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How Forensic Botany Catches Killers
Silent witnesses stood sentinel in a backyard in Davie, Florida. The witnesses had no verbal communication skills, but they could speak. In fact, police believed these witnesses could unlock the mystery of a…
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True Crime Investigation Unmasked
Nonfiction requires time and patience to write, and the research mushrooms into a full-scale true crime investigation. This article focuses on contemporary crime. For the sake of clarity, let’s define the word contemporary…
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If She Walks Like a Victim…
The best CI a crime writer could ever have, Officer X, sent me a fascinating video, where Dr. John Marsden asked four volunteers to prove how our body language might make us a…
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Police and Fed Terminology for Crime Writers
A while back Lee Lofland graciously agreed to allow me to republish his Crime Writer’s Dictionary. I want to be clear that this is not an extension of that but rather, an independent…
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Crime Writing: Exceptions to Search Warrants
As crime writers, it’s crucial we get our facts right. Recently, I was approached by a police officer who loves the work I’m doing here, on the blog. To say I was honored…
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Murder at Cabin 28 – The Suspects, Part I
If you are just joining us we’ve been discussing a gruesome quadruple murder that occurred on April 12, 1982 in Keddie, California. Before reading this analysis you may want to first read the story Murder…
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How To Use Emotion Memory
Brandilyn Collins’ has a fantastic craft book entitled Getting Into Character: Seven Secrets A Novelist Can Learn From Actors. I contacted Brandilyn to ask if I could share a ‘secret’ from her book,…
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Cop Talk: A – E
I found this great resource and asked Lee Lofland for permission to repost. And he said yes! If you’re a crime writer and aren’t following him you’re missing out. He has a fascinating…
