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Berkley, Nov 2004, 5.99, 234 pp. ISBN 0425199231 When Carmella Bertrand's rich husband Seamus Meechum walked out on their marriage because he needed his freedom, his sister Glory kicked Carmella out of the family mansion. Instead of moping, she finds an apartment in New Orleans' French Quarter and opens Memory Mine, a scrapbooking shop not far from her new abode. Carmella helps Wren Wright decorate for the latter's pre-wedding gala. Wren is engaged to Jamie Redmond, the owner of a profitable bookstore and creator with his partner Blaine of a software program called Neutron which detects bugs and bombs in newly written software code. When Carmella takes a breather she finds Jamie dead. While Wren tries to cope with her fiance's murder, Dunbar Des Lauriers pushes hard to buy Jamie's stock in the bookstore. Glory, who holds the mortgage to Jamie's and Wren's home, threatens to call it in if Wren doesn't sell to her. Blaine claims to have sole rights to Neutron and Carmella finds proof that Jamie was engaged to another woman a year ago without telling Wren. Overwhelmed, Wren asks Carmella to find her fiancé's killer; her inability to refuse places her in danger from a killer without mercy. Harriet Klausner | ||
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Plot & Themes Tone of story - suspenseful (sophisticated fear) How difficult to spot villain? - Very difficult--no foreshadowing/clues Time/era of story: What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - 80% 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 - 40 % How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10 % 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 - power How sensitive is this character? Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor Intelligence - Very much smarter than other characters Setting United States Yes The US: - Deep South Writing Style Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment Amount of dialog - significantly more dialog than descript |
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