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Berkley, May 2005, 23.95, 320 pp. ISBN 0425202496 In San Celina, California Benni Harper has her hands full as the wife of the chief of police, curator of the local folk art museum, attending two church committees and being a participant for the heritage walk. Yet when her grandmother Dove asks her to help put together the children's church musical of Pilgrim's Progress she is unable to tell the woman who raised her no. At the same, Benni has unexpected company when her husband Gabe's cousin, Luis, drops in unexpectedly. Surprisingly, Benni has life under control until she finds the dead body of the church custodian Walt Adams. She notices immediately he was murdered by blunt force trauma to the head and nobody knows why the man was murdered. Shortly thereafter, a valuable violin that is exhibited in the church is found to be a forgery. The original instrument is worth over a million dollars. Between the robbery and the murder Gabe has his hands full with Benni conducting her own parallel investigation because she thinks the two crimes are linked. Harriet Klausner | ||
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Plot & Themes Tone of story - suspenseful (sophisticated fear) How difficult to spot villain? - Very difficult--no foreshadowing/clues Time/era of story: What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - 70% Kind of investigator Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book Any non-mystery subplot? descript. of violence and chases - 10 % Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40 % Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 40 % How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10 % Crime Thriller Yes Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes Main Character Gender - Female Profession/status: Age: - 20's-30's Ethnicity/Race Main Adversary Identity: - Male Age: - 40's-50's Profession/status: Motive of antagonist - money/treasure How sensitive is this character? Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters Setting United States Yes The US: - California Writing Style Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment Amount of dialog - significantly more dialog than descript |
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