Is this a Real Punny Cozy Mystery Title, or Not? 

There’s nothing quite like a good punny title for a cozy mystery. Who can resist reading a book called Eggescutive Orders or To Helvetica and Back? For the dubious, yes, those are real book titles. The former is the third book in the White House Chef Mystery series by Julie Hyzy; the latter is the first in Paige Shelton’s Dangerous Type Mystery series.

While some folks have likely groaned at them, I love these punny titles. All of them. I love the clever wordplay and the signaling that what you are about to read is going to be good fun, which is why I’m reading cozies in the first place.

In fact, the Economist wrote about their own punny titles in 2017, including: “Rooms for improvement” (in a story about British housing); “Though Mooch is taken, Mooch abides” (on the firing of Anthony Scaramucci).” So cozy mysteries are in good company. The article noted that while some say puns are the lowest form of humor, it noted, “Yet puns demand intelligence, creativity, and general knowledge: the best draw on cultural references, allude to several things at the same time and are intricately constructed.” The article noted that there was a monthly pun competition in New York called the Punderdome. It appears that it is still alive and kicking.