St. Martin's, April 2002, 6.99, 368 pp.
ISBN 0312982623
Francesca Cahil, the twenty-year-old daughter of wealthy parents, lives in a posh New York City neighborhood. In 1902, a young woman with her status should be going to society balls and looking for a rich husband, but she is hardly the typical debutante. She has enrolled in college, without her parents' knowledge, is trying to earn money as a sleuth, and is madly in love with the police commissioner, Rick Bragg.
Although Rick returns her feelings he keeps their relationship on a platonic level because he's married although he hasn't seen his wife for four years. The only part of contact these star-crossed lovers have is when Francesca inserts herself into a police investigation. While out on a case of her own, Francesca finds the dead body of a young Irish seamstress and learns from Bragg that there was another murder identical to the one the beautiful bluestocking discovered. Trying to keep their emotions in check, the two sleuths work together to uncover a very clever killer.
Although DEADLY AFFAIRS is labeled a romance, it is really an amateur sleuth mystery. Brenda Joyce writes a compelling tale filled with so many twists and turns that readers will never be able to discover who the killer is until the author is ready to reveal it. This is a series that will have crossover appeal to romance and mainstream readers.
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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 - 60% Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20% How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10%
Tone of story
- Dry-cynical
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%
Special suspect?
- chronically deranged person
Misc. Murder Plotlets
- Big focus on forensic evidence
- Big focus on autopsies
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:
- private investigator
Age:
- 20's-30's
How much violence does he/she use?
- a little
Ethnicity/Race
- White/American
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:
- Female
Age:
- 20's-30's
Profession/status:
- mastermind
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- almost none
Motive of antagonist
- money/treasure
How sensitive is this character?
- mean, arrogant
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- Northeast
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
How many deaths?
- 2
Amount of dialog
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
