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Faked To Death
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Plot Summary of Faked To Death
"

Kensington, April 2003, 22.00, 240 pp.
ISBN 1575668874

The villagers of Snupperton Mumsley are happy to welcome American Southern born and bred best-selling author Simon Kirby-Jones into their English midst. Simon is elated to be away from the States and the break up with his boyfriend especially now that he has as his assistant the gorgeous Sir Giles Blitherton, who is just waiting to jump his bones. The only thing holding him back from getting romantically involved with anyone is the fact that he is a vampire and is afraid to trust Giles with his secret.

As long as Simon takes his medication three times a day he can pass for human, which enables him to walk in the sunlight and be active in the daytime. He accepts an invitation from Lady Hermione Kinsale to appear at a writer's workshop but he's outraged to learn that mystery author Dorinda Darlington is also appearing. Simon knows she's a fake because he is Dorinda and he's absolutely livid that his agent who is also at the conference arranged this publicity stunt. When the fake Dorinda is murdered, Simon deduces that one of blackmailed authors killed her. He investigates because he's nosy.

The protagonist is a drama queen with a biting sense of humor. He is also a vampire who has few traditional powers (the side effect of the medication he uses) so he must solve the who-done-it by using his wits of which he has many. The mystery is well plotted and there are many suspects who could be the killer so the readers are able to like this delightful cozy with a supernatural twist.

Harriet Klausner
"

Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar

"Simon Kirby-Jones is a gay American vampire living in a small English village. He is invited to attend a literary writer's workshop in a local manor house as one of the guest lecturers. While reviewing the list of scheduled lecturers, he discovers that someone posing as one of his nom-de-plumes will be attending. However, while attending the workshop, Simon discovers he isn't the only writer with a link to the fake writer. The fake writer is found dead. Simon, although not a suspect, can't resist investigating. Along the way Simon fights with romantic temptation in the form of his handsome and extremely available secretary/assistant, Giles. "
Stephanie, Resident Scholar



Review Analysis of Faked To Death
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 - very humorous
How difficult to spot villain? - Moderately Challenging
Time/era of story: - present (2000-2010)
What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - 80%
Murder of certain profession? - librarians/book industry
Misc. Murder Plotlets - butler provides unemotional service
Kind of investigator - british mystery (I say!)
Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Any non-mystery subplot? - minority/women/homosexual issues
Crime Thriller Yes
Mostly a criminal POV story Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes

Main Character
Gender - Male
Profession/status: - writer
Age: - long lived adults
Has special powers? Yes
Magical/mental powers of main character: - can read emotions
How much violence does he/she use? - none
Ethnicity/Race - White/American
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings - middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - very athletic - average physique

Main Adversary
Identity: - none - Male
Age: - 20's-30's
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount
Motive of antagonist - money/treasure
How sensitive is this character? - hard edged
Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - very athletic

Setting
Europe Yes
European country: - England/UK
Misc setting - fancy mansion

Style
Part of a series? Yes
Person - mostly 1st - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
How many deaths? - 2
Unusual form of death? Yes
Amount of dialog - significantly more dialog than descript - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
Most similar books to Faked To Death
Matricide at St. Martha's by Ruth Dudley Edwards
A Darkness More Than Night by Michael Connelly
Booked to Die by John Dunning
Living In Darkness by John A. Roynesdal
Someone Killed His Boyfriend by David Stukas


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