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| Plot Summary of Watchers Of Time |
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"
Bantam, Nov 2001, 24.95, 339 pp.
ISBN: 0553801791
In September 1919 in Osterly, Herbert Baker is near death from congestive heart failure. Instead of demanding the appearance of his Vicar, Herbert asks for Father James to talk to him in private. The kind Father visits Herbert though they are of different religions. Not long afterward, Herbert dies. Father James never seems quite the same after his deathbed visit. A few weeks later, an assailant attacks Father James killing him with a large crucifix. The culprit arranges the crime scene to look as if Father James interrupted a robbery in progress.
Bishop Cunningham asks Chief Superintendent Bowles to dispatch a Scotland Yard detective to assure church officials that the police are running a proper investigation. Bowles sends Inspector Ian Rutledge, who starting with an interview with Monsignor Holstein begins to have doubts that robbery occurred. Advised and lectured by the deceased Corporal Hamish MacLeod, who occupies part of his mind, Ian begins to unravel a much greater tragedy than even the cold-blooded murder of a priest.
The Rutledge historical mysteries are unique because the reader does not know whether Hamish is a ghost or Ian suffers from battle fatigue syndrome. The story line of WATCHERS OF TIME, like its precursors, bring the post World War I era in England (this time the Norfolk area) to vivid life. This enables the audience to taste a bygone period of their parents and grandparents that is quickly fading into the dust of history books. The who-done-it is cleverly devised as expected by Charles Todd, but as usual the charcaters including Hamish make the novel a sub-genre stand out.
Harriet Klausner
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Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Watchers Of Time |
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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
How difficult to spot villain?
- Difficult, but some clues given
Time/era of story:
- 1900-1920's
What % of story relates directly
to the mystery, not the subplot?
- 60%
Misc. Murder Plotlets
- Big focus on forensic evidence
- Big focus on autopsies
Kind of investigator
- police procedural, American
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Religious overtones?
Yes
Crime Thriller
Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown)
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- police/lawman
Eccentric/Mental:
Yes
Eccentric:
- eccentric
- obsessed
- deluded
How much violence does he/she use?
- just the right amount
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
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 40's-50's
Profession/status:
- mastermind
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a moderate amount
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
- average physique
Setting
Europe
Yes
European country:
- England/UK
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
How many deaths?
- 1
Amount of dialog
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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