Murder Will Out!

F.L Everett delves into what makes the cosy crime genre a perfect blend of suspense and comfort

- by DAWN GEDDES

COSY crime is having a moment. Whether we're watching films such as Richard Osman's The Thursday Murder Club and the new Knives Out sequel Wake Up Dead Man, or completing the latest Murdle puzzle book, it feels like we've developed a collective hunger for solving mysteries.

This December, West Highland novelist F.L. Everett (Flic) is upping the ante by adding some extra cosy to her latest book, Murder At Mistletoe Manor. Because there's nothing cosier than Christmas, even if it involves murder...

"It's funny, because it's ridiculous, really, to talk about murder being cosy, because it's not at all," she says. "It's completely horrific. But I suppose when we talk about cosy crime, what we really mean is that there's no gritty bloodshed. You don't get the horrible detail and forensics. With cosy crime it's much more about the process of solving the mystery than the actual deaths themselves."

The author tells us that she has been a fan of cosy crime since childhood.

"I've always loved all of those golden age crime novels by authors like Agatha Christie, Ruth Rendell and Dorothy L. Sayers," Flic explains. "My grandma taught me to love them when I was about 10. I used to go and stay at her and my grandpa's house every Tuesday, and she would always have a crime novel on the go.

"I think it's something that I've always leaned towards for comfort. When the world is difficult, I've always picked up a nice crime novel that I know will be resolved in the end. Being able to write them now, too, is just absolutely brilliant!"

Set four days before Christmas, Murder At Mistletoe Manor sees 12 stranded strangers gather round a crackling fire, sheltering from the storm raging outside. But their relief is short-lived - as the snow deepens, the tree-lined avenue winding through the hotel's parkland becomes impassable. Their isolation is complete.