Lately, I’ve been knee-deep in cozy mysteries. Yaknow how it plays out…someone finds a body behind the bakery, a curious woman with a knack for observation decides to poke around, and somehow, nobody calls the actual police until chapter five. It’s great. Consider me hooked for the evening.
But beyond the suspiciously high crime rates in picturesque small towns, I’ve realized something about these books that’s quietly comforting: the main characters are almost always middle-aged women.
Sometimes they’re divorced, sometimes they’re married. Sometimes they’ve got grown kids, sometimes they’ve got a fussy cat or an energetic pug. But they all have one thing in common: they’re living full, interesting, capable lives in a stage that media usually treats like a punchline or a fade-to-black moment not worth elaborating on.
A quick observation: a lot of movies and shows act like you disappear once you hit 30. If you’re not a twenty-something trying to figure it all out, you’re suddenly cast as the mom in the background or the boss with no backstory. It’s like middle age is a void we’re meant to quietly fall into. But being middle-aged doesn’t mean your story is over. It means you’re in a new chapter…and that chapter is still worth telling.
That’s what I love about cozy mysteries. They don’t shy away from this life phase. They embrace it with all the romanticism it deserves. These women aren’t afraid of getting older. They’re too busy living, investigating, starting businesses, baking bread or pies, and sometimes flirting with the town sheriff or local detective. It makes middle age seem less like a dreaded milestone and more like a whole new book.
And get this, friends! They’re not described as drop-dead gorgeous in a movie-star kind of way. They wear sensible shoes and clothes. They have laugh lines, grey hair and even a wrinkle or two. And yet they’re treated as worthy of romance, admiration, and mystery-solving greatness, never less than. It’s like reading the full and beautiful adventures of a bunch of cool aunts.
It’s encouraging.
So if you’re feeling a little weird about growing older or just need something to read with a cup of tea and a throw blanket, cozy mysteries might be your new friend. They’ve certainly become mine. 🙂
By the Brooke 
“It’s like reading the full and beautiful adventures of a bunch of cool aunts”
Very true! I haven’t read a lot of cozy mysteries books, but I do enjoy watching Hallmark’s mystery movies (and sometimes, the women are in their late 30’s early forties, like the Flower Shop Mystery series or Garage Sale Mysteries.).
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They’re definitely like hallmark mysteries. Very comforting. Thanks for reading!
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