Cops And Writers: Crime Scenes And Investigations

by Patrick J. O'Donnell

It would be a crime to botch the important details about police procedure in your next novel or screenplay. Let Sgt. Patrick O’Donnell take you behind the yellow tape, into crime scenes with the officers and detectives who investigate them. Sgt. O’Donnell worked in one of the nation’s largest police departments for 25 years. He has been in charge of thousands of crime scenes and investigations, including homicides, sexual assaults, and robberies. Now an author, he’s here to help you write the best crime-related novel or screenplay possible. Cops And Crime Scenes And Investigations gives you invaluable insight into how law enforcement officers investigate and solve crimes. Sgt. O’Donnell takes you down the path from the start of an investigation to clearing the crime. Through O’Donnell’s jaw-dropping personal accounts, you’ll get up close and personal with processing a crime scene, crime trends and patterns, interviews and interrogations, and what it takes to get inside the head of a criminal to get a confession. Using your newfound knowledge of investigations, your sleuth will be ready to take on the toughest adversary and bring them to justice.In Cops And Writers you’ll Remarkable true-life examples of criminal investigations from O’Donnell’s years of experience on the force to give your story ironclad authenticity.* How a rookie detective is trained and formed into a seasoned veteran so you can add depth to your characters.* The divisions within the detective bureau, including homicide, sensitive crimes, robbery, and arson to give you a rock-solid base of knowledge.* Functionality and use of firearms and other weapons in law enforcement so your characters’ actions are authentic, and your author reputation is guaranteed.* How courageous members of law enforcement negotiate with a barricaded subject or a suicidal suspect to give your stories authentic, heart-stopping action. Cops And Crime Scenes And Investigations is your must-have field manual for every crime writer’s arsenal. Give your crime fiction the unconditional respect it deserves by getting your investigative details spot-on. Pick up your copy today by clicking the Buy Now button at the top of this page!

Genres: Writing, Nonfiction

168 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 28, 2020

Reviews

[Krišjānis Liepiņš · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informatīvs ceļvedis rakstniekiem policijas un detektīvu ikdienas darbā

Šī grāmata ir labs, informatīvs ceļvedis policijas un detektīvu ikdienas darbā. Iesaku katram rakstniekam, kas plāno rakstīt vai raksta detektīvstāstus.
Autors ir policijas virsnieks ar ceturtdaļgadsimta darba pieredzi. Šajā grāmatā viņš dalās arī ar interesantiem, ilustratīviem stāstiem no personīgās pieredzes.
Autors arī atspēko daudzus Holivudas radītus mītus par policijas darbu.
Pietrūkst atsevišķu bieži lietotu terminu (piemēram, visbiežāk lietotā termina "squad", ar ko šķiet ir domātas dažādas lietas, atkarībā no konteksta) skaidrojuma, arī teksta kvalitāte varētu būt labāka.
Neskatoties uz to, grāmata ir vērtīgs izziņas līdzeklis, kas palīdz uzrakstīt labāku, reālistiskāku detektīvstāstu.

[Álvaro Mayoral · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un buen libro que sirve para cuando estás investigando a la hora de escribir un libro de crímenes basado en EEUU. No he leído todo, solo lo que me interesaba para el libro, pero esa parte es perfecta.

[WHL (Bill) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Books 1 & 2 Continually used resource to make my debut Crime Thriller novel as realistic as possible.

[Scott Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Info

I’m a newbie novel writer and while my main character isn’t a cop, several important characters are. The information in this book is invaluable to get the basics of depicting police officers correctly.

The only negative, to me, is the repeated jabs at the news media. Perhaps I’m more sensitive to it than most readers because I was a newspaper reporter. I’m not suggesting there aren’t unethical reporters out there, but the vast majority are people just trying to do a job, just like the officers. We ask questions to get the facts of a case, most often we get it right, sometimes we don’t. Okay, rant over.

I appreciate the time this officer took to write the book and highly recommend it for writers, or for anyone wanting to get a better understanding of police work.

[Lori Puma · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a freelance developmental editor and I find this book (and the first one) very useful in working with clients. It's been the prompt to ask authors questions such as:

Would a small town police department send only one officer to secure a murder scene? Would they bring crime scene techs with them? Who would be responsible for looking at the blood spatter and doing any fingerprinting?

It turns out there's more variability in the answers to those questions than I expected, but I feel more confident I can help authors get into the right ballpark with this book, or at least help authors identify where they're choosing to make their story world different from the real world.

The book is a little repetitive and there are a number of grammatical errors, but I still found it readable.

The best parts of the book are the author's stories from his career as a cop.

[D.B. Bray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, just wow!

Okay, I needed this as a writer to make sure I was as close to actual as I can get without getting too deep in the weeds.

The Detective part for me is where I concentrated on and the breakdown of what firearms are used. It was well worth the money spent to make sure I research as much as possible.

[Cailyn Lloyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a great resource for anyone who writes and wants the procedures and terminology used by the police to be accurate and realistic. Well organized and written and a great addition to any reference library.

[Tanja Joubert Author · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting

I don't live in the USA but watch a lot of American detective stories. It was interesting to learn where movies differ from actual police procedures. Very informative read.

[Rachel Conner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I purchased this as a reference for me and my crime fiction writing and am so glad I own it! I'll be referring to it A LOT because this book is full of tons of help I need. The audiobook version is great to listen to. Highly recommend!

[Hayley Walkson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This isn’t just a dry manual it’s full of gripping real-life stories that bring the lessons to life. I especially loved the sections on interrogations and how detectives actually build cases. I learned a ton and was entertained the whole way.

[Carolina Mac · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting book for authors. Lots of great information.

[Cara L · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this the same time as the first in the series. This had even more interesting information. Had what I needed and a whole lot more. I can't wait for the next one!

[Ellis K. Popa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great part 2 to the first book. I have called upon these resources many times for my writing. I am so thankful for Patrick O'Donnell, these books, and his community.

[Marie-Thérèse Hernon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Entertaining and helpful. So glad I purchased it.

[Sterling Kirkland · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another must read if your an author who writes thrillers or mysteries involving cops.