Let's Get Cosy (or Cozy)

I've mentioned before my love of cozy/cosy crime books, in fact one of the bookcases in the snug is dedicated entirely to my unread cozy crime collection:

Luckily there's still some space on the bottom shelf as we're off to the US soon, where I'll no doubt be stocking up on more cozy-ness.

Those that have been read are kept on another bookcase awaiting shipment to the very unglamorous depths of the garage, until such time as we build 'The Library Wing', or else get fitted bookcases built in the snug.

But why am I talking about cozy crime? Because I had an email from Waterstones a few days ago (due to being a Waterstone Card holder) and it included a link entitled 'The Waterstones Card guide to Cosy Crime.' I was suuuuuper excited to click on this link, thinking that I would find hundreds of new cosy authors/titles that I'd never heard of or read before. From that point of view it was ever so slightly disappointing as just eight books/seven authors were mentioned (some of which I've already read); but from another point of view, I found it very interesting - who knew that Agatha Christie was considered a 'Cosy Crime' writer? Not I.

But then thinking about it, I suppose the Miss Marple books are cosy in that the murders are rarely too gruseome and the settings are usually old country houses or rectories set in quaint English villages with duck ponds, village greens and fetes a-plenty. But, for some reason, I've always thought that cozy/cosy crime books were more of a modern invention, mostly written by US authors and set in craft shops, bakeries, cafes, libraries in American towns or cities. Well, I'm happy to have been proved (proven?) wrong because it now means that I'll have to read (or re-read) all those Agatha Christie books that hubby has in his bookcase. Oh, and does that mean that hubby is a closet Cosy fan...?