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| Plot Summary of The Perils of Paella |
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Berkley, Jan 2004, 25.99, 304 pp.
ISBN 042519390x
Ever since her children have grown up, Carolyn Blue is doing things that she wants to do. She is a syndicated food columnist, published writer and jets around the world, accompanying her husband to science conferences. Of course she always finds time to solve murder investigations along the way.
Carolyn is currently in Barcelona visiting her friend Roberta Hecht, who is working in the research project at the El Esperit de Gaudi i Miro museum. When Carolyn goes to the museum she makes it a point to see the interactive exhibit “Tapas Triage” but is startled to find a dead woman who looks like her friend. It turns out that the woman was the mistress of the owner of the museum. In the xenophobic chauvinistic eyes of Inspector Pojol, who doesn't have a high opinion of American women, Roberta is the only suspect. Carolyn feels obligated to prove her friend's innocence without implicating Roberta's stepson who thinks he might have killed the victim.
THE PERILS OF PAELLA is obviously a title twist of “The Perils of Pauline” as the heroine goes from one dangerous adventure into another one. Nancy Fairbanks has some mouth watering descriptions of Catalonian repasts so don't read this culinary mystery on an empty stomach something this reviewer learned first hand. However, my spouse rejected my placing culpability on Ms. Fairbanks for a large dessert I devoured. There are enough suspects to keep the storyline interesting without overwhelming the audience with trivia. This fast and funny who-done-it will have readers in stitches.
Harriet Klausner
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Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of The Perils of Paella |
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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
- very upbeat
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?
- 80%
Kind of investigator
- amateur citizen investigator
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Any non-mystery subplot?
- food/cooking
Crime Thriller
Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown)
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Female
Profession/status:
- journalist
Age:
- 40's-50's
How much violence does he/she use?
- a little
Ethnicity/Race
- White/American
How sensitive is this character?
- 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:
- artist
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a moderate amount
Motive of antagonist
- revenge
The antagonists are:
- Arab terrorists
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- very athletic
Setting
Europe
Yes
European country:
- Spain
Style
Person
- rotating 1st
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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