--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My crime novels are highly structured. I…" description: "\"My crime novels are highly structured. I never start out with a dead body. I start with an impossible scenario. Opening questions should be mysterious,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f11/sophie-hannah-7581_body_my-crime-novels-are-highly-structured-i_2861399.jpg" --- # My crime novels are highly structured. I never start out… ![“My crime novels are highly structured. I never start out with a dead body. I start with an impossible scenario. Opening questions should be mysterious, weird, intriguing, and contain the seeds of the solution. The structure has to be meticulous - I'm a structure freak.” quote by Sophie Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f11/sophie-hannah-7581_body_my-crime-novels-are-highly-structured-i_2861399.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f11/sophie-hannah-7581_body_my-crime-novels-are-highly-structured-i_2861399.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f11/sophie-hannah-7581_body_my-crime-novels-are-highly-structured-i_2861399.jpg) > “My crime novels are highly structured. I never start out with a dead body. I start with an impossible scenario. Opening questions should be mysterious, weird, intriguing, and contain the seeds of the solution. The structure has to be meticulous - I'm a structure freak.” [Sophie Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-hannah/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She emphasizes that crime stories should begin with a puzzling premise rather than a corpse, focusing on mystery and meticulous plotting. **In simple terms:** Start with a strange problem, not a dead body. Key Takeaway Craft a compelling, structured mystery. Themes mystery structure creativity Mood curious analytical Type instructional inspirational When to use this quote - novel planning - screenwriting - game design - marketing pitches Key Concepts plotting intrigue story design Questions to Reflect On - How do you keep a mystery engaging without confusing the audience? - What techniques ensure the solution feels earned? A Different Perspective Complex plots can overwhelm readers if not balanced with clarity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Contain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contain/) [Crime](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crime/) [Crime novels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crime-novels/) [Dead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dead/) [Freak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freak/) [Highly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/highly/) [Highly Structured](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/highly-structured-3863331/) [Impossible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impossible/) [Intriguing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intriguing/) [Meticulous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/meticulous/) [Mysterious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mysterious/) [Never](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/never/) [Novels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/novels/) [Opening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opening/) [Opening Questions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opening-questions-3863329/) [Out](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/out/) [Questions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/questions/) [Questions Mysterious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/questions-mysterious-3863330/) [Scenario](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scenario/) [Seeds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seeds/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Solution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solution/) [Start](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/start/) [Structure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/structure/) [Structured](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/structured/) [Weird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weird/) ## Related quotes > [The brain is highly structured, but it is also extremely flexible. It's not a blank slate, but it isn't written in stone, either.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-gopnik/the-brain-is-highly-structured-but-it-is-also-extremely-flexible-it-s/) [Alison Gopnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-gopnik/) > [There were mysterious questions, but a mysterious answer was a contradiction in terms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliezer-yudkowsky/there-were-mysterious-questions-but-a-mysterious-answer-was-a/) [Eliezer Yudkowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliezer-yudkowsky/) > [Everything is personal - the poems and the crime novels. I have never been involved in any murders, but there are strong autobiographical elements…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-hannah/everything-is-personal-the-poems-and-the-crime-novels-i-have-never/) [Sophie Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-hannah/) > [Nobody has ever written as many enjoyable, fun-to-read crime novels as Agatha Christie. It's all about the storytelling and the pleasure of the reader.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-hannah/nobody-has-ever-written-as-many-enjoyable-fun-to-read-crime-novels-as/) [Sophie Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-hannah/) > [If you ask people if they enjoy crime novels, they'll say, 'Oh, my guilty pleasure is...' then name a really brilliant crime writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-hannah/if-you-ask-people-if-they-enjoy-crime-novels-they-ll-say-oh-my-guilty/) [Sophie Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-hannah/) > [I love Walter Mosley and Robert Parker crime novels. And I read a lot of music reviews.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-hunt/i-love-walter-mosley-and-robert-parker-crime-novels-and-i-read-a-lot/) [Van Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-hunt/) > [I am a master of fiction. I am also the greatest crime novelist who ever lived. I am to the crime novel in specific…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ellroy/i-am-a-master-of-fiction-i-am-also-the-greatest-crime-novelist-who/) [James Ellroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ellroy/) > [I wasn't that into crime novels at all, but a friend introduced me to the work of Jim Thompson - I loved all his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-nesbo/i-wasn-t-that-into-crime-novels-at-all-but-a-friend-introduced-me-to/) [Jo Nesbo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-nesbo/) > [In many respects I have gone out of my way to avoid the usual approach adopted in crime novels. I have used some techniques…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stieg-larsson/in-many-respects-i-have-gone-out-of-my-way-to-avoid-the-usual/) [Stieg Larsson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stieg-larsson/) > [Horror and supernatural novels give you a lot of what you look for in a crime novel, just with a twist that was very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-koryta/horror-and-supernatural-novels-give-you-a-lot-of-what-you-look-for-in/) [Michael Koryta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-koryta/) > [“If something ruins my reputation in college and I get sent to jail or prison, I need to find a way to get back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-j-beasley/if-something-ruins-my-reputation-in-college-and-i-get-sent-to-jail-or/) [Keith J. Beasley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-j-beasley/) > [The best crime novels are not about how a detective works on a case; they are about how a case works on a detective.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-connelly/the-best-crime-novels-are-not-about-how-a-detective-works-on-a-case/) [Michael Connelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-connelly/) > [I think Melbourne is by far and away the most interesting place in Australia, and I thought if I ever wrote a novel or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-temple/i-think-melbourne-is-by-far-and-away-the-most-interesting-place-in/) [Peter Temple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-temple/) > [The abundance of Roman historical mysteries contrasts with the surprising paucity of crime novels set in classical Greece.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-weinman/the-abundance-of-roman-historical-mysteries-contrasts-with-the/) [Sarah Weinman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-weinman/) > [I abhor crime novels in which the main character can behave however he or she pleases, or do things that normal people do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-abhor-crime-novels-in-which-the-main-character-can-behave-however/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Sophie Hannah > [I never write about CIA conspiracies or the FBI or mafia or anything like that because I just don't understand that world. But I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-hannah/i-never-write-about-cia-conspiracies-or-the-fbi-or-mafia-or-anything/) [Sophie Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-hannah/) > [I am trying to write novels for properly clever people, but I also want them to be proper novels that also stick in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-hannah/i-am-trying-to-write-novels-for-properly-clever-people-but-i-also/) [Sophie Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-hannah/) > [My father, whose hobby was collecting secondhand cricket books, came back from a book fair one day with a copy of 'The Body In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-hannah/my-father-whose-hobby-was-collecting-secondhand-cricket-books-came/) [Sophie Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-hannah/) > [“That's not me talking, it's your inner voice. I'd attempt the accent, only I don't speak low self-esteem. It's a language I've never needed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-hannah/that-s-not-me-talking-it-s-your-inner-voice-i-d-attempt-the-accent/) [Sophie Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-hannah/) > [“What they'd got was a fat, balding academic who bandied about the phrase "family annihilation", especially when there were cameras pointed at him, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-hannah/what-they-d-got-was-a-fat-balding-academic-who-bandied-about-the/) [Sophie Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-hannah/) > [In West Yorkshire, I'd have to drive three quarters of an hour to go shopping.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-hannah/in-west-yorkshire-i-d-have-to-drive-three-quarters-of-an-hour-to-go/) [Sophie Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-hannah/) > [No highbrow literary type would ever say 'Moby Dick' is good but it's just about a whale, or a Jane Austen would be important…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-hannah/no-highbrow-literary-type-would-ever-say-moby-dick-is-good-but-it-s/) [Sophie Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-hannah/) > [There are very few well-adjusted people in my books. But I do think that's normal. Because everyone does have their issues and hang-ups.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-hannah/there-are-very-few-well-adjusted-people-in-my-books-but-i-do-think/) [Sophie Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-hannah/) > [With me, even if my life depended on it, I wouldn't be able to cry. Not with somebody there. Because even if I'm talking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-hannah/with-me-even-if-my-life-depended-on-it-i-wouldn-t-be-able-to-cry-not/) [Sophie Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-hannah/) > [If you ask people if they enjoy crime novels, they'll say, 'Oh, my guilty pleasure is...' then name a really brilliant crime writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-hannah/if-you-ask-people-if-they-enjoy-crime-novels-they-ll-say-oh-my-guilty/) [Sophie Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-hannah/) > [In a crime novel, if you are going to have a big revelation in chapter 30, you have to plant the information in chapters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-hannah/in-a-crime-novel-if-you-are-going-to-have-a-big-revelation-in-chapter/) [Sophie Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-hannah/) > [All through childhood, I wrote verses and mysteries. There is, for me, one connection: structure. My poetry is metrical, rhyming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-hannah/all-through-childhood-i-wrote-verses-and-mysteries-there-is-for-me/) [Sophie Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-hannah/) > [I always notice the dysfunctional dynamic of human relationships because most places where you encounter it, people are trying to pretend it isnt happening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-hannah/i-always-notice-the-dysfunctional-dynamic-of-human-relationships/) [Sophie Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-hannah/) > [I'm not cut out to lug babies around!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-hannah/i-m-not-cut-out-to-lug-babies-around/) [Sophie Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-hannah/) > [Some writers, I'm told, look for their characters' surnames in telephone directories. I don't - it seems too obvious. Or too deliberate: if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-hannah/some-writers-i-m-told-look-for-their-characters-surnames-in-telephone/) [Sophie Hannah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-hannah/) [Explore all 86 Sophie Hannah quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-hannah/) ## More Body quotes > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [The very purpose for being in this body, for every one of us, is to live and rejoice in that virgin area, that untouched,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/the-very-purpose-for-being-in-this-body-for-every-one-of-us-is-to/) [Sri Sri Ravi Shankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/) > [Because of the womb being a central phenomenon in the feminine body, the whole psychology of woman differs: she is non-aggressive, non-inquiring, non-questioning, non-doubting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/because-of-the-womb-being-a-central-phenomenon-in-the-feminine-body/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [I've used the Phoenix Centrifuge to replicate what the body's going to go through on the flight up. I've also done some gravity tests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/i-ve-used-the-phoenix-centrifuge-to-replicate-what-the-body-s-going/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [Practically all animals which move fast in a homogeneous medium have found means of giving their body a streamlined shape, thereby reducing friction to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/konrad-lorenz/practically-all-animals-which-move-fast-in-a-homogeneous-medium-have/) [Konrad Lorenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/konrad-lorenz/) > [If the media is sending girls the message that their value lies in their bodies, this can only leave them feeling disempowered and distract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-siebel-newsom/if-the-media-is-sending-girls-the-message-that-their-value-lies-in/) [Jennifer Siebel Newsom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-siebel-newsom/) > [Boys and boys' body image and clothes have become just as important an issue for boys as for girls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosalind-wiseman/boys-and-boys-body-image-and-clothes-have-become-just-as-important-an/) [Rosalind Wiseman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosalind-wiseman/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Racism is a cancer. You cannot ignore it and it'll go away. If you ignore cancer, it simply metastasizes and consumes the whole body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-davis/racism-is-a-cancer-you-cannot-ignore-it-and-it-ll-go-away-if-you/) [Daryl Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-davis/) > [America, you're sending girls a mixed message. On one hand, you're saying to have positive body image and love who we are; on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adora-svitak/america-you-re-sending-girls-a-mixed-message-on-one-hand-you-re/) [Adora Svitak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adora-svitak/) > [I read a couple of books about neuroscience and the relationship between the mind and the body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-kinnaman/i-read-a-couple-of-books-about-neuroscience-and-the-relationship/) [Joel Kinnaman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-kinnaman/) > [If japa is maintained, no useless talk during work will be possible. The mind will always remain peaceful. Modern day diseases are mostly psychosomatic.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mata-amritanandamayi/if-japa-is-maintained-no-useless-talk-during-work-will-be-possible/) [Mata Amritanandamayi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mata-amritanandamayi/) > [It is the incongruous thing in my entire life, this isolation.. ... My work requires it - but I myself have no need or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marsden-hartley/it-is-the-incongruous-thing-in-my-entire-life-this-isolation-my-work/) [Marsden Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marsden-hartley/) > [My friends, this body - perhaps more than any other gathering in human history - now faces that difficult task.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/my-friends-this-body-perhaps-more-than-any-other-gathering-in-human/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) [Browse all 20,814 Body quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My crime novels are highly structured. I never start out with a dead body. I start with an impossible scenario. Opening questions should be mysterious, weird, intriguing, and contain the seeds of the solution. 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