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| Plot Summary of Maggie Needs an Alibi |
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"
Kensington, Jul 2002, 20.00, 310 pp.
ISBN: 1575668793
Six years ago, Toland Publishing fired midlist romance writers including Maggie Kelly better known as historical author Alica Tate Evans. Rather than cry in her tea, Maggie switches genres trying her word processing on the Regency mystery sub-genre. Creating amateur sleuth hero Viscount Saint Just and his sidekick Balder, Maggie uses the “O” filled pen name of Cleo Dooley. She quickly becomes a New York Times best selling author.
Maggie begins to wonder what is in her tea when Saint Just and Balder appear in her Manhattan apartment. As they drive her crazy, Maggie feels responsibility for the duo even though they adjust to modern life like ducks to water. When Maggie's publisher Kirk Toland dies after dining at her home, the police suspect the author killed him, as they were former lovers. Naturally Saint Just reverts to character and investigates the homicide in his nineteenth century aristocratic manner that skewers urbane urbanites.
Renowned writer Kasey Michaels takes the trendy dive from romance to mystery with MAGGIE NEEDS AN ALIBI, but does not just add a lot of suspense to a tale of love as commonly done with the switch. Unlike Maggie, Ms. Michaels needs no alibis as she satirizes the publishing industry where small success mean downsizing. The amusing story line contains an entertaining who-done-it starring a wonderful heroine and her now living Regency characters learning the uses of plastic faster than solving the case. This cast humorously skewers anyone in its path while making this novel into a deserving sure shot bestseller.
Harriet Klausner
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Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar
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"In this first book of a new series by Michaels we are introduced to Maggie Kelly, a writer of Victorian crime novels. Things are just getting started when her ex-boyfriend dies on her couch after dinner, and the police suspect she did it! She starts questioning her sanity when a gorgeous man,(and a silly sidekick) show up in her apartment and are identical to the main characters in her books. Try dealing with two strange men that know everything about you, but are living in the Victorian ages, and a cop interested in you for all the wrong reasons!"
Manda, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Maggie Needs an Alibi |
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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 - 10%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 50%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10%
Tone of story
- very upbeat
How difficult to spot villain?
- Difficult, but some clues given
Time/era of story:
- present (2000-2010)
What % of story relates directly
to the mystery, not the subplot?
- 60%
Misc. Murder Plotlets
- 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?
- feelings towards family/friends
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?
- a little
Ethnicity/Race
- White/American
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
- middling 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:
- Male
Age:
- 20's-30's
- 40's-50's
Profession/status:
- champion of justice
- mastermind
Eccentric:
Yes
- eccentric
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a moderate amount
- throughout most of the book.
Motive of antagonist
- revenge
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
- Very much smarter than other characters
Physique
- very athletic
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- Northeast
City?
Yes
City:
- New York
Style
Part of a series?
Yes
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
How many deaths?
- 1
Sex
Yes
What kind of sex:
- vague references
- descript of kissing
Unusual forms of death
- poisoning
Unusual form of death?
Yes
Amount of dialog
- mostly dialog
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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Kasey Michaels Resident Scholar Profiles
TOP SCHOLAR:
 Manda
SCHOLARS:
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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