Murder One: A Writer's Guide to Homicide (Howdunit Series)

Murder One is not written with the verve of some of the other books in Writer's Digest's Howdunit series, but if you need to know what kind of car serial killers prefer to drive (Volkswagens) or what happens to the contents of a human skull when subjected to intense heat (they "boil and explode much like a hard-boiling egg that is left unattended"), this is the place to turn. Mauro V. Corvasce and Joseph R. Paglino, investigators for the Monmouth County, New Jersey, prosecutor's office, provide the inside scoop on murders involving narcotics, gangs, organized crime, families, strangers, crimes of passion, lust, sex, and more. --Jane Steinberg