Scan barcode
A review by vibeke_hiatt
Private Investigations: Mystery Writers on the Secrets, Riddles, and Wonders in Their Lives by Victoria Zackheim
3.0
I received an ARC of this book through Goodreads Giveaways.
Like some of the other reviewers, I was initially misled by the description and thought that this would be a book of true crimes stories. It is not.
As a writer, I also thought it might be a good resource for teaching me how to write mystery novels. I was not disappointed there. About 1/3-1/2 of the essays had a lot of good advice for writers.
Aside from addressing the "mystery" of writing, some essays really did talk about crime. Other writers, though, seemed too think that by adding the word "mystery" to essays about the mundane, they could fool the reader into thinking there was actually an interesting mystery to find in their story.
Not every essay was written in an engaging way. It was difficult to get through some. Some essays were only worth 2 or 3 stars, while others were 4 or 5. I would recommend this books to writers for the advice it gives, but I would only recommend some of the essays for entertainment.
Like some of the other reviewers, I was initially misled by the description and thought that this would be a book of true crimes stories. It is not.
As a writer, I also thought it might be a good resource for teaching me how to write mystery novels. I was not disappointed there. About 1/3-1/2 of the essays had a lot of good advice for writers.
Aside from addressing the "mystery" of writing, some essays really did talk about crime. Other writers, though, seemed too think that by adding the word "mystery" to essays about the mundane, they could fool the reader into thinking there was actually an interesting mystery to find in their story.
Not every essay was written in an engaging way. It was difficult to get through some. Some essays were only worth 2 or 3 stars, while others were 4 or 5. I would recommend this books to writers for the advice it gives, but I would only recommend some of the essays for entertainment.