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Viva Las Vegas
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Plot Summary of Viva Las Vegas
"

St. Martin's, Mar 2003, 23.95, 288 pp.
ISBN: 0312288069

Elvis is happy to be back in Vegas after a month in Graceland where Priscilla gave him a hard time because of Ann Margaret. Elvis drops in on insult comedian Howie Pickles' show at the Sahara.

The next day, Elvis learns that Pickles' victim Mrs. Donaldson was murdered and nailed to the billboard of a chapel (the same one that starred in an Elvis flick). The police arrest the husband of the deceased, but the person who found the corpse Digby Ferguson believes the local cops rushed to judgment. He tries to persuade Elvis to join with him to investigate as he knows the rock legend has experience in solving crimes (see KILL ME TENDER and BLUE SUEDE CLUES).

Though Elvis amateur sleuth takes a long time to begin, fans of the superstar will relish this tale awhile wondering if Daniel Klein had a sighting as the plot brings Presley so vividly to life. The story line engages readers with its insightful look at a complete Elvis to include frustration with movie scripts (Roustabout is the current one) and his complicated love life that is made more complex by Siva. The story is well written, but more for the Elvis guru than the amateur sleuth aficionado.

Harriet Klausner
"

Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar



Review Analysis of Viva Las Vegas
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).
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? - Difficult, but some clues given
Time/era of story: - 1960's-1970's
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
Crime Thriller Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes

Main Character
Gender - Male
Profession/status: - actor
Age: - 20's-30's
How much violence does he/she use? - none
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: - Male
Age: - 40's-50's
Profession/status: - business executive
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount
Motive of antagonist - jealousy
How sensitive is this character? - hard edged
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - very athletic

Setting
United States Yes
The US: - West

Style
Person - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
How many deaths? - 1
Amount of dialog - significantly more dialog than descript
Most similar books to Viva Las Vegas
The Pale Horse by Agatha Christie
Blue Suede Shoes by Daniel Klein
It's a Mod, Mod, Mod, Mod Murder by Rosemary Martin
Black Betty by Walter Mosley
A Dangerous Road by Kris Nelscott


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