Crime in a closed circle

Long overshadowed by gritty crime, the cosy’ murder mystery is appearing on screens and in bookstores again

- Shrabonti Bagchi

At first glance, you can't call A Murder At The End Of The World a cosy murder mystery, a term that evokes the golden age of detective fiction and its associations with vintage country houses and manners. A Murder... is too edgy, too modern, too steeped in the specific concerns of our age-climate change, the limitations of Artificial Intelligence, longevity. Its detective figure is a Gen Zhacker and true crime writer with streaked pink hair and a pixie cut. But peel back the layers of the series, set in an isolated hotel in Iceland during a retreat for some of the world's most creative people organised by an eccentric billionaire (comparisons with Elon Musk are inevitable), and you will find parallels.

A cosy mystery is, at its heart, a puzzle.

Certain other elements are also necessary: a murder (of course), an amateur sleuth, a closed circle where everyone is a suspect, clues, alibis, often a second or third murder, a questioning of the suspects, and an astonishing denouement. A Murder... ticks all the boxes. Don't be fooled by all the techno babble.