"Rose Fenemore, a young English tutor at Haworth College in Cambridge, has a secret: she writes very popular science fiction novels, under the name of Hugh Templar. Wanting a quiet and remote place to work on her book, she arranges to spend her summer vacation on a sparsely inhabited island west of Scotland in the company of her brother Crispin, an avid (though amateur) wildlife photographer. When his arrival is delayed by a train accident, Rose resigns herself to several days of solitary writing--only to be confronted, almost immediately, by the abrupt entrance of two suspicious strangers into her idyllic retreat.
The first is Ewen Mackay, an attractive man who arrives at her rented cottage in the middle of the night and who, having grown up in that very cottage, lets himself in with his own key without (apparently) any knowledge that his parents had sold the cottage and moved away. Rose, dazed by his sudden arrival and odd story, is even more taken aback when a second suprise follows soon after the first: another stranger turns up at her door. John Parsons, a geologist who's camping on the island, and is looking for shelter from the storm.
When valuable items go missing from the unoccupied mansion near Rose's cottage, she finds herself caught up in a mystery of increasing complexity. Who can she trust? Ewen Mackay, whose motives and actions grow increasingly more suspicious? Or John Parsons, whose reasons for being on the island may be as false as his name turns out to be?The wild beauty of Scotland's Western Isles are described in this novel."
J.C. Clark, Resident Scholar
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Review Analysis of Stormy Petrel
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 - 10% Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 40% How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 40%
Tone of story
- suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
Time/era of story:
- 1980's-1999
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Crime Thriller
Yes
Crime plotlets:
- white collar fraud or theft
General Crime (including known murderer)
Yes
Who's the criminal enemy here?
- catching con-artist
Main Character
Gender
- Female
Profession/status:
- teacher
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
How much violence does he/she use?
- none
Ethnicity/Race
- British
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 20's-30's
Profession/status:
- accused criminal
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- an average amount
Motive of antagonist
- money/treasure
How sensitive is this character?
- mean, arrogant
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Setting
Island?
Yes
Island:
- on vacation
- Atlantic Ocean Island
Small town?
Yes
Small town people:
- nice, like Andy/Opie/Aunt Bee
Style
Person
- mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death?
- no torture/death
How many deaths?
- 0 (not a murder mystery)
Amount of dialog
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
