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Cop It Write: The Crime Writer's Handbook
Do you want to know how cops investigate a murder? What happens when a dead body is found?
How are detectives trained and what squads do they work on? What's it like to witness an autopsy? What do PIs actually do?
For the first time ever, a New Zealand Police detective takes writers behind the scenes and gives the inside scoop on how it all works - the language they use, the duties they perform, a day in the life of a homicide and what it's like to stare down the barrel of a gun.
What's a 10-10 call? How do you interview a suspect who's just murdered somebody? What's a zoot suit?
It's all here, laid out in detail with real-life case studies to show you how it actually works - not the text book version, not the way the DI wants it done, but how real detectives investigate.
The only way to get the procedures, the tactics, the lingo and the tone right, is to get the inside scoop - COP IT WRITE to give your crime writing the edge. From car chases and shootings to private investigators and covert ops, it's all here.
Any crime writer will want to read this.
Angus McLean has over 30 years' experience at the coalface of criminal investigations, finally hard-boiled down into one killer handbook.
COP IT WRITE.
How are detectives trained and what squads do they work on? What's it like to witness an autopsy? What do PIs actually do?
For the first time ever, a New Zealand Police detective takes writers behind the scenes and gives the inside scoop on how it all works - the language they use, the duties they perform, a day in the life of a homicide and what it's like to stare down the barrel of a gun.
What's a 10-10 call? How do you interview a suspect who's just murdered somebody? What's a zoot suit?
It's all here, laid out in detail with real-life case studies to show you how it actually works - not the text book version, not the way the DI wants it done, but how real detectives investigate.
The only way to get the procedures, the tactics, the lingo and the tone right, is to get the inside scoop - COP IT WRITE to give your crime writing the edge. From car chases and shootings to private investigators and covert ops, it's all here.
Any crime writer will want to read this.
Angus McLean has over 30 years' experience at the coalface of criminal investigations, finally hard-boiled down into one killer handbook.
COP IT WRITE.
132 pages, Kindle Edition
Published January 10, 2026
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
February 3, 2026
Just what every writer in the crime genre needs! Particularly useful for those needing details on New Zealand police procedures, related terminology and an insight into the life of a NZ officer, urban or rural, but of use to anyone writing a police procedural; use Angus McLean's chapter headings to compare with your own location.
Fiction writers have a lot of leeway; we often bend reality with our police officer characters (not so much paperwork, far more on-the-scene action than a real officer), and readers enjoy the ride, but get one fact wrong, someone is sure to notice and tell others, or worse, point it out in a review!
This 'manual' is full of clearly written information on the police organisation, its ranks, interviewing techniques, police jargon, private investigators - and much, much, more.
This handbook will have pride of place right beside my keyboard as I wrangle my own crime novel into shape.
Fiction writers have a lot of leeway; we often bend reality with our police officer characters (not so much paperwork, far more on-the-scene action than a real officer), and readers enjoy the ride, but get one fact wrong, someone is sure to notice and tell others, or worse, point it out in a review!
This 'manual' is full of clearly written information on the police organisation, its ranks, interviewing techniques, police jargon, private investigators - and much, much, more.
This handbook will have pride of place right beside my keyboard as I wrangle my own crime novel into shape.
Displaying 1 of 1 review