| Jane Wheel has had some big changes in her life lately. She had been downsized from her job as an ad executive, kissed her next door neighbor, separated from her husband, found out her father was going in for some medical tests and discovered her next door neighbor's wife dead in her living room. However, Jane keeps herself busy with her new job as a "picker" for an antique dealer. She spends her time scrounging around through moldly basements, dusty attics and anywhere else she can find treasures at estate sales, garage sales, flea markets, rummage sales, etc.
Unfortunately, Jane's unlucky streak continues when she and her best friend since elementary school, Tim, discover the dead body of Tim's assistant in his flower shop. Luckily, the detective working on these cases is fascinated by Jane and her collector tendencies and uses Jane's powers of observation to help him gather evidence. As Jane roots around for clues, she picks up antique photo albums, early American pottery, Bakelite buttons and other treasures as well as more dead bodies... Killer Stuff is one of the funnest reads I have had in years. All of Sharon Fiffer's characters are absolutely superbly drawn and seem so real. Jane Wheel is such a fascinating character and so fun to read about as she hunts down treasures and tries to get her life back together again. Detective Oh was also another great character and is quite atypical from your usual run-of-the-mill detectives. I also loves the way Fiffer described the estate sales and the viciousness of the pickers and antique dealers who frequent them. I quite enjoy watching programs like The Antique Roadshow and this book was just great because it described so many antiques and collectibles. The reader will learn just as much as they will be entertained by this book. Buy this one - it is definitely a keeper and an author to watch out for! | ||
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Plot & Themes Tone of story - very upbeat How difficult to spot villain? - Challenging Time/era of story: What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - 50% Kind of investigator Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book Any non-mystery subplot? descript. of violence and chases - 20 % Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 30 % Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30 % How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 20 % Crime Thriller Yes Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes Main Character Gender - Female Profession/status: Age: - 20's-30's Ethnicity/Race Main Adversary Identity: - Male Age: - 20's-30's Profession/status: Motive of antagonist - money/treasure How sensitive is this character? Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters Setting United States Yes 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 |
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