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Donna Rose and the Slug War
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Plot Summary of Donna Rose and the Slug War
"

Five Star, Aug 2004, 25.95
ISBN: 1594142203

In Cedar Harbor, Washington, retired school teacher Donna Galbreath enjoys working her garden and clam digging at the nearby beach. Though a member of the water board, she detests the meetings and thinks her fellow associates are a collection of idiots especially her next door neighbor cranky Cyrus Bates. Donna's favorite pastime is slinging slugs from her property onto that owned by Cyrus.

While walking the beach early one morning, Donna finds the murdered body of Lyle Corrigan, owner of Corrigan Hardware and chair of the Water Board. She calls the police. Chief Billy Donniker, who was in Donna's sixth grade class and was an idiot than and now is a bigger moron, accompanied by Jake Santorini investigates the crime scene. Not long afterward, Donna without thinking of the consequences of her action interferes with the case by failing to inform the police that she recognized a newcomer as Lyle's daughter. Unable to stay out of the investigation, Donna and Cyrus go sleuthing, seeking who had an economic reason to commit murder, but they also finds a link to sexual abuse incidents from two decades ago. The slug war between the sleuths leads to new catapult equipment.

This small town cozy is a fun tale due to the wonderful cast that makes for a fine story. The who-done-it (official and amateur) sometimes takes a back seat to the antics of the residents of Cedar Harbor. Fans who appreciate a warm comfy murder mystery with limited action beyond slug droppings will enjoy the teaming of natural enemies Donna and Cyrus seeking to learn who killed Lyle.

Harriet Klausner
"

Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar

"Donna Rose is a retired schoolteacher living in a coastal town in Washington state who prefers to spend the days tending to her garden and antagonizing her next-door neighbor. One day while clamming she comes across the body of Lyle Corrigan, a local businessman who has rubbed a good number of people the wrong way.

Donna Rose takes it upon herself to find the murderer, as she believes the local police force (save for one young detective) is inept. She and her neighbor investigate and find that Lyle was likely involved in some shady dealings with a real estate developer, and was definitely an abusive father and husband. When Lyle's daughter secretly moves back to town, Donna Rose suspects her until the daughter disappears. The stakes are raised further when an attempt is made on Donna's life."

Kathryn Lively, Resident Scholar



Review Analysis of Donna Rose and the Slug War
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 - very upbeat
How difficult to spot villain? - Very difficult--no foreshadowing/clues
Time/era of story: - present (2000-2010)
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: - retiree
Age: - 40's-50's - 60's-90's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events? Yes
How much violence does he/she use? - none
Ethnicity/Race - White/American
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - very athletic - average physique

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 40's-50's
Profession/status: - unemployed - business executive
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount - an above average amount
Motive of antagonist - money/treasure - kicks
How sensitive is this character? - hard edged - middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - very athletic - average physique

Setting
United States Yes
The US: - Pacific NW
Small town? Yes
Small town people: - nice, like Andy/Opie/Aunt Bee

Style
Person - mostly 1st - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
How many deaths? - 1 - 2
Amount of dialog - significantly more dialog than descript - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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Decorated For Murder by M.T. Jefferson
Bad Company by Virginia Swift


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Norma Tadlock Johnson Resident Scholar Profiles

TOP SCHOLAR:
  
Kathryn Lively  

SCHOLARS:
Harriet Klausner  


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