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The Crime Writer's Reference Guide: 1001 Tips for Writing the Perfect Murder

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Author: Martin Roth
Publisher: Michael Wiese Productions
Category: Book

List Price: ~~$20.95~~
Buy New: $10.00
You Save: $10.95 (52%)

New (22) Used (18) from $7.25

Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

8 reviews
Sales Rank: 33109

Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 287
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 9 x 6 x 0.8

ISBN: 0941188493
Dewey Decimal Number: 808.3872
EAN: 9780941188494
ASIN: 0941188493

Publication Date: February 25, 2003
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: d Pristine, with no markings at all.

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Editorial Reviews:

Product Description
Here's the book no writer of murder mysteries, thrillers, action/adventure, true-crime, police procedurals, romantic suspense, and psychological mysteries, whether scripts or novels, should be without.

Customer Reviews: Read 3 more reviews...

5 out of 5 stars

The Ultimate Crime Manual September 14, 2008
I purchased this book with some doubt. I wasn't sure if it was going to be what I was looking for as an aspiring horror & mystery writer. I have to say, I only read half way through this book so far; it's fantastic! Packed with information that any writer should know. This book covers everything from drugs, to criminals, to writing.

You don't have to be a writer to read this book. I find this as a manual, and it contains as much information as a criminology text book! You have to purchase this book, I promise you will learn things that you never had any clue about.

I know a lot of drug/criminal slang, and this book has helped me to learn every more. I can not say enough, Martin Roth wrote one heck of a book here. It has many graphs inside, it teaches you the structure of criminal gangs, and the drug charts offer everything from where the specific drug comes from, to it's effects and much more....

Thanks so Much
I know this book will help me with my writing 110%. I am proud to own this book, and I will never part with it.

Mikey/PA

1 out of 5 stars

Save Your Money April 23, 2004
68 out of 71 found this review helpful

I'm not sure what the other reviewers found so compelling. I found little here other than pages and pages of lists. Some examples: 6pp. of LAPD police radio codes, 3pp. of FBI case classifications, 16pp. of org charts for the LA County Sherrif's Dept. My favorite, however, is the full page devoted to a listing of "Weapons Used by Criminals" which begins "Acid, Air gun, Ax, Bayonet, Bazooka, Billy Club..." Well, you get the idea. The portions of the book not devoted to lists tend to be laughably superficial (e.g., "Street gangs now battle over who sells the drugs and where." Really, thanks.) Granted, there are suggestions for further reading, but my advice would be to save yourself some money and do your readers a favor -- do your own research.

5 out of 5 stars

Spice up your writing January 5, 2004
15 out of 20 found this review helpful

I don't usually write crime novels, but when I decided to try my hand at suspence I realized just how much help I needed. I searched through many reference books and found The Crime Writers Reference Guide by Martin Roth to be a savior for me. It gives great tips on investigating, cops, the courts, illegal drugs, the prison system and crime. A handy book to have by your computer when you need to amp up a scene or two or just need to be factual. I found the investigation, crime and prison chapters to be especially helpful. Plus, at the end of each chapter is a "Where to go from here" that gives you extra resources to look up, so you don't have to stop with this book and you have the titles and authors of others to investigate. A great companion to this book is one I found by accident titled "Crime Scene" by Larry Ragle. I wrote a review on that one too, so go there and check that out.

5 out of 5 stars

Individual chapters cover what a writer most needs to know March 10, 2003
14 out of 17 found this review helpful

The Crime Writer's Reference Guide: 1001 Tips For Writing The Perfect Murder by Martin Roth is a detailed resource especially intended for aspiring authors of mysteries, suspense thrillers, action/adventure crime novels, true crime stories, and police procedurals novels. Individual chapters cover what a writer most needs to know in order to avoid common errors and misconceptions when writing about crime, criminals, police, courts, and prisons. A highly recommended basic primer, this edition of The Crime Writer's Reference Guide is enhanced with a new Foreword and updated information supplied by Rey Verdugo, a former police officer, a top criminal investigator, and a technical consultant for film and television projects.

5 out of 5 stars

What you need to know to write a crime drama February 4, 2003
10 out of 12 found this review helpful

The premise of this book appeals to every screenwriter that is ready to enter the world of crime and investigation, a book written for screenwriters regarding the world of crime. This book is the ultimate starting point for creating a believable world for thrillers, mysteries, and other related crime dramas.

Written by Martin Roth with adaptations from Sargeant Rey Verdugo, this book grabs hold of you at page 1 by offering the 10 most common mistakes writers will make regarding police work. So, Is "taking a suspect down to the precinct for questioning" an appropriate phrase to use in your screenplay?

Then, the Crime Writer Reference Book states the different types of crimes and possible motives for creating such crime. It allows you, the writer, to explore any possible scenario and making that scenario accurate.

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