I’ve been on a journey of sorts over the past decade. I wanted to understand--intellectually, but also on a blood and bone level--the elemen...

What follows is a structure —one-among-many—a murder mystery could have. If you would like to read about a general story structure head ...

I began reading The Girl on the Train , by Paula Hawkins in part because it was compared favorably to Gillian Flynn's spellbinding ...

In previous posts I’ve talked about the difference between mysteries and thrillers . In a mystery an event happens toward the beginni...

Ever wanted to write a murder mystery? I have! I love murder mysteries. I love reading them, I love watching them, I love thinking abou...

W.H. Auden writes that the test of a good detective story is twofold: a) The reader must be surprised when the sleuth reveals the i...

Today I examine certain structural elements of Agatha Christie's murder mysteries. Specifically, I look at two things. First, how s...

Today I'm continuing with the second part of my two part series on how to write like the Queen of Crime, Agatha Christie. Today I w...

Agatha Christie is the best-selling novelist of all time and one of my favorite authors. I've spent many a night curled up in front ...

Today I'm continuing my mini-series on how to write a murderously good mystery by exploring what qualities the murder victim might ...