Murder One: A Writer's Guide to Homicide (Howdunit Series) [Paperback]

Mauro V. Corvasce (Author), Joseph R. Paglino (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1997 | ISBN-10: 089879773X | ISBN-13: 978-0898797732 | Edition: 1st

From accidental murder to a crime of passion, Murder One gives you the nuts and bolts necessary to build your fictional murder scenario. Prosecuting investigators Mauro Corvasce and Joseph Paglino take you step by step through motives, plans, murders and disposal of the bodies. You'll be taken to the scenes of familial murders, set off by simmering feuds; gang murders, from contract hits to drive-by shootings; business and financial murders, guaranteed to silence whistle-blowers; organized crime hits, and the psychology behind the mobs; the little-known vehicular murder, an excellent plot twister; crimes of passion, and the motives that spur them; and bizarre murders, and their real-life investigations; . Beginning with an overview of murder, the authors also delve into legal definitions and homicide investigations. In these pages, you can also investigate opportunity, weapons, kidnapping and cover-up crimes. The authors augment their chapters with real-life case files and first-hand investigations. From raging spouses to cool contract killers, Murder One is your encyclopedia for inventing murders for your stories and novels.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Murder One is not written with the verve of some of the other books in Writer's Digest's Howdunit series, but if you need to know what kind of car serial killers prefer to drive (Volkswagens) or what happens to the contents of a human skull when subjected to intense heat (they "boil and explode much like a hard-boiling egg that is left unattended"), this is the place to turn. Mauro V. Corvasce and Joseph R. Paglino, investigators for the Monmouth County, New Jersey, prosecutor's office, provide the inside scoop on murders involving narcotics, gangs, organized crime, families, strangers, crimes of passion, lust, sex, and more. --Jane Steinberg

Product Details

• Paperback: 216 pages
• Publisher: Writers Digest Books; 1st edition (June 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 089879773X
• ISBN-13: 978-0898797732
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #766,210 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Murder One is a good, broad, writers guide to homicide., September 24, 1999

By 

Douglas H. Haden (Ridgecrest, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Murder One: A Writer's Guide to Homicide (Howdunit Series) (Paperback)

"Murder One" accomplishes its purpose: It is a good writer's guide to homicide. Its breadth dictates lack of deep detail. It covers murder: weapons, business murders, narcotics murders, gang murders, organized-crime murders, contract murders, crime-of-passion murders and thrill/lust, sexual, mass, serial, vehicular and bizarre murders.

All books, including "Murder One", I have read in the "Howdunit Series" have been incredibly helpful.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An Addition To Your Reference Library, Not A Stand-Alone, January 5, 2001

By 

FictionAddiction.NET - See all my reviews

This review is from: Murder One: A Writer's Guide to Homicide (Howdunit Series) (Paperback)

Murder One contains a lot of case studies of actual crimes. It also details motives and methods on all sorts of crimes including drug distribution, parents who kill their children and serial killers.

While this book is a great quick reference book, solid crime writing requires a little more depth than this book offers. It's worth having, though, to get you started on the right track.

4 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Poorly written book., July 30, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Murder One: A Writer's Guide to Homicide (Howdunit Series) (Paperback)

The main drawback of this book is that the poor chapters about different types of homicide are not followed by any further literature.