I’ve read several Sue Grafton mysteries and have enjoyed them all. I didn’t know she had written (edited) a how-to book on mystery writing. I’m adding this to my arsenal, as well. 
 
Alphabet to Dreams by Paty Jager
The first time I read Sue Grafton’s A is for Alibi, my creative writing brain fired up. I’d found a mystery voice and character that made me think I could write a mystery. I was an avid reader of mysteries: Agatha Christie, Dorothy Gilman, Dick Francis, Tony Hillerman, Lillian Jackson Braun. They were all writers who had strong, intriguing, yet genuine main characters as the sleuths, and in the case of Hillerman, I was drawn to the Native American element.
I had several college fiction/creative writing classes and decided I could tackle a first person mystery with a female protagonist. Only I had never lived in a large city and I knew nothing about how the legal system worked. However, shortly after I’d made my decision to write a mystery there were two people on a talk show. They had written a book, Be Your Own Detective. I sat down and listen to the whole interview. Afterwards, I went to the book store and ordered the book.
In setting up my first mystery, I had my novice sleuth do the same thing. When she gets a call from her ex-husband from jail claiming he didn’t kill the person he’s accused of killing, she sees the talk show and goes out and buys the book to help discover the truth. I used the methods in the book to move the character through the book and plot. That book and the second with that sleuth has not seen the light of day.
My arsenal of “how to” writing books has Writing Mysteries: A Handbook by Mystery Writers of America and edited by Sue Grafton. This book has also been helpful and influential in my mystery writing process.
Bio:
Award-winning author Paty Jager and her husband raise alfalfa hay in rural eastern Oregon. On her road to publication she wrote freelance articles for two local newspapers and enjoyed her job with the County Extension service as a 4-H Program Assistant. Raising hay and cattle, riding horses, and battling rattlesnakes, she not only writes the western lifestyle, she lives it.
All her work has Western or Native American elements in them along with hints of humor and engaging characters. Her penchant for research takes her on side trips that eventually turn into yet another story. She recently returned to the genre of her heart- Mystery. 
You can learn more about Paty at her blog; Writing into the Sunset  her website; http://www.patyjager.netor on Facebook; https://www.facebook.com/pages/Paty-Jager/132536633482029, Goodreads http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1005334.Paty_Jager  and twitter;  @patyjag.
Newsletter: Paty’s Prattle: http://eepurl.com/1CFgX
Double Duplicity: A Shandra Higheagle Mystery
Book one of the Shandra Higheagle Native American Mystery Series
Dreams…Visions…Murder
On the eve of the biggest art event at Huckleberry Mountain Resort, potter Shandra Higheagle finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation. She’s ruled out as a suspect, but now it’s up to her to prove the friend she witnessed fleeing the scene was just as innocent. With help from her recently deceased Nez Perce grandmother, Shandra becomes more confused than ever but just as determined to discover the truth.
Detective Ryan Greer prides himself on solving crimes and refuses to ignore a single clue, including Shandra Higheagle’s visions. While Shandra is hesitant to trust her dreams, Ryan believes in them and believes in her.
Can the pair uncover enough clues for Ryan to make an arrest before one of them becomes the next victim?
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