| When Lieutenant Eve Dallas attends the opening performance of Witness for the Prosecution, with her husband, Roarke, she and the rest of the audience become witnesses to a real murder. Someone in the theatre had switched the prop knife used in the play with a real knife, so when actor Richard Draco is stabbed on stage, he really dies.
Eve takes on the case, and it soon becomes obvious that the killer has to be someone involved with the play. As Eve begins interviewing her suspects, she learns that everyone who knew him hated Richard Draco, and that every actor on stage with him had a motive for murder. The case takes a unexpected turn when a stage hand hangs himself in the theatre, leaving a suicide note confessing to the murder. Eve doesn't believe that the man killed himself, but thinks that he knew who the killer was and was attempting to blackmail that person. She begins digging even deeper into the motives of the actors of the play. Along the way learns some startling and disturbing information about Richard Draco's relationships with a few of his colleagues, and eventually figures out who the murder is. Eve then sets up her own "performance" at the theatre to get a confession out of the killer. | ||
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Plot & Themes Tone of story - suspenseful (sophisticated fear) How difficult to spot villain? - Challenging Time/era of story: What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - 70% 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 Is Romance a MAJOR (25%+) part of story? Yes Main Character Gender - Female Profession/status: Age: - 20's-30's Ethnicity/Race Main Adversary Identity: - Female Age: - 40's-50's Profession/status: Motive of antagonist - revenge How sensitive is this character? Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters Setting United States Yes The US: - Northeast Writing Style Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths Explicit sex in book? Yes What kind of sex: - vague references - descript of kissing - touching of anatomy - actual description of sex - descript. of breasts Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog |
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