| Margaret Knowles is a 27-year old depressed, socially awkward professor in a small New England college when she receives an unexpected marriage proposal from Roger Spaudling, the prestigious local bank president. Margaret hears a masculine voice commanding her to refuse the proposal. The voice belongs to Zeke, a dead elderly cowboy that only she can hear. She tries to continue her unassuming life, but Zeke relentlessly speaks to her, helpfully leading her out of her depression while simultaneously confessing his life's misdeeds.
Zeke guides Margaret into meeting his adult children who are stunned by this stranger's uncanny knowledge of their dead father and her strange continuing relationship with him. When a murdered body is discovered on Zeke's family's ranch, Margaret may hold the key to the body's identity. As Margaret ventures out, new people enter her life and also a thrilling romance, however she fears that her whirlwind lifestyle could come to an abrupt halt-- unless she finds out the truth about Zeke. | ||
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Plot & Themes Tone of story - suspenseful (sophisticated fear) How difficult to spot villain? - Story partially from villain's perspective Time/era of story: What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - 20% Misc. Murder Plotlets - "All in the family" murder - solving long-past murder Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book Any non-mystery subplot? descript. of violence and chases - 0 % Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 20 % Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 60 % How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 20 % Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes General Crime (including known murderer) Yes Is Romance a MAJOR (25%+) part of story? Yes Main Character Gender - Female Profession/status: Age: - 20's-30's Has special powers? Yes Magical/mental powers of main character: Ethnicity/Race Main Adversary Identity: - Male Age: - long-lived adults Profession/status: Has special powers? Yes Eccentric: Yes Motive of antagonist - power How sensitive is this character? Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor Setting United States Yes Farm/Ranch? Yes Farm/Ranch: - ranch - lots of descript of animal care 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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