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A Red Death
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Plot Summary of A Red Death
"Easy Rawlins is threatened with prison for tax evasion, but an FBI agent offers to get him off the hook if he helps get the goods on a Communist union organizer named Wenzler. In the course of Rawlins' investigation, a woman is killed in an apartment building he owns, and the pastor of a church at which he is working is killed together with a woman with whom he is having sex. Rawlins is accused by the police. Later Wenzler is also killed. Rawlins must find the real killer and prove his innocence."
Jack Goodstein, Resident Scholar



Review Analysis of A Red Death
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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 - 30%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 20%




Tone of story - Dry-cynical
How difficult to spot villain? - Difficult, but some clues given
Time/era of story: - 1930's-1950's
What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - 80%
Special suspect? - investigator him/herself
Kind of investigator - skilled citizen investigator
Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Crime Thriller Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes
Is Romance a MAJOR (25%+) part of story? Yes

Main Character
Gender - Male
Profession/status: - small businessman
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 - Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence - Very much smarter than other characters
Physique - very athletic

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 40's-50's
Profession/status: - government investigator
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount
Motive of antagonist - money/treasure
How sensitive is this character? - mean, arrogant
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Average intelligence

Setting
United States Yes

Style
Part of a series? Yes
Person - mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths
How many deaths? - 3-4
Sex Yes
What kind of sex: - descript of kissing - actual description of sex - descript. of breasts
Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
Most similar books to A Red Death
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie
The Case is Closed by Patricia Wentworth
Peril at End House by Agatha Christie
Evil Under the Sun by Agatha Christie
Mrs. McGinty's Dead by Agatha Christie


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Walter Mosley Resident Scholar Profiles

TOP SCHOLAR:
  
Jack Goodstein  

SCHOLARS:
Bobby Blades  Marianna  


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