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| Plot Summary of Desert Shadows |
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"
Poisoned Pen, July 2004, 24.95, 288 pp.
ISBN 15905811370
At the Southwest Book Publisher's Expose, Gloriana Alden-Taylor eats salad when the owner-publisher of Patriot's Blood Press starts to feel chest pains. She keels over, foams at the mouth and shortly dies. An autopsy reveals she was poisoned with hemlock sprinkled on her salad; the police arrest Gloriana's employee, Pima Indian Owen Sisiwan for the crime. Earlier that day, group of conference attendees led by Sisiwan went on a field trip where the poisonous plant grew.
Former police officer Lena Jones opened up her own agency after she was wounded on the job and her employee Johnny is Owen's cousin. She knows Owen could never kill a seventy-something year old woman even if she was a racist who treated Owen like a second-class citizen. Her publishing house published books that would appeal to the Aryan nation and they made a lot of money that she used to fix up the house she loved. Lena is determined to find out which of the many people who had a motive to kill Gloriana did the deed.
The protagonist is a person who keeps people at a distance because of the abuses she suffered in foster care, but in spite of the traumas she experienced, Lena is a determined woman who will go the extra mile to see that justice is served. The villainess of DESSERT SHADOW has so many enemies including her employees, her own family and the authors she could not care less about; it is impossible to figure out who the perpetrator is.
Harriet Klausner
"
Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Desert Shadows |
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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 - 50%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30%
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%
Misc. Murder Plotlets
- Proving innocence of very obvious suspect
Kind of investigator
- hard boiled/private eye
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
Main Character
Gender
- Female
Profession/status:
- private investigator
Age:
- 20's-30's
How much violence does he/she use?
- just the right amount
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:
- Female
Age:
- 20's-30's
Profession/status:
- homemaker
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:
- West
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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