"A female relative is hanged for murder. The search for the truth about the murder leads to many events in the past and the various relationships which led to the murder. Rendell writes a fascinating story with many complex characters. "
roger c bergstrom, Resident Scholar
"two women fight over someone. the frightening effect of their fight can be brought to resolution...or will it?"
marlon, Resident Scholar
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Review Analysis of A Dark-Adapted Eye
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 - 30% How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 20%
Tone of story
- Dry-cynical
How difficult to spot villain?
- Difficult, but some clues given
- Story partially from villain's perspective
Time/era of story:
- 1930's-1950's
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Crime Thriller
Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown)
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Female
Profession/status:
- unemployed
Age:
- 60's-90's
Eccentric/Mental:
Yes
Eccentric:
- obsessed
- emotionally unstable
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
How much violence does he/she use?
- none
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- healthy but a geeky weakling
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Female
Age:
- 40's-50's
Profession/status:
- unemployed
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a lot
- throughout most of the book.
Motive of antagonist
- revenge
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Setting
Europe
Yes
European country:
- England/UK
Style
Person
- mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death?
- moderately detailed references to deaths
How many deaths?
- 1
- 3-4
Sex
Yes
What kind of sex:
- vague references
Unusual forms of death
- hanging
- drowned
- perforation--swords/knives
Unusual form of death?
Yes
Amount of dialog
- significantly more dialog than descript
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
