Introduction / Martin Edwards -- Motives. Value of detective fiction / G. K. Chesterton -- Art of the detective story / R. Austin Freeman -- Why crime fiction is good for you / Ian Rankin -- Why do it? / James Runcie -- Moral compass of the crime novel / Frances Fyfield -- Beginning. Motivation / Peter James -- Getting started / Janet Laurence -- Finding ideas / Freeman Wills Crofts -- Sources of inspiration / Nicholas Blake -- Anthea Fraser / Making choices -- Putting murder on the page / Ann Granger -- Intensity in crime writing / Natasha Cooper -- Openings / John Harvey -- 'Something should happen now' : narrative hooks / Peter Robinson -- People. Character from suspense / Mark Billingham -- Cops and criminals, contrast and comedy / Bill James -- Making characters believable / Marjorie Eccles -- Characters, relationships, and settings / June Thomson -- Places. On the Suffolk coast / P. D. James -- Human geography / Ann Cleeves -- Setting stories in unfamiliar places / Michael Ridpath -- M.O. Let the story be the driver / Val McDermid -- Style / Lindsey Davis -- Choosing a theme / Kate Charles -- Pace / Michael Jecks -- Writing scenes / William Ryan -- Dialogue, rhythm, and keeping to the point / Margery Allingham -- Listening and dialogue / Patricia Moyes -- Writing dialogue / Cynthia Harrod-Eagles -- Perspectives. Getting a perspective / Aline Templeton -- What on earth is it like to be you? / Liza Cody -- Plots. Plots / Agatha Christie -- Logic and working backwards / J. J. Connington -- All will be revealed / Mary Kelly -- Structuring a plot / Kate Ellis -- Voyages of discovery / Eric Ambler -- How to change your murderer / Andrew Taylor -- Detectives. Amateur detective or professional? / Priscilla Masters -- Believable amateurs / Susan Moody -- Private eyes / Michael Z. Lewin -- Research. Getting it right / Ngaio Marsh -- Keeping up to date / Desmond Bagley -- Amateurs and expertise / John Malcolm -- Detection. Detective stories and virtuosity / Edmund Crispin -- Rules and prejudices / John Dickson Carr -- Classic ingredients / Christianna Brand -- Clues / Michael Innes -- Snakes and ladders / Catherine Aird -- Optimal subterfuge / Sophie Hannah -- Suspense. Suspense / Robert Goddard -- Face in the mirror / Julian Symons -- Suspense novel / Jessica Mann -- Hours before dawn / Celia Fremlin -- Action. Inspiration, perspiration, realization / Lionel Davidson -- Adventure fiction / Tom Harper -- Writing action series / Felix Francis -- Filling the gaps / Michael Gilbert -- Constructing a thriller / Michael Hartland -- Cold War, then and now / Mack Herron -- History. A laying on of hands / Michael Pearce -- Christmas tree theory of historical research / Imogen Robertson -- Historical dialogue / L. C. Tyler -- Humour. Humour and human nature / Alexander McCall Smith -- Characters and caricature / Robert Barnard -- Humour and satire / Ruth Dudley Edwards -- In short. Let's pretend / Roy Vickers -- Switch-overs in short stories / H. R. F. Keating -- Fiction and fact. Fictionalizing characters and crimes from real life / Peter Lovesey -- Trial and error / Anthony Berkeley -- Partners in crime. Collaborative writing / Dorothy L. Sayers -- Adapting. Writing for radio / Alison Joseph -- Adaptability / Simon Brett -- Challenges. Imposter syndrome / Martyn Wales -- Writing : a painful pleasure / Suzette A. Hill -- Writer's block / David Stuart Davies -- Improvising / Stella Duffy -- Ending. End of the beginning / Laura Wilson -- In my end / Joanna Hines -- Publishing. Changing face of publishing / David Roberts -- What editors want / Antonia Hodgson -- Traditional versus self-publishing / Russell James -- One things leads to another / Jill Paton Walsh -- Writing lives. Writing process / Reginald Hill -- Keeping track / Paula Gosling -- Reading for pleasure / Jonathan Gash -- Don't give up the day job / Janet Noel -- Writing to relax / Bertie Denham -- Social media and the death of Nancy / Elly Griffiths -- Joy of writing / John Le Carré -- Different books; different problems; different solutions / Len Deighton.