| Plot Summary of An Artful Death |
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St. Martin's, Nov 2002, 22.95, 224 pp.
ISBN: 0312307454
Off the coast of the Spanish Island of Mallorca, former British cabinet minister Keith Vickers, known for his womanizing and running businesses into bankruptcy, goes sailing. Not long afterward, observers notice Keith's cruiser Valhalla, drifting and subsequently with no one on board.
Soon the mystery of the missing Keith is solved when his body washes ashore, an obvious victim of murder. Inspector Enrique Alvarez investigates, but runs into walls that would deter a less dedicated cop. He follows up on information provided by Keith's housekeeper that her employer and an unknown British official argued. Alvarez questions visiting Brit George Lovell who refuses to cooperate and formally complains to the inspector's superior Chief Sala. Though he loses a few pounds of flesh when Sala rips him for being an idiot and is threatened by Lovell's bodyguard companion, Alvarez continues placing pressure on the visitor as well as other prime suspects.
The who-done-it is fine, but as usual with the Inspector Alvarez novels, the book belong to the stoic, courageous, but beleaguered hero. Alvarez is henpecked by his sister and skinned alive by his boss. The murder mystery is fun and Alvarez's methodical investigation is cleverly designed, as Roderic Jeffries writes an artful police procedural.
Harriet Klausner
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Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of An Artful Death |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
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:
- present (2000-2010)
What % of story relates directly
to the mystery, not the subplot?
- 60%
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
How much violence does he/she use?
- a little
Ethnicity/Race
- Hispanic
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 20's-30's
Profession/status:
- diplomat
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a moderate amount
Motive of antagonist
- power
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Setting
Europe
Yes
European country:
- Spain
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
How many deaths?
- 1
Amount of dialog
- significantly more dialog than descript
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