"How To Write A Mystery is an in-depth study of classical story structure and story telling by one of the masters of the craft. Perceptive, detailed, and thorough, it belongs on every writers bookshelf. If you want to write crime novels and you want a leg up on everybody else, start here. I wish I'd had this book twenty years ago...."   – Steven Womack, Edgar Award-winning author of Way Past Dead

Larry Beinhart is a fine teacher, as his students at Oxford know. He is also a fine mystery writer as his many happy readers know. Now he's combined his talents in a book that teaches you how to write the mystery. Whether you want to learn or just to read for pleasure, have I got a book for you.   – Donald Westlake

amazon.com | bn.com | bordersbooks.com

WHODUNIT? YOUDUNIT! Learn the secrets behind writing a story that will sell.

So you want to write a mystery. There's more to it than just a detective, a dead body, and Colonel Mustard in the drawing room with the candlestick. Fortunately, Larry Beinhart--Edgar Award-winning author of You Get What You Pay For, Foreign Exchange, and American Hero--has taken a break from writing smart, suspenseful thrillers to act as your guide through all the twists and turns of creating the twists and turns of a good mystery.Drawing on advice and examples from a host of the best names in mystery writing--from Raymond Chandler and Mickey Spillane to Scott Turow and Thomas Harris--plus some of his own prime plots, Larry Beinhart introduces you to your most indispensable partners in crime:

• Character, plot, and procedure
• The secrets to creating heroes, heroines, and villains ("All writers draw upon themselves and their experience. While the whole of yourself might not be capable of being either a serial killer or an FBI agent, there are parts in each of us that are capable of almost anything.")
• The fine art of scripting the sex scene
• The low-down on violence ("A crime novel without violence is like smoking pot without inhaling, sex without orgasm, or a hug without a squeeze." )
• And much more!
• From the opening hook to the final denouement, Larry Beinhart takes the mystery out of being a mystery writer.