|
|
| Plot Summary of Shakespeare's Christmas |
|---|
"This is the third book in the Lily Bard mystery series and it takes the reader out of Shakespeare, Arkansas to Lily's hometown. Lily is less than thrilled about going home for the holidays, especially when her sister's wedding is involved. She loves her family, but things just haven't been the same since she was violently assaulted years ago. To add to her notoriety, Lily manages to nab a purse natcher within a few days of her arrival and then is the first to walk in on a brutal double homicide. Before the buzz even begins to die down, Lily's detective boyfriend Jack Leeds shows up at the wedding rehearsal. Much as Lily would like to think that Jack showed up to offer her his moral support in her time of need, she knows better. Jack is investigating an eight-year-old kidnapping and the trail leads right to Lily's hometown - and her sister's widowed fiance. With only three days before the wedding and corpses piling up all over town, Lily must work fast to clean up the messy case before her sister commits...marriage!
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I think Charlaine Harris should be congratulated for her fantastic characterization and plot pacing. Many reviewers critized this book for having Lily be too soft and/or too much of her and too little of the mystery. They seem to have completely missed the point. Lily is softer in this book because she is at home and is different there. Everyone acts slightly differently when they go home, especially when they have been away for a long time, as Lily has been. As far as there being too much Lily and too little mystery, I thought that this book gave the reader a chance to learn a little bit more about Lily and what makes her tick. When you are reading a novel that is from a first person point of view, you should expect to hear a lot about the lead character - that is the whole point of having a lead character. Anyway, enough complaining - I just don't understand why everyone didn't love the book as much as I did! Buy this one while it is in print - it is a keeper!
"
Debbie, Resident Scholar
|
|
| Review Analysis of Shakespeare's Christmas |
|---|
|
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).
|
|
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 - 30%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 30%
Tone of story
- very upbeat
How difficult to spot villain?
- Challenging
Time/era of story:
- 1980's-1999
What % of story relates directly
to the mystery, not the subplot?
- 50%
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?
- life in small town
Crime Thriller
Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown)
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Female
Profession/status:
- servant
Age:
- 20's-30's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
How much violence does he/she use?
- just the right amount
Ethnicity/Race
- White/American
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- very athletic
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 20's-30's
Profession/status:
- killer
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- an average amount
Motive of antagonist
- insanity
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Setting
United States
Yes
Small town?
Yes
Small town people:
- nice, like Andy/Opie/Aunt Bee
Style
Part of a series?
Yes
Person
- mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death?
- moderately detailed references to deaths
How many deaths?
- 1
Sex
Yes
What kind of sex:
- vague references
- actual description of sex
Amount of dialog
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
|
|
|
Click here for more information about this book
Charlaine Harris Resident Scholar Profiles
TOP SCHOLAR:
 Debbie
SCHOLARS:
| |
Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
Use our site!
17 FREE Sci-Fi Ebooks!
FREE "How to be happy" Ebook!
Funny Videos
Feedback
Most recent discussions:
General Book Talk
Book writing discussion
Off-topic message board
George W. Bush
7:30:48 PM
Robert Segarra
5:13:47 PM
Deric Longden
3:49:15 PM
Slavomir Rawicz
10:00:34 AM
Karen Armstrong
10:51:40 AM
Anonymous
1:39:52 PM
Suzanne Weyn
6:24:19 PM
Colin Forbes
12:23:54 PM
John Christopher
5:12:45 AM
Tom Clancy
2:19:45 AM
Margaret Peterson Haddix
5:36:55 PM
Nikolai Tolstoy
7:46:16 AM
J.K. Rowling
11:40:22 PM
Jack Higgins
4:54:08 PM
Eloise Jarvis McGraw
12:51:17 PM
Jane Rubino
1:21:00 PM
Lori Wick
2:11:45 AM
Betty Mahmoody
5:57:33 PM
Patricia Cornwell
2:48:17 PM
Andrew Clements
9:13:44 PM
Silicon Valley
More message boards
|
