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The Thai Amulet
Lyn Hamilton Book Review

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Plot Summary of The Thai Amulet
"

Berkley, April 2003, 22.95, 256 pp.
ISBN 0425190064

Thailand is an exotic place and when William Beauchamp goes there on a buying trip, he sends his wife Natalie a fax saying he is not coming back. Unable to keep the business going and care for her severely handicapped daughter, Natalie sells the store and lives off the profits. Two years later her resources are nearly depleted and Will has gone missing, not seen at his home or store in Bangkok for months. She needs to know if he is alive so she can get a good divorce settlement or dead so she can collect on his insurance.

Lara McClintoch, the owner of an antiques store in Toronto, Canada, is going to Thailand on a buying trip and agrees to look into the matter for Natalie. She learns that Will was working on a book about a vicious killing that happened to an American in the 1950's but no trace of his computer or manuscript is found. She starts asking questions about Will and the missing manuscript that stirs up some people who want certain skeletons (literally) to stay buried.

Lyn Hamilton has written an amateur sleuth tale that shows why visitors are fascinated by Thai culture. The protagonist is like Sherlock Holmes on the hunt and when she picks up the scent she stays with it even if it means making people uncomfortable. THE THAI AMULET is a fascinating tale about greed, treachery, betrayal and murder, and readers won't rest until they find out what happened to Will and why.

Harriet Klausner
"

Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar



Review Analysis of The Thai Amulet
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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? - 70%
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: - small businessman
Age: - 40's-50's
How much violence does he/she use? - none
Ethnicity/Race - White/American
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - very athletic

Main Adversary
Identity: - Female
Age: - 40's-50's
Profession/status: - mastermind
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount
Motive of antagonist - power
How sensitive is this character? - hard edged
Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence - Average intelligence
Physique - very athletic

Setting
Asia/Pacific Yes
Asian country: - Southeast Asia

Style
Person - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
How many deaths? - 3-4
Amount of dialog - significantly more dialog than descript
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