| Mary DiNunzio is retained to investigate property appropriation of long-ago internment camp veteran Amadeo Bandolini. She finds a story of a young man who apparently committed suicide over sixty years ago. Ordered out of town, Mary visits the site of the camp in Missoula, Montana, and becomes convinced Amadeo didn't commit suicide. He was murdered. And, in the present, the lawyer for Amadeo's son's estate is also murdered.
Mary soon learns the identity of the murderer, although she hasn't a shred of proof. And there's no motive. In the style we've come to expect from Scottoline, Mary can't just leave matters to the police. She undertakes a spot of breaking-and-entering, faces down a very wealthy and powerful adversary, falls into a trap that gets her locked into a car trunk, and a whole lot more. Meanwhile, she's dodging a series of blind dates from nice-enough guys who don't stand a chance with the ghost of her dead husband, Mike. Her aging parents confront health challenges. And she matches wits with Judy Carrier, her all-time best friend. | ||
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Plot & Themes Tone of story - very upbeat How difficult to spot villain? - Moderately Challenging Time/era of story: What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - 80% Misc. Murder Plotlets - solving long-past murder 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 - 30 % Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 40 % How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 20 % Crime Thriller Yes Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes General Crime (including known murderer) Yes Main Character Gender - Female Profession/status: Age: - 20's-30's Ethnicity/Race Main Adversary Identity: - Male Age: - 40's-50's Profession/status: Motive of antagonist - money/treasure The antagonists are: - big business leader(s) How sensitive is this character? Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters Setting United States Yes Misc setting - fort/military installation Writing Style Accounts of torture and death? - no torture/death Amount of dialog - significantly more dialog than descript |
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