En av de siste tiårenes mest underholdende og produktive amerikanske krimforfattere formidler her sine beste skrivetips. Som han selv skriver i forordet:

"These are rules I've picked up along the way to help me remain invisible when I'm writing a book, to help me show rather than tell what's taking place in the story. If you have a facility for language and imagery and the sound of your voice pleases you, invisibility is not what you are after, and you can skip the rules. Still, you might want to look them over."