Week 6: Building Base Knowledge (Genres)

Pick 3 subgenres that you are unfamiliar with. List three authors or titles that are associated with or typify each of these 3 subgenres.  What are the hallmarks or appeal factors of each of the subgenres?




Cozy Mysteries - These books are rated G for "gentle." There's no illicit sex, drugs, or language and the murders are never terribly bloody. Imagine a mystery that your grandmother wouldn't mind getting involved in (or a mystery Sam Spade might get bored with). Cozies tend to feature light humor and unlikely protagonists like Alan Bradley's precocious 11 year old sleuth Flavia de Luce.  See Alexander McCall Smith's "The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency," & Agatha Christie's "Ms. Marple" stories.




Native American Westerns - These books avoid ethnocentric "Cowboys & Indians" clichés. They tell stories from a Native American perspective with nuanced depictions of their culture. Sherman Alexie is probably the most popular writer of this genre. All of his novels deal with historical and contemporary characters struggling with issues of identity and acceptance. See also Tony Hillerman's "Joe Leaphorn & Jim Chee" books, & Larry McMurtry's "Lonesome Dove" saga.




Culinary Capers - These are mysteries revolving around food or recipes, often paired with instructions for how to make them. Similar to cozies in that they're very safe mysteries. Although I guess one COULD write a hard-boiled (ugh) culinary mystery. See Alexander Campion, Cathy Pickens & Diane Mott Davidson.




Mashups of subgenres, e.g. steampunk westerns, are becoming increasingly popular.  Find two titles, not shown on the flowchart, which could cross over into another subgenre. Describe your rationale.


I read about a book on the NPR website called "The Devil's Detective" that could be called a "supernatural mystery" where a crime takes place in hell. Come to think of it the detective genre is so rigid that it almost demands that you mix it up with other genres to get some extra flavor. Like Jasper Fforde's "Nursery Crime" books where detectives struggle to figure out who killed Humpty Dumpty in a hard-boiled style. Or the books of Philip K. Dick (whose book "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep" was adapted into "Blade Runner") or the early novels of Jonathan Lethem could be described as "sci-fi noir."