| Fairfax is hired as tutor to Mr. Appleton's two young children. Arriving at the Appleton's London home, however, he finds that his services as a tutor have been put on hold. Mr. Appleton wants Fairfax to find out if his daughter and her husband are cheating on each other. In Georgian England where A DISTINCTION OF BLOOD takes place, this is not acceptable. Added to this, Mr. Appleton's daughter has married well – a Lord – and he does not want to lose the social status this has afforded him. Not wanting to lose his job, Fairfax has no choice but to agree. Things begin to go wrong almost immediately when the husband is found dead in his bed under circumstances that could not be considered natural. At least five people in the house at the time had the means and the motive, but the finger points to one man. Uncertain that justice has been done and determined to see it is, Fairfax sets out discover the truth. | ||
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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? - 80% Special suspect? - relative Murder of certain profession? Misc. Murder Plotlets - "All in the family" murder - 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 - 40 % Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20 % How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 30 % Crime Thriller Yes Crime plotlets: Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes Main Character Gender - Male Profession/status: Age: - 20's-30's Ethnicity/Race Main Adversary Identity: - Male Age: - 60's-90's Profession/status: Motive of antagonist - power How sensitive is this character? Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor Intelligence - Average intelligence Setting Europe Yes European country: - England/UK City? Yes City: - London Misc setting - fancy mansion Writing Style Accounts of torture and death? - no torture/death Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog |
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