Bill Robber, serial check bouncer, just made off with $330 trillion in two-dollar bills from the freshly burglarized First State Bank, thus recouping his lifelong accrual of overdraft fees. Bill's sports car displayed an energy drink decal in the rear windshield, indicating to police that pursuit in typical cruisers was out of the question.

Fortunately, Maynard Soloman, gal-damn detective, watched the whole thing unfold across the street. He popped an antacid and hit the gas on his rattrap RV. The engine belched smoky profanity as the speedometer approached 900 miles per hour. The sheer speed lifted the RV off the ground, causing it to take flight high above rush hour traffic.

Once positioned above Bill's sports car, Maynard gently tapped the brakes. The RV dropped onto Bill's sports car with a devastating crunch.

"Your scam is finished. No one escapes overdraft fees," Maynard said to Bill's mangled figure. "The next bad check you'll have is the inspection when your carcass gets to prison."

Chalk up another victory for Maynard Soloman, the world's crustiest detective.

Other than the slapstick tongue-in-cheekery, does anything seem off about that passage? Like factually wrong?

Th is example has some pretty obvious problems: No one would write about an RV rocketing down the highway at 900 miles per hour—RVs just don't do that. Science has also yet to prove that RVs can fl y with any degree of accuracy. And outside of an absurdist comedy or maybe science fiction, there's no way a single person could hold $330 trillion in rainmaking two-dollar bills. That's if a bank would carry that many twofers in the first place.

But you're writing more serious fare: thrillers, mysteries, police procedurals, and the like. To a certain degree, sticking to reality matters quite a bit. Yes, it's true that errors in these genres may not be quite as obvious as those in a passage involving $330 trillion in cash and a flying RV, but shaky cliches, crimes against physics, and mistakes of ignorance still abound in depictions of fi rearms and knives. Cornea-shattering eye rolls can yank readers out of the story and put the writer's credibility into serious question.

I've read too many otherwise terrific tales tarnished by these grossly inaccurate depictions. In fact, one particular online crime story (which shall remain nameless) got a shotgun so mind-bogglingly wrong that it inspired me to write this guide. And given the number of military veterans, gun owners, knife enthusiasts, outdoors types, and history buff s that make up the readership of the thriller, mystery, and crime genres, it's a safe bet I'm not the only one who has raised an eyebrow.

However, I'm not here to pass judgment on other writers. I had the good fortune to grow up around firearms and knives. I built a career in publishing firearm and knife magazines and books, working with TV shows, and creating digital content at Gun Digest and BLADE. I sometimes forget that not everyone comes from the same background.

So why should it be a surprise that some stories source their fi rearm and knife information from popular culture? That's all the exposure some writers have to these weapons. And that's where the trouble starts. Pop culture—be it books, movies, video games, or TV shows—does a D+ job at depicting firearms and knives. They use just enough truth to make the rest believable if you don't know any better.

I don't hold this bad habit against anyone. Instead of wagging my finger at social media and writing forums, I wrote this guide. That's Minnesota Nice for you.

What follows is a guide to the firearms and knives commonly used in thrillers and crime fiction. The information is boiled down so writers unfamiliar with these items can quickly learn the ropes. I offer detailed information, but I won't go all Tom Clancy on you. As such, this guide is by no means an exhaustive look at every fi rearm, knife, or accessory in existence. It's a practical reference for writers, not an encyclopedia. To paraphrase the late Elmore Leonard, I tried to leave out all the parts writers skip. Get in, get out, and get back to work.

To help me along the way, I'd like to formally introduce you to Maynard Soloman, gal-damn detective. He's a crotchety PI from my own writing who cracks cases out of his decaying RV. Maynard agreed to take a few blows as an example character throughout this guide, where I stick him into scenarios that inaccurately depict firearms and knives. Try to spot the errors as Maynard does battle with his moronic arch nemesis, Bill Robber. Then I'll explain what went wrong and how to fix it. Introduce yourself, Maynard.

"I haven't had health insurance since '86. Please be gentle," Maynard says.

Not to worry, Maynard. There's an ice pack and a case of beer waiting for you at the end of this book. You'll be fine. There's plenty of pain to go around in this guide. Just ask the crime writer who shared his true story of getting shot in Ireland. Or the remains of characters turned to soup by writers using weapons on the Hit List in Part Three. I've also included some of the most baffling myths about weapons in fiction and real life, as well as information about the most popular weapons in the thriller, crime, mystery, and war genres. 

And if the information in this guide piques your interest, you will find even more firearm and knife information in Gun Digest and BLADE . I highly recommend them as the next step in your weaponry education. 

 Finally, I'd like to say that this guide is a labor of love for me, but don't take it as dogma. Push the envelope of creative license all you want. My hope is you'll do so with a better understanding of firearms and knives. Your readers will thank you for it.