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| Plot Summary of Murder by Design |
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"
St. Martin's, Mar 2004, 23.95, 272 pp.
ISBN: 0312313128
Though he knows better than to trust a TV show team, television entertainment reporter Rick Domino reluctantly agrees to participate in the My House, Your House redecoration of his home on the air. Rick's partner for the contest is his odious backstabbing co-hostess Mitzi McGuire. Their opponents are his gay protégé cop Terry Zane and his trailer trash ex-wife Darla Sue.
Besides the headache caused by the TV crew and the hemorrhoids caused by his so-called partner, Rick soon finds something else to concern him aside from being a survivor. Someone killed one of his rejected design consultants, Helena Godiva with the suspect being Terry's cousin hippie like carpenter Ann-Margret Wochinsky. Teaming with Terry, they investigate the homicide because both believe his relative may be crazy, but is innocent of wrongdoing
The wild purposely stereotyped staff is satirically impaled in this amusing who-done-it. The story line is loaded with puns, double and triple entendres, and bon mots as the casts' interactions take center stage. That also reduces the impact of the murder investigation to a second class design yet fans of Monty Python with no taut plot restrictions will laugh loudly at Jon Bloch's slice and dice of a variety of icons like reality shows and the overstuffed fuss of sexual preference.
Harriet Klausner
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Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Murder by Design |
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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?
- 70%
Misc. Murder Plotlets
- Proving innocence of very obvious suspect
Kind of investigator
- amateur citizen investigator
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:
- journalist
Age:
- 20's-30'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:
- 40's-50's
Profession/status:
- mastermind
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a moderate amount
Motive of antagonist
- revenge
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
United States
Yes
The US:
- California
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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