Charlotte MacLeod, 82, Author of ‘Cozy’ Mysteries
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Mystery writer Charlotte MacLeod, whose specialty was the “cozy” mystery and whose protagonists were often amateur sleuths, died Friday in Lewiston, Me. She was 82.
MacLeod’s more than 30 novels sold in excess of 1 million copies.
Her books eschewed graphic violence, sex, gore, and vulgar language.
“She wrote specifically for people who did not want blood and guts, at least not a whole lot of it anyway,” said her sister, Alexandria Baxter. “Everybody drank tea and ate molasses cookies. It was that kind of thing.”
Baxter described her sister as a true lady with white gloves, hat, and impeccable grammar. Highly disciplined, she usually began work at 6 a.m., writing through the morning and devoting the afternoon to rewriting.
She would only start a new book on a Sunday morning and she would stay in her bathrobe while writing to ward off any temptation to run out of the house for an errand or otherwise get distracted, said Ms. Baxter.
