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| Plot Summary of The Wrong Stuff |
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St. Martin's, Nov 2003, 24.95, 320 pp.
ISBN: 0312314140
Antiques dealer Jane Wheel uses her home as her warehouse so personal things tend to vanish amidst the forest of items. Her son knows first hand the frustration of simply putting something down and not finding it for seemingly centuries afterward. Jane vows to do better, but she also works in Bruce Oh's private investigative firm, which means even less time to catalogue and clean up the house.
As Jane struggles at home, Bruce's wife antique dealer Claire admires a battered chest. The owners, believing it's trash, simply want to save money and effort to cart it off so they give it to her. Claire feels she has obtained an extremely rare Westman Sunflower Chest. She sells her treasure to dealer Horace Cutler, another dealer and takes the item to get it restored. However, when Horace receives his goods he goes wild calling Claire a cheat as he insists the chest is a fake. Not long afterward someone kills Horace and the police suspect Claire committed the homicide. Bruce and Jane set out to prove his spouse is innocent while traveling the cutthroat antiques' world seeking clues.
The who-done-it is fine, but takes a back seat to the strong cast. Jane is a delightful heroine struggling between clutter and oxygen with amusing asides at the beginning of each chapter that will amuse readers especially the pack rats who throw away nothing. Just ask her son about that. Jane's friend Tim Lowry adds humor and further insight to the apprentice sleuth. Sharon Fiffer provides a jocular private investigative yarn that the cozy crowd will believe is the right stuff.
Harriet Klausner
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Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of The Wrong Stuff |
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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 - 40%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 20%
Tone of story
- suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
How difficult to spot villain?
- Very difficult--no foreshadowing/clues
Time/era of story:
- present (2000-2010)
What % of story relates directly
to the mystery, not the subplot?
- 60%
Special suspect?
- investigator him/herself
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 small town
Crime Thriller
Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown)
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Female
Profession/status:
- small businessman
Age:
- 20's-30's
How much violence does he/she use?
- a little
Ethnicity/Race
- White/American
How sensitive is this character?
- 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:
- 20's-30's
Profession/status:
- small businessman
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a little/some
Motive of antagonist
- money/treasure
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- Midwest
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
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Click here for more information about this book
Sharon Fiffer Resident Scholar Profiles
TOP SCHOLAR:
 Debbie
SCHOLARS:
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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