I have lately been reading about how to write crime fiction, which has been fascinating, as an avid reader of the genre. I started with The Arvon Book of Crime and Thriller Writing by Michelle Spring and Laurie R King, which was an extremely helpful walk-through of all aspects of crime fiction, from clues and red herring planting, plotting, suspects, the detective, the victim, structuring crime novels, creating tension and suspense, the importance of settings and what makes a successful series. Great for anyone trying to understand the nuts and bolts of the craft.

Next up was Talking about Detective Fiction by P D James, which provides a fascinating history of the development of the genre through its beginnings, to the Golden Age of the 1930s to the hard-boiled crime of the 1960s and beyond. It then focuses on the aspects of story-telling, diving into setting, viewpoints and characters, provides a rebuttal to critics of the genre and points out that there is no longer a dichotomy between plot and character.