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| Plot Summary of Polished Off |
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"
Kensington, Feb 2004, 22.00, 245 pp.
ISBN: 1575668777
In New Orleans, Charlotte LaRue, owner of Maid for a Day cleaning service, feels really good that her “favorite” (and only) nephew Daniel married her best worker Nadia and plans to adopt the young son of his new wife as his. Only, Daniel's mom Madeline acts irate over the elopement. When Maddie fails to hide her odious opinion, Charlotte becomes angry with her sibling, who never has a good thing to say about anyone.
At the mansion of client Patsy Dufour, workers drop a large urn revealing human bones inside it. These are the remains of Nadia's former boyfriend and father of her son Ricco Martinez. The NOPD immediately go after Nadia as the prime suspect because Ricco was abusive and sired her son so eliminating him got him out of the way for her to marry Daniel. Charlotte does not believe for one nanosecond that Nadia POLISHED OFF her odious ex. Since the police refuse to look elsewhere, she begins her own inquiries.
The latest Charlotte cleaning service amateur sleuth tale is a fine story that fans of the series and the sub-genre will enjoy due to a strong cast headed by the heroine, her less cantankerous neighbor and her extended family. The story line reads like a clean cozy with Charlotte retaining herms. Clean label who tidies up deaths by murder as only a maid can.
Harriet Klausner
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Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Polished Off |
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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?
- 70%
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?
- feelings towards family/friends
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?
- none
Ethnicity/Race
- White/American
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- very athletic
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
- revenge
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:
- Deep South
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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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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