| Jean Suttman is a young art historian who received a fellowship to study in Rome. Inadvertently, she bumps into Jacqueline Kirby, librarian, who is working/studying/vacationing in Italy. Jean introduces Jacqueline to the other scholars in her program, nicknamed the seven sinners. Jacqueline is pleased to join the group for a tour of Roman temples, but the trip turns sinister when the eighth scholar, a disliked, hanger-on of their group, has his throat slit in the catacombs of the Temple of Mithra.
Jean finds the victim moments before his death and he manages to trace the number 7 in the air. This leaves Jean to wonder which of her “friends”, the seven sinners, killed him. When strange accidents begin to befall Jean, Jacqueline steps in to protect the young woman – and uncover the murderer's identity. | ||
|
Plot & Themes Tone of story - Dry-cynical How difficult to spot villain? - Challenging Time/era of story: What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - 70% Murder of certain profession? 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 - 60 % Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20 % 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 Main Adversary Identity: - Male Age: - 20's-30's Profession/status: Eccentric: Yes Motive of antagonist - money/treasure How sensitive is this character? Sense of humor - Strong but gentle sense of humor Intelligence - Very much smarter than other characters Setting Europe Yes European country: - Italy Writing Style Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment Explicit sex in book? Yes What kind of sex: - vague references Unusual forms of death - perforation--swords/knives Unusual form of death? Yes Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog |
||