TL;DR
6/10. A Writer’s Digest genre reference for grounding amateur-sleuth mysteries, strongest on making it believable that an amateur, not the police, solves the crime. Its mid-1990s procedural and forensic detail is now dated, so a modern writer must check and update it heavily. Useful in principle, dated in particulars.
Amateur Detectives by Elaine Raco Chase is a specialized reference book for mystery writers, part of Writer’s Digest’s Howdunit series, aimed at helping authors write amateur-sleuth fiction that holds up to scrutiny. Its purpose is narrow and practical: to supply the factual grounding a writer needs so their non-professional crime-solver behaves and investigates in ways that feel convincing rather than absurd. Judged as the genre reference it is, it does a useful, if dated, job.
The amateur detective, the nosy neighbor, the bookshop owner, the retired teacher who keeps stumbling onto bodies, is a beloved mystery tradition, and also a credibility minefield, since real investigation is done by professionals with resources an amateur lacks.
What it provides
The book supplies the procedural and factual detail a mystery writer needs to keep an amateur-sleuth story plausible: how investigations actually work, what evidence means and how it is handled, what an amateur could realistically discover and what would be beyond them, and how to construct a mystery that plays fair with the reader. It is essentially a fact-and-procedure resource, the kind of grounding that keeps a knowledgeable reader from throwing the book across the room at an implausible deduction. For a writer who loves the cozy-mystery tradition but lacks investigative knowledge, it fills real gaps.
Keep reading
Writing a mystery that plays fair and still surprises: the fair-play construction Raco Chase grounds, taken into full mystery craft.
Grounding the implausible premise
The book’s most useful contribution is helping a writer manage the central challenge of the subgenre: making it believable that an amateur, rather than the police, solves the crime. Raco Chase offers practical ways to give an amateur sleuth plausible access, motivation, and capability, so the reader accepts the premise rather than asking why the professionals are not handling it. That problem, the believability of the amateur’s involvement, is the thing most likely to sink this kind of story, and concrete strategies for it are the book’s real value.
Keep reading
Research for fiction: how much, and how to hide it: the factual grounding this book supplies, and how to wear it lightly in a mystery.
The honest limits
The significant caveat is age. The book is from the mid-1990s, and investigative procedure, forensic science, and especially the role of technology in both crime and detection have changed enormously since, so a contemporary mystery writer cannot rely on it for current accuracy and will need to supplement it heavily with up-to-date research. A modern amateur sleuth has a smartphone, the internet, and DNA databases that did not exist when this was written, and those tools reshape what is plausible. The book also is narrowly a factual reference rather than a craft guide, so it teaches grounding, not storytelling.
Verdict
As a genre reference it is a solid, practical resource for grounding amateur-sleuth fiction, and its strategies for making the amateur’s involvement believable remain useful in principle. But its mid-1990s vintage means much of the specific procedural and forensic detail is outdated, and a modern writer must treat it as a starting point to be checked and updated rather than a current authority. It earns a modest place on the shelf for the cozy-mystery writer specifically, held back by the years that have passed since its facts were current. Useful in principle, dated in particulars.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is Amateur Detectives about?
Elaine Raco Chase’s reference book for mystery writers, part of Writer’s Digest’s Howdunit series, supplying the procedural and factual grounding needed to write believable amateur-sleuth fiction, how investigations work, what an amateur could realistically discover, and how to play fair with the reader.
What is its most useful contribution?
Strategies for making it believable that an amateur, rather than the police, solves the crime, giving the sleuth plausible access, motivation, and capability. That credibility problem is the thing most likely to sink an amateur-detective story.
Is the information current?
No. The book is from the mid-1990s, and investigative procedure, forensic science, and the role of technology have changed enormously since. A modern writer must supplement it heavily with up-to-date research.
Is it a craft guide?
Not really. It is a factual and procedural reference rather than a storytelling guide, so it teaches grounding and plausibility rather than plot, character, or prose.
Who should read it?
Writers of cozy or amateur-sleuth mysteries who want their detective’s investigation to feel credible, used as a starting point to be checked and updated against current procedure and forensics.
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