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| Plot Summary of Murder In A Heat Wave |
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"
Dunne, Mar 2003, @22.95, 224 pp.
ISBN: 0312276621
After ten days visiting her son and his family in California, retired attorney Martha Patterson returns to New York City after an all day trek home. Just wanting to go to sleep in her air conditioned Greenwich Village apartment, Martha finds the cooling device is broken and the hotter than a match stick heat unbearably wilting her brain. Perhaps it is jet lag, a senile moment, or just heat stroke but Martha insanely agrees to run for the cooperative board at the urging of her irate neighbors.
Management representative Rashida Grant needs to obtain a copy of the air conditioning maintenance contract to give to the board's lawyer. Her efforts to reach the board president Arnold Stern have failed and since he listed Martha in case of an emergency she calls her to enter his apartment. They find someone murdered the vilified Arnold. NYPD Homicide Detective White quickly learns that everyone detested Arnold. Though quite reluctantly, Martha begins her own inquiries.
Though the amateur sleuth elements depend too heavily on coincidence, fans will rejoice with the third Martha Patterson Greenwich Village cozy. Martha and the other tenants provide a slice of small village life within the high rise New York tenement. The action is mostly off screen, but fans will enjoy summer in the city with no spoons full of love shared by any of the cast.
Harriet Klausner
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Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Murder In A Heat Wave |
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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 - 40%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 30%
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
Crime Thriller
Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown)
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Female
Profession/status:
- a lawyer creature
Age:
- 40's-50's
How much violence does he/she use?
- none
Ethnicity/Race
- White/American
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
- very athletic
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 20's-30's
Profession/status:
- small businessman
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a moderate amount
Motive of antagonist
- revenge
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- Northeast
City?
Yes
City:
- New York
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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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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