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Book Review By Harriet Klausner
The Alpine Nemesis by Mary Daheim



Fawcett, Oct 2001, 6.99, 320 pp.
ISBN 0345421256

    Hard news is scarce in the small town of Alpine, Washington. This forces Emma Lord, owner and publisher of the weekly Alpine Advocate, to scramble to find a lead story for the front page. She thinks she's going to have to settle for putting a story about public toilets coming to Alpine, but thinks that stinks as a headliner.

    Soon the biggest story to hit the small town starts breaking. The Hartquists and the O'Neills have been feuding for generations, but nobody expected that the remaining Hartquists would kill the three O'Neill brothers and put them in the butcher's freezer. Emma gets the scoop and her front page story thinking that all that's left is to watch the Hartquists react during the trial. However, the story is just beginning and the subsequent events that take place in the pretty bucolic town will change Emma's life forever.

    THE ALPINE NEMESIS is an exciting small town mystery starring a likable heroine and a fully developed cast of characters. Readers are given an inside look into small town living and how to run a weekly periodical. This is not a straightforward mystery but a tale with so many layers that, in actuality, it is a complex and totally absorbing read.

Harriet Klausner


Plot & Themes
Tone of story -
How difficult to spot villain? - Difficult, but some clues given
Time/era of story:
What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - 60%
Murder of certain profession?
Kind of investigator
Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
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:
Motive of antagonist - insanity
How sensitive is this character?
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Average intelligence

Setting
United States Yes
The US: - Pacific NW

Writing Style
Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths
Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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