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Amazon.com Review The mystery, like other stories, relies on believable characters, a strong narrative, and crisp prose. But it is also "a way of examining the dark side of human nature," says Writing Mysteries editor Sue Grafton. The book's 37 contributors ponder everything from brainstorming ideas to dealing with editors. Jeremiah Healy jump-starts the book with a piece that considers the unwritten "rules" of mystery writing. Stuart Kaminsky discusses research--experts, it turns out, are just waiting for you to contact them--and Sandra Scoppettone discusses vivid villains. Sara Paretsky contemplates the pitfalls of using a recurring hero, and Michael Connelly contributes a fine piece on characterization. "The best crime novels," Connelly says, "are not about how a detective works on a case; they are about how a case works on a detective." Other chapters focus on amateur sleuths, convincing dialogue, depiction of violence, and specialty genres. The book's short chapters form a sort of mystery writer's antipasti plate. Some won't resonate, while others will leave you wishing you had a larger serving. An ideal primer for mystery writers. --Jane Steinberg About the Author Sue Grafton is the best-selling author of the Kinsey Millhone series. She lives in Southern California.

From Publishers Weekly This uninspired addition to the Aurora Teagarden series (The Julius House, etc.) opens memorably with Lawrenceton, Ga.'s premiere librarian adjusting her lawn chair and observing Angel Youngblood, her bodyguard and all-around helper, cut the grass. From a plane that has been circling overhead drops the recently dead body of Detective Sergeant Jack Burns, Aurora's local law-enforcement nemesis. Aurora, or Roe as her friends call her, sets out to find out who killed him and why her garden was targeted for the corpse. As she conducts her unorthodox search, she has the nagging thought that perhaps the death has something to do with Angel or her husband, Shelby, or perhaps with her own husband, Martin, and his mysterious and dangerous past. She is not reassured when the FBI is called in, nor when several other murders are committed. In between visiting crime scenes and attending company banquets (the one-dimensional Martin is a bigshot exec), Roe also deals with the post-honeymoon letdown of her two-year-old marriage and ponders the strangely intimate relationship she has developed with her bodyguards. True Teagarden enthusiasts may feel rewarded by this latest episode, but Harris is a bit too down to earth this time out--the suspense barely cranks up before the solution descends with a thud not unlike that of Jack Burns's corpse. Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. From Library Journal Usually outspoken and witty, Aurora Teagarden is nearly struck dumb when a body falls from a circling plane and lands in her backyard, barely missing her bodyguard and buddy, Angel. The body belongs to a local policeman--no great friend--but strange events follow: government agents appear; someone clobbers Angel's husband; and a co-worker at the library is murdered after a showdown with Aurora. In her likable, indomitable fashion, Aurora sleuths in self-defense. Infectious prose, engaging characters, crafty plotting; recommended.Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.