SKU: 92892798280

How to Write a Damn Good Mystery: A Practical Step-By-Step Guide from Inspiration to Finished Manuscript

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How to Write a Damn Good Mystery: A Practical Step-By-Step Guide from Inspiration to Finished ManuscriptEdgar award nominee James N. Frey, author of the internationally best selling books on the craft of writing, How to Write a Damn Good Novel, How to Write a Damn Good Novel II: Advanced Techniques, and The Key: How to Write Damn Good Fiction Using the Power of Myth, has now written what is certain to become the standard "how to" book for mystery writing, How to Write a Damn Good Mystery. Frey urges writers to aim high not to try to write a good enough

Edgar award nominee James N. Frey, author of the internationally best-selling books on the craft of writing, How to Write a Damn Good Novel, How to Write a Damn Good Novel II: Advanced Techniques, and The Key: How to Write Damn Good Fiction Using the Power of Myth, has now written what is certain to become the standard "how to" book for mystery writing, How to Write a Damn Good Mystery.

Frey urges writers to aim high-not to try to write a good-enough-to-get-published mystery, but a damn good mystery. A damn good mystery is first a dramatic novel, Frey insists-a dramatic novel with living, breathing characters-and he shows his readers how to create a living, breathing, believable character who will be clever and resourceful, willful and resolute, and will be what Frey calls "the author of the plot behind the plot."

Frey then shows, in his well-known, entertaining, and accessible (and often humorous) style, how the characters-the entire ensemble, including the murderer, the detective, the authorities, the victims, the suspects, the witnesses and the bystanders-create a complete and coherent world.

Exploring both the on-stage action and the behind-the-scenes intrigue, Frey shows prospective writers how to build a fleshed-out, believable, and logical world. He shows them exactly which parts of that world show up in the pages of a damn good mystery-and which parts are held back just long enough to keep the reader guessing.

This is an indispensable step-by-step guide for anyone who's ever dreamed of writing a damn good mystery.



Binding Type: Hardcover
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Published: 02/12/2004
ISBN: 9780312304461
Pages: 271
Weight: 1.10lbs
Size: 8.60h x 5.80w x 1.20d

Review Citations: Booklist 01/01/2004 pg. 809
PW Notes and Reprints 01/26/2004 pg. 235
Library Journal 02/01/2004 pg. 103
Publishers Weekly 01/26/2004
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SKU: 92892798280

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Christane Huddleston
Lowell, US
★★★★★ 4
Very durable
Color: 3 Pack Donkey Giraffe Dog
For some reason I thought they would be a little bigger but I have to say they are very durable. My Saint Bernard has not shredded them to pieces yet. Normally the toys last a day or two but he still has them after 3 weeks. 👍
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Dana R.
Cuba, US
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Well made and seem durable
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Cute and my dogs love them !
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Felipe Pires
Pawtucket, US
★★★★★ 1
Not durable
Color: 3 Pack Donkey Giraffe Dog
Toys look nice, but they did not last 2 days with our 6 months Mini Aussie. It's nice as a display item, not as a toy.
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Darcie Balderrama
Los Angeles, US
★★★★★ 3
Cute and engaging
Color: 3 Pack Donkey Giraffe Dog, Color: 3 Pack Donkey Giraffe Dog
Received these cute toys 2 days ago. My beagle was so excited to play with them. Great concept with the rope feature and then fluffy areas. Unfortunately she has already ripped apart the giraffe so the destruction rate is not good for a medium sized dog. Great for our Chihuahua. I would recommend buying for small dogs only.
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claudette st.ours
Whiting, US
★★★★★ 5
Good and tuff
Color: 3 Pack Donkey Giraffe Dog
So far so good there still all together my golden is a very aggressive chewer there still together after 4 days that’s the longest anything lasted
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Reviewed in the United States on May 16, 2026

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