Books, Crooks, and Counselors: How to Write Accurately About Criminal Law and Courtroom Procedure [Paperback]

Addressing the misunderstood and misrepresented aspects of the law in today's writing, this reliable guidebook demonstrates how to use legal concepts, terminology, and procedure to create fiction that is true to life and crackling with real-world tension. Examples from actual cases are provided along with excerpts of authentic courtroom dialogue. Topics covered include criminal and civil law; differences between federal, state, and Native American jurisdiction; police and private investigation; wills and inheritances; and the written and unwritten codes that govern the public and private conduct of lawyers and judges. Providing a quick and simple legal reference, this handbook is the key to creating innovative plots, strong conflicts, authentic characters, and gritty realism.Leslie Budewitz is a practicing lawyer with more than 25 years of civil and criminal experience. Her short fiction has been featured in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, Fish Tales: The Guppy Anthology, Thug Lit, and the Whitefish Review, and her nonfiction has appeared in the anthologies Comfort for Cat Lovers and Cup of Comfort for Dog Lovers, Vol. II. She lives in Bigfork, Montana. Thorough, well-organized, and authoritative, this excellent reference also has touches of humor. -- Mystery Scene (June 2012)