I like Tony Hillerman, Sue Grafton, Janet Evanovich, and Alexander McCall-Smith as authors. What would you call this type of mystery? I do not think that they could be called cozy. I would not call them chic lit.

Tony Hillerman's mysteries are centered around the west. Sue Grafton starts with A is for Alibi.

Janet Evanovich has the Stephanie Plum series and that is what I am referring to. I am referring to Alexander McCall-Smith's No. 1 Ladies Detective series.

Well though out mysteries, not to much blood and guts, some humor, more of the wry type of humor than anything.

Looking for clues,

Marla Maye

I agree with LeeAnne.  I think McCall-Smith's are cozies - but atypical ones since they take place in Africa.  The main character is also a detective, but again, a very atypical one.  I guess on the surface, (private detective protagonist, ongoing series in essentially the same locale) they sound a lot like the Grafton books, but they read like a cozy, and Grafton definitely does not.

Evanovich strikes me as a cross between chick-lit and mystery, and Grafton is kind of a poser.  Maybe "series mystery"?  They have continuing characters and locale, like a cozy, but aren't cozies in any other respect.  Maybe "detective series" or "private-detective series".

I love Alexander McCall Smith.  I guess Cozy would be the mystery category.  To me they're just general fiction.  The mysteries are usually such a minor part of the African and the Scottish series.  They're mostly about the lives of the main characters w/a  little mystery added.  The mysteries are usually non-violent. 

I call the Plum books humorous-chick-lit.  They aren't really cozies because there's usually a dead body or two, explosions etc...,  But they're funny and not really serious enough to be a mystery/thriller. 

I'm new to the whole "cozy" thing-never heard the term before joining PBS-so I could be way off on what makes a cozy a cozy. Although I believe it's a mystery w/o much violence or sex-maybe one murder-w/the actual murder not being described. But most that I've read have centered around a non-violent crime like a jewel or art theft. 

Check out the discussion thread "What is a cozy?" 08/11/07 09:36 am, under Discussion Board, Mystery Thrillers.

There is an excellent answer to this question there.

Marla Maye