Looking to murder your characters with accuracy and flair? Mystery author Donnell Ann Bell recommends a hidden gem for crime writers: Kill Your Characters: Crime Scene Tips for Writers by former detective Steve Rush. This hands-on forensic guide breaks down everything from blood evidence to blunt force trauma—complete with diagrams, writing prompts, and expert insights. If your crime scenes need more realism and less guesswork, this book might be your new writing weapon of choice.
Recommendation from Author Donnell Ann Bell (taken from her blog post Killing Off Those Characters) Killing Off Those Characters
Whether you’re writing an amateur sleuth or a hardened street cop, if you’re looking for a great nonfiction book to help you when writing mysteries, I’d like to recommend former detective and forensic investigator Steve Rush’s nonfiction book Kill Your Characters, Crime Scene Tips for Writers.
Kill Your Characters is broken down chapter by chapter with easy-to-follow subgroups. The chapters include, The Facts, The Inciting Incident, Details of Death, Evidence, Blood Evidence, Gunshot Injuries, Sharp Force Injuries, Blunt Force Trauma, Transportation Deaths, Deaths by Asphyxia, Thermal Injuries, Pain and Suffering, and Toxins. It also includes a helpful guide: Construct Your Scene Legend, Practical Writing Prompts, Glossary, References and Index.
This comprehensive workbook with the tagline Arm Yourself, It’s Time to Kill Your Characters, is filled with helpful diagrams from an autopsy report example, to weapon discussion, including caliber and striations, and so much more. Typical of Steve, he cites references of other experts to help writers along their quest. Kill Your Characters is available on Amazon Kindle or in Paperback https://www.amazon.com/Kill-Your-Characters-Crime-Writers/dp/1947521780
Finally, there’s a fantastic quote that Steve included in Kill Your Characters: Crime Scene Tips for Writers which sums up my feelings exactly when it comes to writing murder mystery. Let me know if you recognize the author.
“By and large, I feel that the more interesting work in the field of murder is done by amateurs. They are people who perform their work with dignity and good taste, leavened with a sense of the grotesque. There is polite and wholesome mayhem, practiced by civilized people, and I personally enjoy it. “ ~ Alfred Hitchcock
Get the book here… Kill Your Characters
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