Book picks similar to
Forensics and Fiction: Clever, Intriguing, and Downright Odd Questions from Crime Writers by D.P. Lyle
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Snakes in Suits: When Psychopaths Go to Work
Paul Babiak - 2006
Now, Dr. Paul Babiak and Dr. Robert D. Hare return with a revised and updated edition of their essential guide.All of us at some point have—or will—come into contact with psychopathic individuals. The danger they present may not be readily apparent because of their ability to charm, deceive, and manipulate. Although not necessarily criminal, their self-serving nature frequently is destructive to the organizations that employ them. So how can we protect ourselves and our organizations in a business climate that offers the perfect conditions for psychopaths to thrive?In Snakes in Suits, Hare, an expert on the scientific study of psychopathy, and Babiak, an industrial and organizational psychologist and a leading authority on the corporate psychopath, examine the role of psychopaths in modern corporations and provide the tools employers can use to avoid and deal with them. Together, they have developed the B-Scan 360, a research tool designed specifically for business professionals.Dr. Babiak and Dr. Hare reveal the secret lives of psychopaths, explain the ways in which they manipulate and deceive, and help you to see through their games. The rapid pace of today’s corporate environment provides the perfect breeding ground for these "snakes in suits" and this newly revised and updated classic gives you the insight, information, and power to protect yourself and your company before it’s too late.
Silent Witnesses
Nigel McCrery - 2013
A murder. A mystery.The most important person on the scene? The forensic scientist. And yet the intricate details of their work remains a mystery to most of us. Silent Witnesses looks at the history of forensic science over the last two centuries, during which time a combination of remarkable intuition, painstaking observation and leaps in scientific knowledge have developed this fascinating branch of detection. Throwing open the casebook, it introduces us to such luminaries as 'The Wizard of Berkeley' Edward Heinrich, who is credited with having solved over 2000 crimes, and Alphonse Bertillon, the French scientist whose guiding principle 'no two individuals share the same characteristics' became the core of identification. Along the way, it takes us to India and Australia, Columbia and China, Russia, France, Germany, Spain and Italy. And it proves that, in order to solve ever more complicated cases, science must always stay one step ahead of the killer.
The Writer's Guide to Weapons: A Practical Reference for Using Firearms and Knives in Fiction
Benjamin Sobieck - 2014
The Writer's Guide to Weapons will help you hit your target every time. Firearms and knives have starring roles in a wide range of genres--crime, thriller, war, mystery, Western, and more. Unfortunately, many depictions of weapons in novels and film are pure fiction. Knowing the difference between a shotshell and a slug, a pistol and a revolver, or a switchblade and a butterfly knife is essential for imbuing your story with authenticity--and gaining popularity with discerning readers. Inside you'll find: An in-depth look at the basics of firearms and knives: how they work, why they work, what they look like, and how to depict them accurately in your stories. The biggest weapons myths in fiction, TV, and film. A surefire guide for choosing the correct weapon for your characters, no matter their skill level, strength, or background. A review of major gun and knife laws, weapons safety tips,and common police tactics. "The Hit List," showcasing the most popular weapons for spies, detectives, gunslingers, gangsters, military characters, and more. Examples highlighting inaccurate vs. accurate weapons depictions. An insightful foreword by David Morrell, the award-winning creator of Rambo. Equal parts accessible, humorous, and practical, The Writer's Guide to Weapons is the one resource you need to incorporate firearms and knives into your fiction like a seasoned professional.
The Complete History of Jack the Ripper
Philip Sugden - 1994
The murders in London between 1888-91 attributed to Jack the Ripper constitute one of the most mysterious unsolved criminal cases. This story is the result of many years meticulous research. The author reassesses all the evidence and challenges everything we thought we knew about the Victorian serial killer and the vanished East End he terrorized.
The Crime Writer's Guide to Police Practice and Procedure
Michael O'Byrne - 2009
'The Crime Writer's Guide To Police Practice And Procedure' is the detective in your pocket - something you can reach for when you feel your writing needs that short sharp shock of real-life investigating.
Sin and Syntax: How to Craft Wickedly Effective Prose
Constance Hale - 1999
Copy veteran Constance Hale is on a mission to make creative communication, both the lyrical and the unlawful, an option for everyone.With its crisp, witty tone, Sin and Syntax covers grammar’s ground rules while revealing countless unconventional syntax secrets (such as how to use—Gasp!—interjections or when to pepper your prose with slang) that make for sinfully good writing. Discover how to:*Distinguish between words that are “pearls” and words that are “potatoes”* Avoid “couch potato thinking” and “commitment phobia” when choosing verbs* Use literary devices such as onomatopoeia, alliteration, and metaphor (and understand what you're doing)Everyone needs to know how to write stylish prose—students, professionals, and seasoned writers alike. Whether you’re writing to sell, shock, or just sing, Sin and Syntax is the guide you need to improve your command of the English language.
Getting Into Character: Seven Secrets a Novelist Can Learn from Actors
Brandilyn Collins - 2002
Drawing on the Method acting theory that theater professionals have used for decades, this in-depth guide explains seven characterization techniques and adapts them for the novelist's use. In this unique and practical book, you'll discover concepts that will help you understand and communicate the behavior, motivation, and psychology of every fictional character you create. Examples from classic and contemporary novels show you how these techniques have been used to dazzling effect by Jane Austen, Mark Twain, Steve Martini, Anne Rivers Siddons, and others. These simple yet highly effective techniques will help you: * Create characters whose distinctive traits become plot components * Determine each character's specific objectives and motivations * Write natural-sounding dialogue rich in meaning * Endow your characters with three-dimensional emotional lives * Use character to bring action sequences to exuberant life * Write convincingly about any character facing any circumstance
Scene & Structure
Jack M. Bickham - 1993
An imprisoned man receives an unexpected caller, after which "everything changed..."And the reader is hooked. But whether or not readers will stay on for the entire wild ride will depend on how well the writer structures the story, scene by scene.This book is your game plan for success. Using dozens of examples from his own work - including "Dropshot," "Tiebreaker" and other popular novels - Jack M. Bickham will guide you in building a sturdy framework for your novel, whatever its form or length. You'll learn how to: -"worry" your readers into following your story to the end -prolong your main character's struggle while moving the story ahead -juggle cause and effect to serve your story action As you work on crafting compelling scenes that move the reader, moment by moment, toward the story's resolution, you'll see why believable fiction must make more sense than real life. Every scene should end in disastersome scenes should be condensed, and others built big. Whatever your story, this book can help you arrive at a happy ending in the company of satisfied readers.
The Little Red Writing Book
Brandon Royal - 2004
Brimming with clever advice, this book offers writers, students, and business professionals a concise guide to penning strong and effective work for all occasions.The Little Red Writing Book is designed for visual appeal and ease of use. Elegant yet practical, it will be an intriguing, inviting reference you'll turn to again and again. Author Brandon Royal offers concise explanations and nonintimidating instruction based on the four pillars of sound writing: structure, style, readability, and grammar. His discussion centers on 20 immutable writing principles as well as 30 commonly encountered rules of grammar. A wealth of examples, charts, and engaging exercises make The Little Red Writing Book an invaluable guide for anyone who wants to master those skills that will make a good writer even better.
American Sherlock: Murder, Forensics, and the Birth of American CSI
Kate Winkler Dawson - 2020
In a lab filled with curiosities--beakers, microscopes, Bunsen burners, and hundreds upon hundreds of books--sat an investigator who would go on to crack at least two thousand cases in his forty-year career. Known as the "American Sherlock Holmes," Edward Oscar Heinrich was one of America's greatest--and first--forensic scientists, with an uncanny knack for finding clues, establishing evidence, and deducing answers with a skill that seemed almost supernatural.Heinrich was one of the nation's first expert witnesses, working in a time when the turmoil of Prohibition led to sensationalized crime reporting and only a small, systematic study of evidence. However with his brilliance, and commanding presence in both the courtroom and at crime scenes, Heinrich spearheaded the invention of a myriad of new forensic tools that police still use today, including blood spatter analysis, ballistics, lie-detector tests, and the use of fingerprints as courtroom evidence. His work, though not without its serious--some would say fatal--flaws, changed the course of American criminal investigation.Based on years of research and thousands of never-before-published primary source materials, American Sherlock captures the life of the man who pioneered the science our legal system now relies upon--as well as the limits of those techniques and the very human experts who wield them.
Book in a Month: The Fool-Proof System for Writing a Novel in 30 Days
Victoria Lynn Schmidt - 2008
Book in a Month shows you how to:
Set realistic goals and monitor your progress
Manage your time so that your writing life has room to flourish
Select a story topic that will continue to inspire you throughout the writing process
Quickly outline your entire story so that you have a clear idea of how your plot and characters are going to develop before you start writing
Draft each act of your story by focusing on specific turning points
Keep track of the areas you want to revise without losing your momentum in the middle of your story
Relax and have fun-you are, after all, doing something you love
So what are you waiting for? If you've been putting off your book project, let Book in a Month be your guide and find out just how much you can accomplish.
The Gift of Fear: Survival Signals That Protect Us from Violence
Gavin de Becker - 1996
The new nanny gives a mother an uneasy feeling. A stranger in a deserted parking lot offers unsolicited help. The threat of violence surrounds us every day. But we can protect ourselves, by learning to trust—and act on—our gut instincts.In this empowering book, Gavin de Becker, the man Oprah Winfrey calls the nation's leading expert on violent behavior, shows you how to spot even subtle signs of danger—before it's too late. Shattering the myth that most violent acts are unpredictable, de Becker, whose clients include top Hollywood stars and government agencies, offers specific ways to protect yourself and those you love, including how to act when approached by a stranger, when you should fear someone close to you, what to do if you are being stalked, how to uncover the source of anonymous threats or phone calls, the biggest mistake you can make with a threatening person, and more. Learn to spot the danger signals others miss. It might just save your life.
Written in Bone: Hidden Stories in What We Leave Behind
Sue Black - 2020
Our stories are marbled into their marrow.Drawing upon her years of research and a wealth of remarkable experience, the world-renowned forensic anthropologist Professor Dame Sue Black takes us on a journey of revelation. From skull to feet, via the face, spine, chest, arms, hands, pelvis and legs, she shows that each part of us has a tale to tell. What we eat, where we go, everything we do leaves a trace, a message that waits patiently for months, years, sometimes centuries, until a forensic anthropologist is called upon to decipher it.Some of this information is easily understood, some holds its secrets tight and needs scientific cajoling to be released. But by carefully piecing together the evidence, the facts of a life can be rebuilt. Limb by limb, case by case – some criminal, some historical, some unaccountably bizarre – Sue Black reconstructs with intimate sensitivity and compassion the hidden stories in what we leave behind.
Romance Your Brand: Building a Marketable Genre Fiction Series
Zoe York - 2019
For many, they make the difference between a writing dream and a writing career.” Zoe York/Ainsley Booth, USA Today and New York Times bestselling author For the first time ever in print, Zoe York breaks down how she plans a series—something she has done ten times over. Romance Your Brand is an adaptation of an intensive four-week course, now available to authors everywhere. This book covers:
• high-concept pitches
• world-building
• taglines and blurbs
• building a cast of characters
• writing the first book in a series
• finding comparable series
• covers
• how to write towards future marketing
• and why ALL OF THE ABOVE should be considered before you write a single word
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
Stephen King - 2000
Part memoir, part master class by one of the bestselling authors of all time, this superb volume is a revealing and practical view of the writer's craft, comprising the basic tools of the trade every writer must have. King's advice is grounded in his vivid memories from childhood through his emergence as a writer, from his struggling early career to his widely reported near-fatal accident in 1999 -- and how the inextricable link between writing and living spurred his recovery. Brilliantly structured, friendly and inspiring, On Writing will empower and entertain everyone who reads it -- fans, writers, and anyone who loves a great story well told.(back cover)