| A man with a knife wound in his back is found dead, clapped in the stocks that are on display in the town square of a small English village. Scotland Yard are called in and Superintendent Hannasyde begins to sift through the facts in the case. Suspicion falls on the dead man's half-siblings: Antonia, who was at his house outside the village on the night he died, and Kenneth, who is heir to his considerable fortune and has no alibi. Also under suspicion is Antonia's fiancé. Antonia and Kenneth are self-absorbed eccentrics who are really rather glad their nasty brother has died, which does not help their case in the eyes of the police.
A complication arrives in the form of another elder brother who had been thought to be dead, and suddenly Kenneth is no longer the heir. When this brother is murdered too, it starts to look as if it really is Kenneth who committed these crimes to get the inheritance. Then Cousin Giles, a lawyer who is the only normal person in the family, starts taking interest in the case and digs up some interesting facts the police have overlooked… | ||
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Plot & Themes Tone of story - very humorous Time/era of story: Misc. Murder Plotlets - "All in the family" murder Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book descript. of violence and chases - 0 % Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 50 % 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 - Male Profession/status: Age: - 20's-30's Ethnicity/Race Main Adversary Identity: - Female Age: - 20's-30's Motive of antagonist - money/treasure How sensitive is this character? Intelligence - Average intelligence Setting Europe Yes European country: - England/UK City? Yes City: - London 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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