Alternatives to Murder for Your Cozy Mystery

Cozy mysteries have a signature of marrying the best of both worlds. They provide a lighthearted world featuring a cast of likable characters along with the stakes of a consequential crime. It’s like combining opposite flavors in cooking. A sweet and spicy dish just works. Unless you’re a picky eater like me, in which case it’s another variation of opposites attract.

One of the most common cozy storylines is a plucky amateur sleuth dealing with the mystery of a real murder. However, murder isn’t the only type of crime that might need solving, and it can be fun to work outside the box. Mix things up in your future cozies by exploring this list of alternatives to murder plots.

Twenty potential whodunnits:

Sabotage in the workplace
Blackmail in the neighborhood
Vandalism of someone’s life work
Sentimental items stolen from homes
A large fortune left to the main character (or their best friend) by a stranger
Collapsed infrastructure like a bridge or road
A kidnapping that’s been dismissed as a runaway or a dementia case
A heist story where something needs to be stolen and returned
An underground exotic animal trade that needs to be uncovered
A fraud case or frame job and wrongful conviction
Art theft or fashion forgery
Missing information from the town history
Disappearing family pets
An inheritance that goes missing
Something is making people in the community sick
Harmful secrets are being leaked about everyone in the community
A disappeared lover must be found before their child is born
Dangerous chemicals are missing from the local power plant or specialized laboratory
People in the community keep losing pieces of their memory
Someone in the community has been completely replaced in a stolen identity case

What is your favorite nonmurder cozy mystery? Share in the comments below!

If you need help with your own cozy story, feel free to email me at hello@richellebraswell.com for a free sample edit, initial consultation, and more details.