[Harmless Teddy Bear]

Cozys are mysteries that generally feature an amateur detective. Generally set in a small town or close knit community with several reoccurring side characters.

Violence happens off screen for the most part.

Murder She Wrote would be considered a Cozy Mystery.

The four types of mystery are the police procedural (starring the police, natch!) the hard boiled detective (featuring a private eye who quite often was involved in law enforcement), the law and order (starring a lawyer) and the amateur sleuth which may or may not be a cozy.

Men tend to write more police procedural. Women tend to write more amateur sleuth. And Cozys are VERY female dominated.

[Antihero101607]

A cozy sounds like it might be a nice change of pace every now and then.