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Inside The Cover
Book Reviews
It
is always great to have good quality reference books on your desk when you are
writing, but this particular type of book is not one I would have thought about
needing until I received it. Now that I have it, I can’t imagine not having
it. This book is about all kinds of crime, and includes issues about crime such
as prevention, investigations, and the legal system. I
have learned so much about crime all over the world from this book, about
criminals I never even thought existed. It seems I have lived in a world of
naiveté up until reading this book; I had no idea of the numbers of gangs from
every country, in every country, and even the numbers in the US that have come
from other countries. For instance, when we opened the doors to the Vietnamese,
we unwittingly opened the doors to their criminals as well. The same is true of
Chinese, Koreans, and just about any country you can think of. The
purpose of the book is to provide writers with tips for writing about crime.
Actually, the subtitle includes the phrase “1001 Tips for Writing the Perfect
Murder.” However, the book has much more information than just about a murder
crime. A writer can write about many crimes, or even use the book to write about
the Los Angeles Police Department. Say a character works as a sheriff in Los
Angeles, and the writer wants to be precise about what the character actually
does. This book has a chart of the entire Los Angeles County Sheriff’s
Department Detective Division. The writer may choose to have his character work
in the forgery department. Using this chart, the writer will be able to say who
the boss of the sheriff will be (the title, that is, not the particular name of
the person), or what the other detectives in the department might also do. One
thought that occurred to me while reading this book was that not only could I
use the information as a resource for specific information, but also it actually
could be used for ideas of topics to write about. I could write about courtroom
characters, or military law, or San Quentin prison. I could write fact or
fiction using this book as a reference. Let me summarize what the book is about. It is published by Michael Wiese Productions, and Michael Wiese is not only the publisher but is a filmmaker. They have published over 60 books specifically for writing and filmmaking. So this particular book covers crime, and it covers all kinds of crimes, criminals, police and other law agencies, investigations, the court system, prisons, and crime language. There is even a chapter about writing about investigations. I think this book is the perfect reference book for a crime writer. I can’t imagine not having a book like this on my desk, now that I have it. I also find the added bonus of knowing more about crime so that I can protect myself and my family from criminals I never knew existed. But seriously, I would never write about a crime now without consulting this reference guide. Dr. Patricia Ferguson currently is editor-in-chief
for AuthorsEdge, writes book reviews for several sites, and is working on a book
of her memoirs as well as a book on disabilities. In the past, she has written
numerous articles for nuclear medicine technicians, psychology journals, and the
Reader's Guide to Social Services, to name a few. She has a doctorate in
clinical psychology and is a freelance writer and editor, as well as an artist
and musician. |
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The
Crime Writer’s Reference Guide
