E.J. Pugh, wife and mother of two and mildly successful romance novelist begins her career as an amateur sleuth when her friends and neighbors, the Lesters, are late for carpool. She enters their home to dicover most of the Lester family has been brutally murdered at the hands of the family patriarch, Roy Lester, who apparently took his own life afterwards. The only survivor is four year old Bessie, whom E.J. Takes custody of.
E.J. knows Roy would have never murdered his wife and children. She begins her search to discover who had a grudge against the Lesters, without the help of her wise-cracking pre-teen son, Graham; her pre-school age daughter, Megan; and most of all, her husband Willis and Black Cat Ridge, Texas detective Elena Luna, who both insist she needs to keep her nose out of the investigation. Of course, E.J. takes that as a challenge to dig even deeper into the Lesters' private lives. As E.J. digs deeper, she is threatened with house arrest by Det. Luna; once again told not to get involved, this time by her somewhat overbearing mother-in-law Vera (Mrs. Pugh to E.J.); and a violent assault by two hitmen that E.J. stops by using a kitchen knife block. The true killer then decides it is finally time to step in. | ||
Plot & Themes Tone of story - very humorous Time/era of story: 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 - 20 % Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 40 % How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 30 % Crime Thriller Yes Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes Main Character Gender - Female Profession/status: Age: - 40's-50's Ethnicity/Race Main Adversary Identity: - Female Age: - 40's-50's Profession/status: Eccentric: Yes Motive of antagonist - power How sensitive is this character? Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor Intelligence - Average intelligence Setting United States Yes The US: - Texas Small town? Yes Small town people: - nice, like Andy/Opie/Aunt Bee Writing Style Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog |