Customer Reviews

How to Write a Mystery

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Simply put, Beinhart's book is one of the best "How to Write..." books I have ever read. Unlike many books in which the author mostly inspires the reader and/or shares what has worked for him or her, Beinhart gives multiple examples from contemporary and classic works, as well as from his own experiences. I knew that this book had fire in it when I found myself outlining my plot, characters, etc. as I read along. I was also pleased with the Beinhart's honesty about the business and politics of the publishing industry. This book deserves a space on the shelf of every mystery writer--published and unpublished.

The things I love about this book are that it's clever, formally interesting, and fun to read, and that it is irreverent. It doesn't tell you to scrutinize the market and write only the sort of book that is viable and popular. It identifies the structures and details that make for pleasurable reading, and it encourages you to be innovative and unique. It sets you in the direction of thinking about the specific choices you've made for your book and how you can make them more compelling. However, this book should be called How to Write a Crime Novel, since the author is not concerned with traditional cozy mysteries--a huge portion of the mystery market, I would imagine--and admits that he doesn't understand their appeal. I would guess that if you are interested in hard-boiled crime fiction, you could get a whole education about its best and brightest here, since Beinhart's examples and analysis mine hard-boiled fiction for some amazing and entertaining material. He also offers many lists of exemplary hard-boiled writers and books. But the things the author says about cozies (and quotes others as saying about them) are unjustifiably paltry and cliched. As someone who is trying to write a cozy mystery series, I found this book extremely helpful, but not ideal.

This is by far the best book I have ever read on the subject of How To.. Mystery Novels. It is easy to understand, with perfect organization. It is a must have for all writers trying to figure out how to correctly write a murder mystery. Larry has proven himself a great author from all of his books. I highly recommend buying this book.

This book tells what you WANT to know,how it is done,how to get past the difficulties and finsh the bugger,by a well known, published,damn good writer,not some critic who has'nt written a crime novel or someone who made up a list of what to do from other books.This is the Real Deal!

This is a great book for both the beginner and the experience writer. It walks you through the process without holding your hand. Outlining the process from start to finish it can help the self-taught refresh their memories and to double check themsleves while providing a start to finish map for the new author to follow. Even for those who don't need the information contained within its covers, this is a good read that makes you think about the subject.

... Even though this book is specifically for writing mysteries,

it is by far the best of all the writing books I have.

Besides being a great writer, which makes this book a quick and enjoyable read, Larry gives practicle advice, inspiration, examples, and walks you through each step of writing a mystery.

I've put aside all other writing books and I'm reading this one for the second time.

It is well worth the money.

This book falls into the big category: Too general and vague to be any good for a mystery writer.

Sure, it holds some information about good writing, but for that purpose there are tons of better books. As for mystery, this book does not give you any good plotting instructions, any good storytelling etc.

Buy another book or save your money.

Beinhart's book is the most informative tome you're likely to find.

I was a little hesitant when buying this used book, but decided for fifty cents it was worth a gamble. What a surprise when I recieved it to find it was in good shape, almost new. I couldn't be happier with the whole transaction.

I keep laughing while I read this book.

Larry Beinhart is telling me all his secrets about writing.

Yes, I know that he is a famous teacher of writing and has written several must-read novels.

So what.

So have many others out there.

My fantasy is to have a mentor with his credentials. We sit down regularly and he shares the distillation of years of real experience.

This book is probably the closest I shall ever come to that ( and I own a lot of other books that claim to do just that).

It took me years before I discovered this book. I had gotten to a place where I wanted to learn from mystery authors.

And then I found this book.

Wow.

Just read it and get back to writing.