Reviews

Murder and Mayhem: A Doctor Answers Medical and Forensic Questions for Mystery Writers by D.P. Lyle

sdapelo's review against another edition

5.0

Answered all my questions and then some

Wow. At first I thought some of these questions were off, but there was a detailed answer to all of them . Perfect and just what I was looking for.

jaclynhyde's review against another edition

4.0

I'm not a writer (or even a heavy reader) of mysteries, but I found this exploration of the medical facts behind mystery plots to be an entertaining read. Lyle answers writers' plot questions, clearly explaining the biology, medicine, and chemistry to the layman. A few facts are repeated, since the book is compiled from Lyle's newsletter columns, but they aren't overly distracting. An interesting trivia book for anyone interested in the subject, even if you're not using it for writing reference.

jenniferworrell's review

5.0

This was so much fun to read. Lyle has a great way of explaining things that are easy to understand without condescending. There are so many evil, gruesome things to do to a person and I can't wait to off somebody in my next work. I also liked Lyle's personal comments, like calling people out on the bizarre-ness of their question, what an interesting twist their violent idea could lead to, and my favorite, involving a diaphragm: "How diabolical!"