Customer Reviews

The Elements of Mystery Fiction: Writing the Modern Whodunit

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Of all the books on writing mysteries - and there are many - this is one of the only written by a real master of the craft (with the exception, perhaps, of Patricia Highsmith's book). Tapply neither talks down to the reader nor does he go over the reader's head. This nuts-and-bolts book looks at the main issues involved in writing mysteries clearly and concisely.

Covering the usual areas - character, plot, point of view, setting, etc. - Tapply gives an honest, frank appraisal of what works for him and others. While it is possible that having read other books on writing in general and mysteries in particular made me more receptive to this book, Tapply's tone is friendly and reassuring. This may be the best book on the subject.

William G. Tapply has great credentials for explaining about how to write mystery fiction: His series of Brady Coyne mysteries have been providing much reading pleasure to mystery fans for decades. He's also collaborated on novels with Linda Barlow and Philip R. Craig. The fishing happy aspect of Brady Coyne's fictional life reflects Mr. Tapply's personal love for and great knowledge of fishing (and he's also written widely on the subject in non-fiction form).

When I'm reading a mystery, I often feel that something is missing. The Elements of Mystery Fiction showed me how to analyze a mystery to see what its strengths and weaknesses are. I'm sure my mystery reviews will be much better as a result.

As a non-fiction writer, I've never been able to figure out a writing process that would work with mysteries. Novels are much easier. You can just start from an intriguing premise, put the hero or heroine in a tricky spot, and let the book write itself . . . as Stephen King suggests.

Mr. Tapply thoughtfully describes the process he uses for writing mysteries. It's a bear! But I can see why it works. You cannot leave anything to chance.

Having seen the large challenges and bulky process involved, I can also see why many novelists prefer to write suspense books rather than mysteries. Those are much easier to write!

This new edition adds several new chapters that are written or contributed to through interview by other mystery authors and experts exploring:

Writing the Mystery Series -- Philip R. Craig
Standalone or Series Mystery? -- Bill Eidson
Seeing Double: Making Collaboration Work -- Hallie Ephron
Doing Business with Agents -- Fred Morris interview
Editing and Publishing Mysteries -- Barbara Peters interview
The Bookselling Business -- Otto Penzler interview
Publicizing Your Mystery Novel -- Jeremiah Healy interview
Persistence -- Vicki Stiefel

Of particular interest to those who want detailed writing help are Mr. Tapply's many examples of superb writing (from other peoples' mysteries -- many of which you've probably read) and bad writing (concocted to demonstrate what can go wrong).

And naturally, the book is brilliantly and lovingly written.

Get this book today!

I've been a professional writer for many years, but all non-fiction. I don't have a novel in me. On the other hand, I've certainly read (and reviewed!) hundreds of mystery novels, and have long been devoted to the creative spirit behind them.

I recently gave one book in a mystery series a disappointing ("it lost me") review, and wondered about what the author had done wrong. Serendipitously, I found this copy of The Elements of Mystery Fiction in my To Read pile. I had totally forgotten that it was given to me as a gift, a few years ago, by the book's publisher. (In the spirit of full disclosure: he is a longtime personal friend, and his wife, Barbara Peters, wrote one chapter in the book. That wouldn't keep me from giving this a poor review if I thought the book's advice was lackluster, but you should be aware of my background here.)

I've read a lot of writing books, both instructional and "get your head screwed on straight" (Bird by Bird is my favorite in the latter category). Many of the "how to write" books go over the same tired rules, and half the how-to is interchangeable with any generic "fiction writing" advice. Tapply doesn't fall into any of these traps. Suggestions like "Show, don't tell" are given in the context of writing mysteries. For instance, he writes, "Give your readers the same kind of sensory impressions they use in their own lives to interpret their world. When you explain or elaborate for your readers, you deprive them of the opportunity to participate." And with mysteries, he emphasizes, the reader wants to participate (along with the protagonist) in solving the crime.

Tappley doesn't make pronouncements about "the right way to do things" as much as he presents the reader with options. Should you write short fiction or long novels? Should the mystery be written in the first person or another narrative form? You'll learn the advantages and disadvantages of each, along with examples from several authors' books (and you may have read many of them). I like this; I prefer to make a reasoned choice that works for _me_ rather than insist my writing style or methods should work the same as the author's.

I learned interesting stuff... much of which I personally have little practical use for, but I expect a serious fiction author will learn from. Tappley explains how any mystery novel has two actual stories. First is the obvious detection quest: the process by which the sleuth works on the "whodunnit" puzzle. But first, he reminds us, "Before you write this story of detection, you must first write the story of the murder itself," the relationship between murderer and victim and how-and-why he planned, executed, and almost-got-away-with the deed.

About 60 pages of the book are chapters written by people other than Tapply, each of whom addresses a relevant area to mystery book writing and publishing. Philip R Craig writes about the issues in writing a mystery series; Hallie Ephron talks about what it takes to make collaboration work. My friend Barbara Peters discusses the business of editing and publishing mysteries, and other contributed chapters address such topics as the bookselling business (make friends with independent bookstore owners!) and how to publicize your novel.

I really enjoyed this book, as it gave me more appreciation of the work that a mystery novelist does. Even though I (arguably) have little practical use for its advice, Tappley held my interest all the way through. Recommended.