Crimes and Pun-ishment: Why are Cozy Mysteries So Punny?

Most people agreed that punny titles helped lighten the mood of the cozy mystery.

Leslie Budewitz, author of Spice Shop mystery series, explained, “The cozy is in many ways the light-hearted side of mystery, even though the stories involve murder or other serious crimes, and some, like several of mine, tackle difficult social issues. do. But laughter is part of life. The puns and wordplay help counteract some of the darkness that is inevitable in a crime story.” 

Mindy Quigley, author of Deep Dish Mysteries series, added that the punny titles reflect that tension between the cozy elements and the murder.

A pun has at least two things happening at once and it makes your brain work in a different way, just like figuring out a mystery. 

Korina Moss, author of the award winning Cheese Shop Mystery Series, pointed out the title typically goes along with the theme. For instance all of Moss’ books include cheese in the title while Quigley’s deal with pizza. 

Olivia Blacke, author of Record Shop Mysteries and forthcoming non-cozy yet punny mystery A New Lease of Death, noted that it was an indication of what the reader is going to get.

She explained that if you look at a book and it’s called What She Lost, you’ll think it was a thriller or a hardboiled detective novel.

But if the title is What She Latted, then you are going to get a cozy. Ultimately it tells the reader what they are going in for. 

Dru Ann Love, owner of book blog Dru’s Book Musings and co-author of Agatha-winning short story “Ticket to Ride,” explained that people read cozies (and other books) for escapism and puns are a great way to start that journey.

“They make you smile,” she noted. 

While many cozy authors use punny titles, some authors like using puns within the text of the book itself.

Quigley explained that it’s part of the comic relief in the book. In her deep dish pizza series, the character Sonia often comes up with puns in the course of the story.

It’s part of Sonia's characterization and helps to lighten the mood (or offer dark humor) at points in the book.  

In Blacke’s Record Shop Mystery series, the main characters run a record shop with a cafe. Every day, they have a special drink that is a pun on coffee/tea and music, like “I’ll Be There for Brew” or “Java Be Good.” 

In addition to having some fun coming up with these drink specials, Blacke said she likes to also have clues buried in the drink.

For instance, when a group of ladies were planning a night out, the drink of the day was: All the Single Lattes.

They may indicate aspects of the plot, but never the mystery, she said.  

Budewitz noted she used puns in her books as names and part of the text.

She explained, “In my Spice Shop series, Pepper runs the Spice Shop and one of her best friends is Vinny, the Wine Merchant.

(Those are called aptronyms, by the way, and may be the main reason Pepper hired Cayenne. As she says, if a Ginger or Rosemary applies for a job, stand back).” 

Budewitz even used the puns to cover up bad language, which is frankly genius.

She said, “I love fractured phrases, skewed quotes, and made-up words, even though they sometimes give copy editors fits. Pepper swears in spice terms—think ‘holy marjoroly’ and ‘parsley poop’.”

“Pain in the anise,” and that cartoon classic, “suffering sumac.” It suits the setting and the character.” 

Not all puns work in a cozy setting.

Budewitz aptly pointed out: “It is never okay, in my opinion, to joke about murder. The crime itself, the victim, the conflicts that led to the crime, and its impact are all off limits. Everything else is fair game.” 

Love noted that a pun does not work for a title if it does not fit with the rest of the book. If the title is punny and the book cover and/or backpage are not in sync, that can be a misstep.

Sometimes books will have clever titles that just do not match the tone of the book. 

Finally, generally you don’t want a pun that you have to explain. That might mean the joke is too obscure and can push away readers.

(Though like anything, there are exceptions to the rule…) 

It’s also a great way to engage readership.

Blacke had a contest for readers to come up with their own drink puns. The winners had their puns used in the books and then a shout out in the acknowledgements

(Full disclosure: I was among the winners).

She said that there were so many amazing entries that she never considered. 

The contest inspired her and helped her figure out if some of her ideas were too obscure or common enough to be used in the book. It even helped her improve puns.

Originally, she had come up with “I Will Always Latte You” but a reader suggested the better version: “I Will Always Love Brew.”

Chef’s kiss! 

When asked if puns are enough to pick up a book, most writers said yes.

Blacke noted that it gets her attention and if she sees it in the wild, she typically picks it up.

Quigley said that if the pun is clever enough, this suggests the writer has a similar sense of humor to her.

Budewitz agreed. “A clever title will make me smile, and that’s the first step!” 

After all, that’s what cozy mysteries are all about—murder and smiling. 

Featured image: Nick Fewings / Unsplash