| Plot Summary of Above Suspicion |
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"This book was written in early 40's and published in early 50's. The book made Helen Mac Innes a force to reckon with, and she truly arrived on the scene with a bestseller.
The setting is Europe, just before the outbreak of the WW-II in the early 40's. Hitler has already annexed Czechoslovakia, Poland is about to be invaded and high tension is prevailing all over Europe & UK. Richard Myles, a University Professor at Oxford, and his lovely, intelligent, courageous, adventurous wife Frances are approached by Peter a family fiend, supposedly employed with Foreign Office with a simple request to undertake a simple mission. The mission is that, the couple during their upcoming vacation trip to Europe, will be contacted by someone in Paris, and thus in a series of 5 contacts, they will be lead to the end of the chain to meet the key-person, an Englishman. If and when they meet the key-person, they have to send an innocuous telegram to Peter, and that's all. Myles couple accepts the mission.
They start off their holiday in Paris, first contact happens, and then starts a journey into the mysterious world of intrigue, suspense, danger and betrayal. The journey takes them to Heidleberg; Nuremburg, Leipzig, Munich, Innsbruck and back to Paris via Italy at the end of this hair raising mission. Helen MacInnes takes us through this fantastic, awesome journey where each day is an adventure. Dialogues are witty, intelligent conversations that show the mental make-up, situational scenario, and a view of life then prevailing in the minds of people of allied and axis countries. The mutual suspicions, subtle hostilities, differences in perception and whole philosophy of life including socio-economic-and political views etc. come out so effortlessly and sharply that even today after 50 years of the period, we can understand and appreciate the conditions then prevailing.
It's a nice book, educative, informative as well as entertaining.
"
r b siddhanti, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Above Suspicion |
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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 - 20%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 30%
Tone of story
- suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
Time/era of story:
- 1930's-1950's
Spying/Terrorism Thriller
Yes
Cloak & Dagger Plotlets:
- main char. spying/sabotage
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- scholar
Age:
- 20's-30's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
How much violence does he/she use?
- a little
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:
- an organization
Has special powers?
Yes
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- an average amount
Motive of antagonist
- power
Setting
Europe
Yes
European country:
- England/UK
- France
- Germany
Misc setting
- resort/hotel
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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