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Seven Dials
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Plot Summary of Seven Dials
"

Ballantine, Feb 2003, 25.95, 352 pp.
ISBN 0345440072

After exposing the workings of the Inner Circle, Thomas Pitt was fired as superintendent of Bow Street. For his and his family's sake he went to work for Special Branch, a top secret agency charged with keeping Great Britain safe from its' enemies. His latest case involves an Egyptian woman, Ayesha Zakhari, the mistress of cabinet minister Saville Ryerson.

The police believe that Ayesha shot and killed minor diplomat Edwin Lovatt, her lover when he was stationed in Egypt over a decade ago. Ryerson and Ayesha were disposing the body when the police caught them. The government doesn't want Ryerson implicated in a scandal and he doesn't want his mistress who he loves very much to hang for murder. Pitt's boss sends him to Egypt in the hope of discovering more about the players and if anyone else had a reason to kill Lovatt.

Anne Perry has written another fascinating Victorian mystery and this one is better than most (and that is saying something) because the reader receives an intriguing look at Egypt through the filtered eyes of a veteran foreign police officer. The audience also gain the perspective of how many Egyptians feel towards their British masters. History aside, in SEVEN DIALS, the hero's wife is working on a missing person case that has to do with Pitt's homicide investigation. Watching these two cases intersect is mesmerizing and realistic if one has faith in coincidence.

Harriet Klausner
"

Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar

Review Analysis of Seven Dials
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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 - suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
How difficult to spot villain? - Very difficult--no foreshadowing/clues
Time/era of story: - 19th century
What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - 70%
Misc. Murder Plotlets - Proving innocence of very obvious suspect
Kind of investigator - police procedural, British
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: - police/lawman
Age: - 40's-50's
How much violence does he/she use? - a little
Ethnicity/Race - British
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 - very athletic

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 40's-50's
Profession/status: - servant
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a little/some
Motive of antagonist - revenge
How sensitive is this character? - hard edged
Sense of humor - Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - very athletic

Setting
Europe Yes
European country: - England/UK
Africa Yes
Part of Africa: - Arabic Africa

Style
Person - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
How many deaths? - 3-4
Amount of dialog - significantly more dialog than descript
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Anne Perry Resident Scholar Profiles

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Jack Goodstein  

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