| Jacqueline Kirby, librarian turned successful romance writer, competes with five other authors for the privalege of composing the sequel to Kathleen Darcy's famed novel Naked on the Ice. Darcy mysteriously disappeared 7 years earlier and has been declared legally dead. Her agent, Booten Stokes, has in his possession a file containing the plotline for each chapter of the sequel. Jacqueline, of course, wins the competition and moves from NYC to a small town in the Appalachian mountains where she will live in Kathleen's cottage, read the author's notes and create a winning sequel.
However, accidents befall Jacqueline, mirroring those that befell Kathleen prior to her "death". Jacqueline decides to investigate the truth of what really happened to Kathleen. She speaks with various townpeople, including Kathleen's obsequious brother, kind sister, addled mother, lover and ex-lover. She meets a bookstore owner in town who is obsessed with Kathleen, wondering if she "is" Kathleen. But, when the woman is killed, Jacqueline continues to search for clues, interviewing people and searching through Kathleen's copious notes and painstakingly copied papers. | ||
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Plot & Themes Tone of story - suspenseful (sophisticated fear) Time/era of story: Murder of certain profession? Misc. Murder Plotlets - solving long-past murder Kind of investigator Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book descript. of violence and chases - 10 % Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 50 % Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30 % How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10 % Crime Thriller Yes Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes Main Character Gender - Female Profession/status: Age: - 40's-50's Ethnicity/Race Main Adversary Identity: - Male Age: - 40's-50's Profession/status: Motive of antagonist - money/treasure How sensitive is this character? Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters Setting United States Yes Small town? Yes Small town people: - nice, like Andy/Opie/Aunt Bee Writing Style Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment Explicit sex in book? Yes What kind of sex: - vague references - descript of kissing Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog |
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