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| Plot Summary of A Great Deliverance |
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"Fat, unpretty Roberta Teys, 19, has been found in her Sunday dress, axe in her lap, in the old stone barn in the tiny English village of Keldale, with her father's headless corpse nearby. Her only words before she goes utterly silent for the next few weeks are "I did it. And I'm not sorry." Elizabeth George introduces her Scotland Yard Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley, eighth Earl of Asherton, and his good friend Simon Allcourt-St. James, an independent forensic scientist. Lynley (something of a literary descendant of Lord Peter Wimsey) has been partnered with Sgt. Barbara Havers, an unhappy, class-sensitive working class woman who has failed to make detective before, as well as rubbed most other men in the department the wrong way. The ability of the veteran "toff" and the touchy sergeant to get along and work together is part of the interest in the first few books of the series. George's excellent mysteries have the added virtue of skillfully reflecting the issues of the case in the lives of her heroes (and their significant others). An auspicious debut for a series that would go on to greater things."
David Loftus, Resident Scholar
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"Scotland Yard's Inspector Thomas Lynley and Sergeant Barbara Havers are teamed up for the first time to investigate the beheading murder of William Teys in Yorkshire. His daughter Roberta has confessed to the killing, but she is in a catatonic state and the locals represented by the parish priest seem to think she is not really guilty. Circumstances seem to indicate that she may well be innocent,
Lynley and Havers discover that Teys' young wife had run off when her daughters were small as had Roberta's sister when she was sixteen. Teys had been about to remarry a widow with a young daughter. They also learn about a dead new born baby that had been found on the grounds of a ruined abbey. They are led to search for Teys' missing wife and daughter so that they can find out what really happened. "
Jack Goodstein, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of A Great Deliverance |
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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 - 20%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 20%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 40%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 20%
Tone of story
- depressing/sad
How difficult to spot villain?
- Difficult, but some clues given
- Challenging
Time/era of story:
- 1980's-1999
What % of story relates directly
to the mystery, not the subplot?
- 60%
Special suspect?
- relative
Murder of certain profession?
- farmer
Misc. Murder Plotlets
- "All in the family" murder
- Proving innocence of very obvious suspect
Kind of investigator
- british mystery (I say!)
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Any non-mystery subplot?
- feelings of fear/loss/inadequacy
Crime Thriller
Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown)
Yes
Is Romance a MAJOR (25%+) part of story?
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- wealthy
- police/lawman
Age:
- 20's-30's
How much violence does he/she use?
- none
Ethnicity/Race
- British
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- very athletic
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 20's-30's
Profession/status:
- police/lawman
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a little/some
Motive of antagonist
- revenge
The antagonists are:
- government bureaucracy
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
- mean, arrogant
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Setting
Europe
Yes
European country:
- England/UK
Farm/Ranch?
Yes
Farm/Ranch:
- farm
Small town?
Yes
Style
Part of a series?
Yes
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- moderately detailed references to deaths
How many deaths?
- 1
- 3-4
Sex
Yes
What kind of sex:
- vague references
- touching of anatomy
Unusual forms of death
- decapitated
Unusual form of death?
Yes
Amount of dialog
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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