Write mysteries your whole family can actually share.

Cozy Clues for Curious Families is a practical, encouraging guide for authors and aspiring writers who want to create light-hearted, non-violent puzzle mysteries that grandparents, teens, and everyone in between can enjoy together.

Instead of corpses, serial killers, and grim backstories, Eleanor Hartley shows you how to build page-turning tension from lost objects, misunderstandings, village capers, and social mix-ups-while still delivering genuinely satisfying whodunits.

You'll learn how to:

- Design low-stakes but irresistible mysteries
Discover story engines built around everyday puzzles: missing heirlooms, secret messages, mistaken identities, school or village pranks, festival mishaps, and more. Learn how to raise emotional stakes without resorting to violence.

- Create a cozy neighbourhood readers want to move into
Turn a village, small town, apartment block, or school into a "stage" packed with recurring locations, running jokes, and clue-rich details. Make your setting work like a puzzle board the whole family can explore together.

- Build a warm, multi-generational cast
Craft grandparents, parents, children, neighbours, and oddballs who are sympathetic, funny, and distinct-without punching down. Learn casting tricks that keep all age groups engaged and give everyone someone to root for.

- Plant fair clues and playful red herrings
Structure your mysteries so young readers feel clever and adults still feel challenged. Hartley breaks down clue-seeding, timing, misdirection, and satisfying reveals-with plenty of examples and practical templates.

- Write humour without meanness
Find a comic tone that's witty, observant, and warm instead of snide or cruel. Explore situational comedy, language play, character contrasts, and running gags that bring generations together instead of