Whodunit? (1982)

Whodunit? was published in 1982. It is illustrated with photographs, drawings and diagrams.

Whodunit? begins with eleven chapters analyzing the categories of the genre. In another section ten novelists contribute informative answers under the heading: "How I Write My Books". A further, imaginatively illustrated chapter, "The People of Crime Fiction", contains profiles of the 90 most celebrated characters that the genre has produced. At the end of the volume a psychiatrist gives his explanation of "Why People Read Crime Fiction". At the heart of Whodunit? is a section entitled "Writers and Their Books: A Consumers' Guide": here the works of more than 500 novelists are described and their best books are recommended.

Contents

Introduction H.R.F. Keating

CRIME FICTION AND ITS CATEGORIES

A Pre-history Reginald Hill

The Godfather and the Father H.R.F. Keating

The English Detective Story Robert Barnard

The American Police Procedural Hillary Waugh

The British Police Procedural Michael Gilbert

The Short Story Eleanor Sullivan

The Suspense Novel Jessica Mann

The Thriller Jerry Palmer

The Gothic Michele Slung

The Espionage Novel John Gardner

HOW I WRITE MY BOOKS

Under Financial Duress Stanley Ellin

A Series of Scenes P.D. James

Unprocessed Idea to Processed Word Desmond Bagley

Waiting Till They Talk Dorothy Eden

Not-Thinking With the Dishes Patricia Highsmith

On Getting Rid of An Idea Gregory Mcdonald

Perspiration, A Constant Factor Lionel Davidson

Even on Christmas Day Len Deighton

Voyages - and Shipwrecks Erie Ambler

Flying A Bit High H.R.F. Keating

WRITERS AND THEIR BOOKS: A CONSUMERS' GUIDE

Dorothy B. Hughes, Reginald Hill, Melvyn Barnes and H.R.F. Keating

THE PEOPLE OF CRIME FICTION H.R.F. Keating

WHY PEOPLE READ CRIME FICTION Philip Graham