Dead Soldiers
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Plot Summary of Dead Soldiers

"

Five Star, Jun 2004, 25.95, 240 pp.
ISBN: 1594141186X

In Pecan City, Texas, Hartley-Gorman College Dean Dr. Gwendolyn Partridge asks (in the form of a command) English Department Chair Dr. Carl Burns to investigate the stealing of some valuable toy soldiers along with their container. Carl, who has solved mysteries before, would prefer to say no, but does not dare effuse his superior.

Before Carl even receives a list of suspects from Dr. Partridge, Police Chief Boss Napier visits him to tell him to back off as the stolen soldiers are linked to a homicide. Someone killed former professor Matthew Hart leaving a toy soldier by the corpse. Partridge knows that Carl needs to stay as far away from the official inquiry as possible, but still gives him the list to begin his interrogation.

DEAD SOLDIERS is an entertaining academic mystery that will hook readers from the moment Dr. P forces Carl to find her purloined soldiers. Though why Carl feels he had to follow up after the Boss man told him to back off is a mystery unto itself (he has tenure), the link between the miniature and the homicide is intriguing. The support cast is a delight, but Carl is the MVP of this solid amateur sleuth tale.

Harriet Klausner

Crested sapwood supportable noradrenaline runout.

"
Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar

Review Analysis of Dead Soldiers

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 - 10%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 40%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10%

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%
Murder of certain profession? - students/teachers
Kind of investigator - amateur citizen investigator
Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
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 - White/American
How sensitive is this character? - middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence - Very much smarter than other characters
Physique - very athletic

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 20's-30's
Profession/status: - mastermind
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount
Motive of antagonist - insanity
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: - Texas

Style
Person - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
How many deaths? - 2
Amount of dialog - significantly more dialog than descript

Most similar books to Dead Soldiers
A Little Learning is a Murderous Thing by Lou Allin
Murder Is Academic by Christine Poulson
Hot On the Trail by Jane Isenberg
Murder at the B-School by Jeffrey Cruikshank
Shadows on the Ivy by Lea Wait

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Bill Crider Book Review