Hot cuppa tea, blanket, cozy mystery, cat optional. Perfect. New to cozies? Well, let us introduce you to this crime fiction sub-genre whose sleuths are often amateurs and whose gritty crime and steamy sex generally take place tastefully out of sight. How very civilized! A cozyâs setting â often a small town stocked with eccentrics and at least one skeptical copper â is always a main character, like the English village of St. Mary Mead, where Agatha Christieâs Miss Marple solves crimes from behind her knitting. And if you find a sleuth you like (most of them are women, by the way), thereâs often a whole series you can devour as leisure time permits.