Write Detective Stories That Keep Readers Guessing
Six months of focused training where you'll learn plotting techniques, character development, and the subtle art of misdirection. Because good mysteries aren't written—they're engineered.
Reserve Your PlaceResults From Previous Cohorts
Our students don't just finish manuscripts—they publish them. Here's what the last two years have produced.
Completed Manuscripts
Published Novels
Literary Awards
Completion Rate
Recognition and Achievements
How the Programme Works
Twenty-four weeks structured around completing one polished mystery novel. You'll work through each phase with direct feedback and regular workshops.
Plot Architecture
First eight weeks focus on structure. You'll learn how to plant clues, create red herrings, and build tension that actually pays off. Every student develops a complete outline before writing a single scene.
Character Psychology
Weeks nine through twelve cover character work. Detectives need believable flaws and suspects need plausible motives. We spend time on interrogation scenes and how people reveal information under pressure.
Draft Completion
Next ten weeks are for writing. You'll produce chapters on schedule with weekly peer review sessions. The goal isn't perfection—it's finishing a coherent first draft that solves its own puzzle.
Revision and Polish
Final four weeks are revision intensive. Line editing, tightening dialogue, ensuring fair play with your clues. By week twenty-four, you'll have something ready to send to agents or publishers.
Learn From Working Writers
Three published authors who've navigated both traditional publishing and the mystery market. They're here because they remember being stuck on chapter three.
Finnian Thorpe
Lead Instructor
Seven published novels, three under different names. Teaches plotting and structural editing. Has a particular gift for untangling messy middles and fixing pacing issues.
Saskia Veldman
Character Development
Former police liaison turned crime writer. Her debut won regional awards in 2023. Specializes in authentic procedure and making detectives feel like real people with mortgage problems.
Oskar Lindqvist
Revision Specialist
Worked as a literary agent before switching to writing full-time. Knows exactly what publishers look for in mystery submissions. Runs the final revision workshops with brutal honesty.
What You'll Actually Study
This isn't a creative writing course with a mystery flavour. It's genre-specific training focused on the mechanics that make detective fiction work. Every module has practical assignments.
Clue Placement and Fair Play
How to hide information in plain sight. The reader should be able to solve your mystery—but only if they're paying very close attention.
Interrogation and Dialogue
Writing conversations where people lie, evade, and reveal things they didn't mean to. Subtext is everything in detective fiction.
Setting as Character
Location matters in mysteries. Whether it's a locked room or a sprawling estate, your setting should complicate the investigation.
Revelation Sequences
The final chapter where everything comes together. This is harder than it looks—we spend two full weeks on denouement structure alone.
Publishing Pathways
Query letters, synopsis writing, and understanding what different imprints are actually looking for. Plus an overview of self-publishing if that's your direction.
Next Cohort Starts September 2025
Limited to sixteen participants so everyone gets regular one-on-one feedback. Applications open in May with places allocated on a first-come basis.
Early registration opens 12th May 2025. Programme runs 8th September through 22nd February 2026.
Express Interest