Ninety-one years ago the writer SS Van Dine published 20 rules for aspiring detective writers. No love interests, for example. No wilful tricks or deceptions to be played on the reader.
There simply must be a corpse, apparently, the deader the corpse the better, and for the love of all that is holy and good, the detective must NOT solve the crime by deducing that the butt of a cigarette left at the scene is the same brand as that smoked by the murderer.
New Zealand has its own rich history of crime writers - Ngaio Marsh, of course, Paul Cleave, Vanda Symon ... but we want more! So local crime writing critic Craig Sisterson and crime author Grant Nicol have created a new literary festival aimed at doing just that.
It's called Rotorua Noir, and it's taking place in Rotorua's Shambles Theatre next Saturday and Sunday.
Photo: supplied
