num_pages: 532
description: For mystery addicts there are answers to questions that have tantalized readers for years: Who wrote the most mysteries? Who used the most pseudonyms? Which has more murders, Cambridge or Oxford? (Did Harvard have a homicide, too?) Where did the term "red herrings" originate? Who drank more — Spade, Archer, or Marlowe? Exactly how many little grey cells did Poirot have? Who is the biggest snob — Peter Wimsey or Philo Vance? And finally, the great debate — who is better at disposing of the body, the English or the Americans?For mystery novices there is: the history of the mystery from Poe to the present; a subject guide to mysteries; the ten most overrated mystery stories of all time; how to behave at a mystery writer's autograph party; lists of the Pulitzer and Nobel Prize winners who wrote mysteries.For true crime buffs there are articles on every aspect of forensics, from dentistry to anthropology; confessions of hangmen and assistant DAs; tailing techniques of a private eye and memoirs of a house dick; visits to the barrister's wigmaker and to Scotland Yard's Black Museum; tours to mystery locations in New York and London.Over 150 original, entertaining, and illustrated articles by eminent mystery writers, teachers, psychiatrists, scientists, ex-spies, and fans in totally unrelated fields make MURDER INK the last word about murder fiction.
language: English
title: Murder Ink: The Mystery Reader's Companion
titlecomplete: Murder Ink: The Mystery Reader's Companion
genres: Books About Books, Reference, Mystery, Anthologies, Nonfiction, Mystery Thriller, Essays, 20th Century, Crime
ratings_count: 141
publisher: Workman Pub