by Sue Grafton with Jan Burke and Barry Zeman (editors)

Writer's Digest Books, April, 2002.
Paperback, 312 pages.
ISBN: 1582971021

Writing Mysteries is jam-packed with excellent advice from top authors including Lawrence Block, Jan Burke, Tony Hillerman, Faye Kellerman and Michael Connelly. Edited by bestselling mystery author Sue Grafton (author of the alphabet mystery series, P is for Peril, etc.), this Mystery Writers of America (MWA) handbook is a collection of articles by top authors writing in the mystery genre. The articles in the book cover numerous mystery writing subjects. For those just getting started and working on honing their craft, there are articles covering characters, plot, point of view and dialogue. For writers who are ready fto submit a manuscript, there are articles covering editors, markets and literary agents. The book also covers specialty mystery writing topics; an article by Linda Fairsten covers legal thrillers, and Tess Gerritsen covers medical in her article, "The Medical Thriller." As editor Sue Grafton says, "From beginning, to middle, to the rousing climax of your book, we're here, like an army of experts, to offer guidance and assistance." Mystery writers will find that this "army of experts" is good to have around. This is a great collection of advice from the MWA to help and motivate inspiring mystery writers. Highly recommended.

Writing Mysteries is available for purchase on Amazon.com

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This review was published in the June, 2002 of The Internet Writing Journal.

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