| The body of a student from a nearby theological college is found on a remote coast in Britain. Although the local authorities rule the death an accident, the boy's father, a wealthy and powerful man, is not satisfied. Going straight to the top, he persuades Scotland Yard to get involved. Commander Adam Dalgliesh, who is set to go on a vacation in the area, offers to investigate the death further.
That same weekend, aside from dealing with the horror of the death of this student, the priests at the college are also expecting a visit by the Archdeacon who they fear will press for the imminent closure of their beloved school. There are complications. The benefactress who set up the college left very valuable pieces of art which she willed would remain at the college as long as it remained open. But if the college were ever closed down, she intended that the ownership of the art would pass to the priests who were on staff at that time. The priests are faced with a fight with the Archdeacon both over the closure and over his desire to transfer the art out of the school for the benefit of the church as a whole. There are more complications. The day before Dalgliesh arrives there is another death at the college. This death is probably of natural causes. Then on the evening of his arrival, another death takes place. | ||
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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% Murder of certain profession? Misc. Murder Plotlets - "All in the family" murder - Big focus on forensic evidence Kind of investigator Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book Religious overtones? Yes Any non-mystery subplot? descript. of violence and chases - 10 % Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40 % 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 - Male Profession/status: Age: - 40's-50's Ethnicity/Race Main Adversary Identity: - Male Age: - 40's-50'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 Europe Yes 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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