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The Alpine Obituary Book Summary and Study Guide

Detailed plot synopsis reviews of The Alpine Obituary




Fawcett, Sept 2002, 6.99, 320 pp.
ISBN 0345447913

It has been over fifteen months since the love of Emma Lord's life was murdered and the owner of the weekly newspaper The Alpine Advocate still grieves as if it happened yesterday. There has been very little excitement in the small Washington town of Alpine and as a result Emma doesn't have any hard news-breaking stories to get her mind off her woes.
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That all changes when the town judge receives a threatening note and photograph warning her to withdraw her appointment or face the consequences. The judge doesn't have a clue what the letter or picture is about and asks Emma to investigate. Before she gets very far, a forest fire breaks out and when it is finally put out, a dead body is discovered in the woods. These two cases are related but to obtain the truth Emma will have to ferret out connections that existed over three decades ago.

The latest Emma Lord mystery is a cleverly designed who done it that is targeted for an audience who likes a cerebral brain teaser. There are several sub-plots that seamlessly tie into the main story line with each one interesting and intriguing. Mary Daheim gives readers an up close and personal look at life in a small northwest town in her first class cozy, THE ALPINE OBITUARY.

Harriet Klausner

The review of this Book prepared by Harriet Klausner



Chapter Analysis of The Alpine Obituary

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Plot & Themes

Composition of Book 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% Tone of story    -   suspenseful (sophisticated fear) How difficult to spot villain?    -   Very difficult--no foreshadowing/clues Time/era of story:    -   2000+ (Present) What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot?    -   60% Kind of investigator    -   amateur citizen investigator Kid or adult book?    -   Adult or Young Adult Book Any non-mystery subplot?    -   life in that culture Crime Thriller    -   Yes Murder Mystery (killer unknown)    -   Yes

Main Character

Gender    -   Female Profession/status:    -   journalist Age:    -   40's-50's Ethnicity/Race    -   White/American

Setting

United States    -   Yes The US:    -   Pacific NW

Writing Style

Accounts of torture and death?    -   generic/vague references to death/punishment Amount of dialog    -   significantly more dialog than descript
Mary Daheim Books Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s).
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