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| Plot Summary of Twice Dead |
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"Taylor Madison has settled down into her father's old house in Perdue, Texas and is busy trying to write a new mystery novel, keep anyone from noticing that Cal Arnette, the man running for Sheriff in a month's time and her boyfriend, is spending most nights over at her house, and stay on top of the gossip coming from her neighbor Dorothy. So the last thing she needs is to find a skeleton in her friend Bonita "Bo" Posey's closet. Well, chimney in this case.
When Taylor persuaded Cal to drive her out to Bo's house on the chance of finding some good garage sale bargains they found a male skeleton wedged up the chimney with a shovel. Turns out the skeleton belongs to Ralph, Bo's preacher husband who supposedly ran off with all the church funds years ago. Since it was Bo's husband and she made no bones about her hatred for the man, Bo was the natural suspect for the murder. Taylor knows that her friend Bo would never kill her husband, no matter how much she hated him, and is determined to get to the bottom of the mystery.
But as Taylor gets involved in the past, she uncovers more mysteries instead of solutions. Why does Faith, Bo's daughter hate her? What happened to Harvey Neff, Ralph's sidekick? Why does Lewis Tucker, arguably the richest man in town live like a pauper? And what caused Lewis and Faith to break up on the night of his accident? How is the slimy new deputy Oliver Burke involved in the whole mess? And, most importantly, what is going on between Cal and the attractive Srgt. Molly Sullivan of the Lubbock Sheriff's Department? As Taylor hunts to uncover the answers to the mystery, she is forced to make some difficult decisions, but decides that she cannot let the past stay buried...
This is the second book in the Taylor Madison series and it is just as good as the first one, Diamondback. I love that the author keeps the same characters coming back for more so that readers of the series can see what is happening in their lives, but first time readers will find Dearl's brief backgrounds more that adequate to catch them up. The little town of Perdue, TX is a great setting for this series and the characters are absolutely wonderful. Be on the lookout for more by this author - she is just fabulous!
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Debbie, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Twice Dead |
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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
Composition of Book
descript. of violence and chases - 20%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 30%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 20%
Tone of story
- very upbeat
How difficult to spot villain?
- Difficult, but some clues given
Time/era of story:
- 1980's-1999
What % of story relates directly
to the mystery, not the subplot?
- 50%
- 80%
Special suspect?
- best friend
Misc. Murder Plotlets
- "All in the family" murder
- solving long-past murder
- Proving innocence of very obvious suspect
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:
- writer
Age:
- 20's-30's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
How much violence does he/she use?
- none
- a little
Ethnicity/Race
- White/American
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
- very athletic
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- none
- Male
Age:
- 40's-50's
Profession/status:
- killer
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a little/some
- a moderate amount
Motive of antagonist
- money/treasure
- power
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- quite fatty
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- Texas
Small town?
Yes
Small town people:
- nice, like Andy/Opie/Aunt Bee
Style
Part of a series?
Yes
Person
- mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death?
- no torture/death
- moderately detailed references to deaths
How many deaths?
- 1
Sex
Yes
What kind of sex:
- vague references
- descript of kissing
Is this an e-book?
Yes
Amount of dialog
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
- significantly more descript than dialog
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Elizabeth Dearl Resident Scholar Profiles
TOP SCHOLAR:
 Debbie
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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