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| Plot Summary of Louisiana Lament |
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"
Forge, July 2004, 24.95, 304 pp.
ISBN 0765305534
By day, she is Talba Wallis, ace private detective and junior partner in the E.V. Anthony Investigations Agency; by night, she is the Baroness de Pontalba. Dining Hurricane Carol, Talba receives a call from her hysterical half-sister Janessa, whom she met only once. Janessa wants Talba to meet her at her employer's house. When she arrives there, Talba sees a dead woman in the swimming pool with a head wound and Janessa holding the gun.
Janessa swears she did not kill Allyson Browser, the “Gatsby Girl” who loved to throw parties and a socialite with the literary greats of New Orleans. Earlier in the evening Janessa witnessed a fight between Allyson and her son Austin over money. Austin has disappeared and so has Rashid, Allyson's other employee who Janessa has a crush on. The police believe Janessa is the best suspect, forcing Talba to mobilize her troops to clear her sister's name and find out who the real killer is before her sibling is arrested.
Julie Smith is brilliant at creating characters that are easy to identify with so that readers become absorbed in the storyline, following the antics of the quirky cast. Like many of Ms. Smith's victims, Allyson is not a nice person so there are many suspects who had a motive to kill her. Guessing who it is makes for fun and exciting reading.
Harriet Klausner
"
Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Louisiana Lament |
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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
- 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?
- 80%
Special suspect?
- relative
Murder of certain profession?
- the rich!
Kind of investigator
- hard boiled/private eye
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
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?
- a little
Ethnicity/Race
- Black
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:
- wealthy
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- an average 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:
- Deep South
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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