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| Plot Summary of Death by Inferior Design |
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Dell, Nov 2004, 6.99, 400 pp.
ISBN: 0440241758
As a gift to his wife, Carl Henderson hires interior designer Erin Gilbert to redo their bedroom. When Erin arrives at her client's home, she finds her competitor Steve Sullivan is redesigning the den of the Henderson's neighbor Kevin McBride. A third neighbor Randy Axelrod sets up a competition between the rival designers with the winner getting a story in his magazine Denver Lifestyles. Erin and Steve enter the contest because both know that the free publicity should bring many new customers.
Carl's son Taylor works with both designers. He opens a bottle of cyanide that is in the back of Erin's van. She notices some missing, but he denies taking any when she confronts him. Later that day, Randy keels over; he dies at the hospital. Erin's information leads to a toxic screening that shows he died from poisoning. Erin has a second reason to regret taking the job when she finds her baby picture on Carl's wall. Having been adopted, she believes her biological parent is nearby. Not long afterward, someone shoots at her car. Although she promised her adopted mom to not seek out her biological parents, events force her to reconsider her vow before a killer murders her too.
Harriet Klausner
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Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Death by Inferior Design |
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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 - 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%
Kind of investigator
- amateur citizen investigator
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Any non-mystery subplot?
- running a business/making a living
Crime Thriller
Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown)
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Female
Profession/status:
- small businessman
Age:
- 20's-30's
How much violence does he/she use?
- none
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:
- wealthy
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a little/some
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?
- 2
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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