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Reflections
Jo Bannister Book Review

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Plot Summary of Reflections
"

St. Martin's, Dec 2003, 22.95, 240 pp.
ISBN 031231938x

In the small English town of Dimmock is located the store, “Looking For Something?” owned and operated by Brodie Farrell. She hunts for things that people want but are unable to find. She makes it a practice to never look for people because the one time she did, she almost got somebody killed. When Hugo Daws comes into her place of business asking to locate his sister in law's sister she almost says no, but realizes if she refuses the request, two young children will be taken into foster care.

Their mother was murdered, knifed thirteen times after a fight with her husband and he disappeared. Brodie agrees to help and when Hugo asked if she knows a teacher who can stay with the girls and his wife she recommends her friend Daniel Hood. He accepts since he needs the money and a place to live but that decision will take him to the edge of his own sanity and force him to make a choice no person should have to make.

Jo Bannister is an excellent storyteller, an author who coaxes her audience to take one step beyond their comfort zone. There is a lot of misdirection and false leads in this British amateur sleuth tale so that readers won't catch on to what is really happening until the author chooses to reveal it. REFLECTIONS will appeal to fans of Alfred Hitchcock.

Harriet Klausner
"

Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar

Review Analysis of Reflections
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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? - Very difficult--no foreshadowing/clues
Time/era of story: - present (2000-2010)
What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - 70%
Special suspect? - lover
Kind of investigator - police procedural, British
Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Any non-mystery subplot? - feelings towards family/friends
Crime Thriller Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes

Main Character
Gender - Male
Profession/status: - teacher
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 - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - average physique

Main Adversary
Identity: - Female
Age: - a teen
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount
Motive of antagonist - revenge
How sensitive is this character? - mean, arrogant
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
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
Most similar books to Reflections
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The Sting of Death by Rebecca Tope
The Body of a Woman by Clare Curzon


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