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| Plot Summary of The Price of Murder |
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"
Putnam, Oct 2003, 24.95, 272 pp.
ISBN 0399150781
A young child, no bigger than eight, is fished out of the Thames River in London of 1774. When Sir John Fielding of 4 Bow Street, the magistrates of London and Winchester hears of this, he sends his protégée Jeremy Proctor to investigate. A month ago Alice Plummer reported her daughter was stolen and Sir John thinks that the child in the water was Margaret Plummer. When Jeremy arrives on the docks, he learns that the child was naked and there is evidence of sexual intercourse.
The autopsy reveals that the child was indeed brutally molested and smothered to death. When Jeremy tries to find the mother, a neighbor says that she disappeared with a large sum of money after giving her child to a man that said he would place her with wealthy parents who couldn't have a child. When Jeremy and Alice's brother Deuteronomy, a famous jockey, manage to locate Alice in Newmarket she is honestly horrified to find out what happened to her child. She manages to give the authorities the slip and take justice into her own hands but Sir John and Jeremy are determined to find the man who actually killed the child and bring him to justice.
Historical mysteries don't get better than THE PRICE OF MURDER. The story is told in the first person narrative from Jeremy's perspective years after the events of this novel have taken place. His asides to the audience are thoroughly entertaining and make the readers feel as if they are part of the tale. Depending on how one feels about animals, justice was not meted out totally by a human agent.
Harriet Klausner
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Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of The Price of Murder |
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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 - 30%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 20%
Tone of story
- suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
How difficult to spot villain?
- Difficult, but some clues given
Time/era of story:
- 18th century
What % of story relates directly
to the mystery, not the subplot?
- 70%
Kind of investigator
- skilled 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
- Male
Profession/status:
- servant
Age:
- 20's-30's
How much violence does he/she use?
- none
Ethnicity/Race
- British
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Very much smarter than other characters
Physique
- very athletic
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 40's-50's
Profession/status:
- Prince/Nobleman/King
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a moderate amount
Motive of antagonist
- kicks
How sensitive is this character?
- mean, arrogant
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- very athletic
Setting
Europe
Yes
European country:
- England/UK
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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