Book reviews

Fire When Ready
Kate Kingsbury Book Review

Read a book review online (click here to search reviews)
Books Movies  
Sci-Fi/Fantasy Mystery/Thriller Literature Romance Biography Video
Kate Kingsbury Books
New book search
Kate Kingsbury Message Board
Get more information about this book
Plot Summary of Fire When Ready
"

Berkley, Dec 2004, 5.99, 224 pp.
ISBN: 0425199487

During World War II in England, the villagers have seen too much change in too short a time to want any further disruptions in their way of life. Lady Elizabeth Hartleigh Compton of the Manor House subtly soothes ruffled feathers of the locals, tired by food rationing, the invasion of the Americans quartered in British homes, and the curfews. Even Elizabeth the great cannot get the residents to accept the new munitions factory run by Douglas McNally.

At the opening ceremony, Elizabeth has the honor of cutting the ribbon, but is taken aback when Douglas informs her that he is receiving death threats in the mail. Shortly thereafter, a fire breaks out at the factory killing Douglas and a charwoman. Following a rather quick inquiry, the fire marshal declares an accident occurred, but Elizabeth wonders in light of the letters whether murder happened. She learns that the victims were locked inside an office unable to get out. Totally convinced that murder took place, Elizabeth intends to prove that and uncover the identity of the culprit.

Harriet Klausner

"

Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar



Review Analysis of Fire When Ready
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 - suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
How difficult to spot villain? - Very difficult--no foreshadowing/clues
Time/era of story: - 1930's-1950's
What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - 80%
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: - Prince/Nobleman/King
Age: - 20's-30's
How much violence does he/she use? - a little
Ethnicity/Race - British
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence - Very much smarter than other characters
Physique - average physique

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 20's-30's
Profession/status: - mastermind
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount
Motive of antagonist - money/treasure
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
Europe Yes
European country: - England/UK

Style
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
How many deaths? - 2
Amount of dialog - significantly more dialog than descript
Most similar books to Fire When Ready
The Black Piano by Constance Little and Gwenyth Little
It Had to Be You by Jill Churchill
Letter From Home by Carolyn Hart
A Murder Is Announced by Agatha Christie
Berried Alive by Kate Kingsbury


Click here for more information about this book


Kate Kingsbury Resident Scholar Profiles

TOP SCHOLAR:
  
Tara Roberts  

SCHOLARS:


Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s).
Three ways to search for Thriller/Action books!

1) One-click plot searches! Simply click on a plot or subplot below!

Big vehicle disaster?

Crime Thriller

Disaster, natural or nuclear

Exploring into the wild

Horror Story?

Legal Thriller

Medical Thriller

Religious overtones?

Spying/Terrorism Thriller

War Thriller

Water adventure

Western



or 2) Simple lookup
(title or author)

or
3) Even more search options available with a Detailed Booksearch (click here)

Use our site!
17 FREE Sci-Fi Ebooks!
FREE "How to be happy" Ebook!
Funny Videos
Feedback


Most recent discussions:

General Book Talk
Book writing discussion
Off-topic message board
George W. Bush 3:22:38 AM
Robert Segarra 5:13:47 PM
Deric Longden 3:49:15 PM
Slavomir Rawicz 10:00:34 AM
Karen Armstrong 10:51:40 AM
Anonymous 1:39:52 PM
Suzanne Weyn 6:24:19 PM
Colin Forbes 12:23:54 PM
John Christopher 5:12:45 AM
Tom Clancy 2:19:45 AM
Margaret Peterson Haddix 5:36:55 PM
Nikolai Tolstoy 7:46:16 AM
J.K. Rowling 11:40:22 PM
Jack Higgins 4:54:08 PM
Eloise Jarvis McGraw 12:51:17 PM
Jane Rubino 1:21:00 PM
Lori Wick 2:11:45 AM
Betty Mahmoody 5:57:33 PM
Patricia Cornwell 2:48:17 PM
Andrew Clements 9:13:44 PM

Silicon Valley
More message boards