before, or if you're less familiar with the cozy mystery genre, this can be handy. But if you've read cozy mysteries at length, you'll probably know most of the tropes and expectations for the genre, and if you've written things before, you probably are familiar with plot, pacing, structure, and character development, and therefore could look at something a little more advanced than this general, basic overview.
It was fine.
Look, if you've never written much of anything before, or if you haven't written anything in the style of a mystery, you're probably going to find this book helpful. It is a nicely succinct overview of the sort of things that typically go into a cozy mystery, and what the writing process can look at. But for me, it was a little too simplistic.
There were, however, some useful resources at the end that I'll be looking into. I really do think if you've never written anything before, or if you're less familiar with the cozy mystery genre, this can be handy. But if you've read cozy mysteries at length, you'll probably know most of the tropes and expectations for the genre, and if you've written things before, you probably are familiar with plot, pacing, structure, and character development, and therefore could look at something a little more advanced than this general, basic overview.
jessschira's review against another edition
5.0
Useful place to start if you're interested in writing a cozy mystery.
skateanddonate's review against another edition
5.0
This is a wonderful, concise, detailed book on the elements of crafting a good cozy mystery. Not a lto of new information. Meaning once you've read several how to write books the same information is in all of them, but this one was tailored to details in cozy mysteries and was well written. Well worth the price.
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