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Sugarplum Dead
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Plot Summary of Sugarplum Dead
"Christmas is a time for families. Wealthy, aging movie queen Marguerite Dumaney Ladson brings her extended family together in order to inform them that she is giving all of her money to a new-age spiritualist. This announcement leads to a murder in the family. Meanwhile Annie Darling, owner of the Death on Demand bookstore, is stunned when her father whom she has not seen in twenty five years suddenly reappears. When she learns that he has been charged with the Ladson family murder, Annie, her private investigator husband Max, and her eccentric mother-in-law band together to find the real murderer."
Linda Bertland, Resident Scholar



Review Analysis of Sugarplum Dead
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
How difficult to spot villain? - Challenging
Time/era of story: - 1980's-1999
What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - nearly 100%
Special suspect? - relative
Misc. Murder Plotlets - "All in the family" murder
Kind of investigator - amateur citizen investigator
Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
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
How sensitive is this character? - middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - average physique

Main Adversary
How sensitive is this character? - hard edged
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Average intelligence
Physique - average physique

Setting
United States Yes
The US: - Southeast
Small town? Yes
Small town people: - nice, like Andy/Opie/Aunt Bee
Misc setting - fancy mansion

Style
Person - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths
How many deaths? - 2
Unusual forms of death - blunt clubbing (like seals)
Unusual form of death? Yes
Amount of dialog - significantly more descript than dialog
Most similar books to Sugarplum Dead
Capable of Murder by Brian Kavanagh
The Celtic Riddle: An Archaeological Mystery by Lyn Hamilton
The Memory Game by Nicci French
Lou Dunlop: Cliffhanger by Glen Ebisch
Fast Women by Jennifer Crusie


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Carolyn Hart Resident Scholar Profiles

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