| This is the second novel in the Henrie O series. Henrie O's friend, Margaret, is sick and hospitalized. They had planned a vacation at Margaret's cabin in Tennessee.
Margaret insists Henrie O should go on her own. The first night of her stay she is awakened by Craig, her friend's nephew, wearing a shirt stained with blood, and obviously in trouble. Craig Matthews says he did not kill Patty Kay, his wife, the local heiress and philanthropist as well as the owner of the bookstore where he works. Patty Kay has been found shot dead in the playhouse of their property. He tells Henrie O, and the police, that he received a call at work to go and pick up a fruit basket for a dinner party that evening, but when he arrived at the store, no basket had been ordered and he had to have one prepared. That's his alibi. Henrie O, a retired journalist, who drives an MG, decides to help and introduces herself as Craig's aunt. When Craig gets arrested, she questions the neighbors, the stepdaughter, the ex-husband, the sister, the tennis friends, the political enemies as well as Craig's lawyer. She uncovers family disagreements over money, sexual affairs and small town jealousy. Then, Amy, one of the bookstore employees gets murdered too. Henrie O also learns how a young neighbor, Franci Hollis, committed suicide just before Patty Kay's murder, after receiving “nasty notes” from a bully. Could the two cases be linked? Patty Kay also taught at the local private school, and had been seen talking to the young girl before her suicide. | ||
|
Plot & Themes Tone of story - very upbeat 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? - 70% Special suspect? - relative Misc. Murder Plotlets - Proving innocence of very obvious suspect 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 - 10 % How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 20 % Crime Thriller Yes Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes Main Character Gender - Female Profession/status: Age: - 60's-90's Ethnicity/Race Main Adversary Identity: - Female Age: - 40's-50's Profession/status: Motive of antagonist - power How sensitive is this character? Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters Setting United States Yes Misc setting - fancy mansion Writing Style Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths Explicit sex in book? Yes What kind of sex: - vague references Amount of dialog - significantly more descript than dialog |
||