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The Mistress of Alderly Book Summary and Study Guide

Detailed plot synopsis reviews of The Mistress of Alderly




Scribner, April 2002, 2.00, 288ppp.
ISBN:0743236882

Former renowned actress Caroline Fawley enjoys her life as a kept woman living in Marsham Village with two of her three children. Caroline enjoys the weekend visits of her married lover Marius Fleetwood, who pays her bills including residing at the luxurious Alderley Mansion.
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Accompanied by Marius, Caroline attends her oldest daughter Olivia's opera performance. Marius sneaks away as he usually does when he comes to an opera, but plans to return just prior to curtain call. Olivia is a success, but Marius fails to return. The next day, the police ask Caroline to look at the murdered corpse of an elegantly dressed man, who she identifies as Marius. As she worries about the future, the truths she believed about her lover begins to prove false, making her wonder about her beloved and why anyone wanted him dead.

Though the story line takes its time to introduce the players, readers will relish the wait for once the plot shifts into gear, it never slows down until the end. The characters are fully developed even those who are off stage like Marius' wife so that the audience has a feel for what motivates the cast though much of what is learned about the victim proves untrue. Robert Barnard provides the audience with an entertaining mystery that emphasizes the main and support cast.

Harriet Klausner

The review of this Book prepared by Harriet Klausner



Chapter Analysis of The Mistress of Alderly

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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?    -   80% Kind of investigator    -   british mystery (I say!) Kid or adult book?    -   Adult or Young Adult Book Crime Thriller    -   Yes Murder Mystery (killer unknown)    -   Yes

Main Character

Gender    -   Male Profession/status:    -   police/lawman Age:    -   40's-50's Ethnicity/Race    -   British

Setting

Europe    -   Yes European country:    -   England/UK

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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Robert Barnard Books Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s).
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