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CrimeBits: 100 Opening Gambits for Great Thrillers & Linked Mystery Puzzles
A unique anthology series of best first pages of thrillers, and more, including Lee Child's judge's notes, and his introduction, discussing how to create great openings for thrillers.
Lee Child says, ‘Long ago people would say, “This is a great book, but you need to give it fifty pages.” That's crazy now, in our hyper-fast world. Now readers give you fifty words. Your first paragraph, basically. That's where you win or lose. It doesn't always need to be slam-bam, but it does always need to give the reader absolutely no choice but to race ahead. Send your entry in to Black Spring's contest, I'll judge the best... and if you win, I'll be first in line to buy your book.'
Lee Child says, ‘Long ago people would say, “This is a great book, but you need to give it fifty pages.” That's crazy now, in our hyper-fast world. Now readers give you fifty words. Your first paragraph, basically. That's where you win or lose. It doesn't always need to be slam-bam, but it does always need to give the reader absolutely no choice but to race ahead. Send your entry in to Black Spring's contest, I'll judge the best... and if you win, I'll be first in line to buy your book.'
- GenresPuzzles
400 pages, Paperback
First published August 14, 2024
5 people are currently reading
150 people want to read
About the author
Lee Child
442 books34.3k followersLee Child was born October 29th, 1954 in Coventry, England, but spent his formative years in the nearby city of Birmingham. By coincidence he won a scholarship to the same high school that JRR Tolkien had attended. He went to law school in Sheffield, England, and after part-time work in the theater he joined Granada Television in Manchester for what turned out to be an eighteen-year career as a presentation director during British TV's "golden age." During his tenure his company made Brideshead Revisited, The Jewel in the Crown, Prime Suspect, and Cracker. But he was fired in 1995 at the age of 40 as a result of corporate restructuring. Always a voracious reader, he decided to see an opportunity where others might have seen a crisis and bought six dollars' worth of paper and pencils and sat down to write a book, Killing Floor, the first in the Jack Reacher series.
Killing Floor was an immediate success and launched the series which has grown in sales and impact with every new installment. The first Jack Reacher movie, based on the novel One Shot and starring Tom Cruise and Rosamund Pike, was released in December 2012.
Lee has three homes—an apartment in Manhattan, a country house in the south of France, and whatever airplane cabin he happens to be in while traveling between the two. In the US he drives a supercharged Jaguar, which was built in Jaguar's Browns Lane plant, thirty yards from the hospital in which he was born.
Lee spends his spare time reading, listening to music, and watching the Yankees, Aston Villa, or Marseilles soccer. He is married with a grown-up daughter. He is tall and slim, despite an appalling diet and a refusal to exercise.
Killing Floor was an immediate success and launched the series which has grown in sales and impact with every new installment. The first Jack Reacher movie, based on the novel One Shot and starring Tom Cruise and Rosamund Pike, was released in December 2012.
Lee has three homes—an apartment in Manhattan, a country house in the south of France, and whatever airplane cabin he happens to be in while traveling between the two. In the US he drives a supercharged Jaguar, which was built in Jaguar's Browns Lane plant, thirty yards from the hospital in which he was born.
Lee spends his spare time reading, listening to music, and watching the Yankees, Aston Villa, or Marseilles soccer. He is married with a grown-up daughter. He is tall and slim, despite an appalling diet and a refusal to exercise.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 26, 2024
A selection of interactive puzzles and writing prompts.
Well this is a cracker of a book. If you’re looking for the perfect gift for someone who has everything, CrimeBits is just what you’re looking for. It’s innovative, engaging and very inspiring, particularly to aspiring crime fiction writers. It would be absolutely perfect for those who love crime fiction and have a long daily commute who could lose themselves between its pages and those who love puzzling would find it thoroughly engaging.
Crimebits is packed with all manner of fabulous story openings, facts and interactivity. I still haven’t finished all the puzzles as it took me several days to embrace the concept of the book. This is because CrimeBits is designed for readers to become a part of the book itself, carrying on writing from story prompts, completing various puzzles or awarding marks to the creative writing between its pages, for example. This was a real problem for me. I thought it was all so good that I couldn’t bear to sully the book by writing in it! I’ve really had to steel myself to complete crosswords and wordsearches which I’ve done as lightly as possible in pencil so I don’t spoil my copy and my efforts can be rubbed out, returning the book to its pristine state. With the writing spaces for Have Your Say: What Happens Next I’ve used a notebook rather than write in my copy. I’m aware this is bonkers because the whole premise of the book is that it is to be used, to be interactive and to involve the reader. There are even QR codes that take readers to extra material on the publisher website. It really is an immersive and entertaining book. I also thoroughly appreciate the fact that puzzle solutions are available at the end of CrimeBits as I’m particularly useless at logic!
The greatest pleasure in CrimeBits for me came from the 100 crime fiction openings contained in the book. They are a veritable smorgasbord of delight, my favourite being Secret Bones by Laurel Nicholson. Every aspect of crime writing is represented so that there really is something for every reader here. Their length also caters for the increasingly limited attention span many of us have as illustrated by Lee Child in his Introduction.
That Introduction is incredibly interesting. As might be expected, both readers and writers learn from Lee Child about the craft of writing – especially about hooking in a reader from the first page, but equally interesting is the insight into Lee Child as a man as well as a writer. His warm diffidence and enthusiasm leap from the page.
Similarly, the Afterword by Luca Veste is a mini-masterclass in crime fiction writing. His honesty about his own writing illustrates to perfection the way writers need to hook readers in crime fiction and his passion for the genre shines through. It made me hungry to read every book he’s written – including Dead Gone which he wishes he’d opened differently.
I loved CrimeBits because it is clever, entertaining and absorbing. But be warned, if you’re like me, you’re going to need several copies of CrimeBits: some to give as gifts, one for yourself to write in and one to keep in perfect condition on your bookshelf! I think it’s excellent.
Well this is a cracker of a book. If you’re looking for the perfect gift for someone who has everything, CrimeBits is just what you’re looking for. It’s innovative, engaging and very inspiring, particularly to aspiring crime fiction writers. It would be absolutely perfect for those who love crime fiction and have a long daily commute who could lose themselves between its pages and those who love puzzling would find it thoroughly engaging.
Crimebits is packed with all manner of fabulous story openings, facts and interactivity. I still haven’t finished all the puzzles as it took me several days to embrace the concept of the book. This is because CrimeBits is designed for readers to become a part of the book itself, carrying on writing from story prompts, completing various puzzles or awarding marks to the creative writing between its pages, for example. This was a real problem for me. I thought it was all so good that I couldn’t bear to sully the book by writing in it! I’ve really had to steel myself to complete crosswords and wordsearches which I’ve done as lightly as possible in pencil so I don’t spoil my copy and my efforts can be rubbed out, returning the book to its pristine state. With the writing spaces for Have Your Say: What Happens Next I’ve used a notebook rather than write in my copy. I’m aware this is bonkers because the whole premise of the book is that it is to be used, to be interactive and to involve the reader. There are even QR codes that take readers to extra material on the publisher website. It really is an immersive and entertaining book. I also thoroughly appreciate the fact that puzzle solutions are available at the end of CrimeBits as I’m particularly useless at logic!
The greatest pleasure in CrimeBits for me came from the 100 crime fiction openings contained in the book. They are a veritable smorgasbord of delight, my favourite being Secret Bones by Laurel Nicholson. Every aspect of crime writing is represented so that there really is something for every reader here. Their length also caters for the increasingly limited attention span many of us have as illustrated by Lee Child in his Introduction.
That Introduction is incredibly interesting. As might be expected, both readers and writers learn from Lee Child about the craft of writing – especially about hooking in a reader from the first page, but equally interesting is the insight into Lee Child as a man as well as a writer. His warm diffidence and enthusiasm leap from the page.
Similarly, the Afterword by Luca Veste is a mini-masterclass in crime fiction writing. His honesty about his own writing illustrates to perfection the way writers need to hook readers in crime fiction and his passion for the genre shines through. It made me hungry to read every book he’s written – including Dead Gone which he wishes he’d opened differently.
I loved CrimeBits because it is clever, entertaining and absorbing. But be warned, if you’re like me, you’re going to need several copies of CrimeBits: some to give as gifts, one for yourself to write in and one to keep in perfect condition on your bookshelf! I think it’s excellent.
February 16, 2025
Filled With Stuff to Draw You In!
I received this for Christmas 2024 and what a great gift it was! This book is filled with fascinating crime tidbits opening pages from thrillers, and compelling micro fiction. Selfishly, I'm trying to stretch out my reading of the book, to stretch out my enjoyment!
I received this for Christmas 2024 and what a great gift it was! This book is filled with fascinating crime tidbits opening pages from thrillers, and compelling micro fiction. Selfishly, I'm trying to stretch out my reading of the book, to stretch out my enjoyment!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews