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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donttellitme
Chelsea, US
★★★★★ 5
IMO, a filter coffee lovers best scale option on a budget. Solid grade A choice.
Color: Black
I have two other .1mg "coffee" or food scales that I used regular for pour overs. I saw this has 4x display on real time flow rate, g/mg weight, timer, and grounds to water ratio for a solid price and purchased this after reading some reviews. One of my scales has these features, but the workflow on this scale just clicked a ton better for me. The beep isn't super loud annoying which is a major relief, as I just couldn't keep sound on on my other scale due to that trigger honestly. I tried brew mode immediately and will now only use that when making a pour over. Loved the beep alerting when I finally hit the proper ratio and I like it keeps my final info on screen after the brew for my study. I can actually practice my technique now and not have split attention as much. This is still compact, but fits a larger carafe well whereas my other scale is a better fit for the espresso machine. The display is clear and buttons have a slight tactile sensation from the print, but are still the capacitive touch based style. I tested it with weights and it is my most accurate scale, it hit the .1g accurately every time or at worst would fluctuate back and forth quickly from the true value (more than enough for me to trust it). It updates and tares from power on fairly fast, it reacts fast enough to touch to not make me pause much. My nitpicks are that the front clear matte plastic isn't quite uniform flat viewed at an off angle giving it a cheaper look, but that doesn't affect functionality at all and truth is, it really was very affordable for the feature set I feel. The second nitpick was that the scale's mat does not grip well or fit securely over prompting it to move around easily. For this I had to modify using some rubberized grip tape on the surface of scale underneath the mat itself. Now it doesn't slide from vibration and if any pressure down it doesn't slip. I could have removed it totally, but it is attractive and useful once stabilized. With that modification done, I can fully recommend this scale for filter coffee lovers at any price. Great product, hopefully lasts me a long time.
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Reviewed in the United States on June 16, 2025
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Jrmaxim
Draper, US
★★★★★ 5
Top of the line scale.
Color: Black
Fantastic scale. The best coffee scale I have ever owned and can be used for all kinds of kitchen items as well.
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Reviewed in the United States on June 5, 2026
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C. Stewart
Los Angeles, US
★★★★★ 5
Product was as described and meet my need for a scale measuring 0.1 g
Color: Black
Product was as described. Works well. I use it for measuring the amount of coffee for my drip coffee maker. I have not done any testing with respect to actual accuracy so cannot comment. But it seems close to the other scale that I have that only measures to the nearest gram. Construction seems good. Nice looking unit.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 12, 2026
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Mark Campbell
Louisville, US
★★★★★ 4
Nice scale
Color: Black
Works as expected, nice size. Makes a big difference when adjusting espresso extraction. I haven't used the timer. One improvement for my use would be to move the power switch from the back to the front, on the side or on the control panel.
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Reviewed in the United States on May 5, 2026
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Jerry McCamman
New York, US
★★★★★ 5
accurate scale
Color: Black
great product
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Reviewed in the United States on June 1, 2026

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