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| Plot Summary of The Saint John's Fern |
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St. Martin's, Aug 2002, 23.95, 256 pp.
ISBN: 0312276834
In 1477 Roger the Chapman has enjoyed his second marriage for four months, especially the birth of his second child. However, Roger still feels restless as he senses that he is needed in Plymouth. He hitches a ride with Peter Threadgold who is traveling to see his daughter Joanna.
Roger learns from Joanna that someone viciously beat her neighbor Master Capstick to death with witnesses having seen the victim's great-nephew leaving the scene of the crime. However, when the King's men came to arrest Beric, he had vanished with many locals superstitiously believing that witchcraft through the application of THE SAINT JOHN'S FERN was used to make Beric invisible. Roger begins to investigate and that leads to attempts on his life and the insinuation that he was involved in a second homicide.
Perhaps this time Roger will appreciate home sweet home as his latest adventure turns quite personal and readers must accept his latest wanderlust. Though the mystery elements are cleverly written and nicely tied together in the climax, the story line belongs to graphic perusal of fifteenth century life in England. Roger remains a strong detective, but it is the historical elements that make Kate Sedley's latest who-done-it a winner for series fans and those readers who relish a resplendent look at medieval times.
Harriet Klausner
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Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of The Saint John's Fern |
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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 - 60%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10%
Tone of story
- suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
How difficult to spot villain?
- Very difficult--no foreshadowing/clues
Time/era of story:
- middle ages
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?
- life in that culture
Crime Thriller
Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown)
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- small businessman
Age:
- 20's-30's
How much violence does he/she use?
- none
Ethnicity/Race
- British
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence
- Very much smarter than 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 little/some
Motive of antagonist
- revenge
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
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?
- 2
Amount of dialog
- significantly more dialog than descript
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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