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Book Review By Tara Robertson
Mrs. Malory and Death by Water by Hazel Holt

Sheila Mallory frequently gets involved in the problems of her fellow residents in the seaside town of Taviscombe. This time, she has inheirited the personal papers of her longtime friend, Leonora, a well known journalist. Leonora died from drinking contaminated water from the stream on her own property. No source for the contaminated water has been found, yet several people have benefited from her death, leaving Sheila more and more certain that it was not an accident.

The first suspect is Leonora's brother Vernon, who was anxious to sell the property she lived on to land developers, an idea which did not meet with her approval. Then there is the beneficiary of Leornora's will, Marcus Bourne, a television personality who was not even acquainted with Leonora. However, Sheila soon discovers from Leonora's diary that there was a relationship between the two and that her old friend has many surprising events in her past which she was planning to reveal in her autobiography.


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? - 60%
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 - 60 %
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20 %
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10 %
Crime Thriller Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes

Main Character
Gender - Female
Profession/status:
Ethnicity/Race

Main Adversary
How sensitive is this character?
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Very much smarter than other characters
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