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Some Like It Lethal
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Plot Summary of Some Like It Lethal
"

Signet, April 2004, 6.95, 320 pp.
ISBN 045121174X

She was born with a silver spoon in her mouth and grew up to be one of the most sought after woman in main line Philadelphia society. Her parents squandered the family fortune, raided their daughters' trust funds and moved to a South American country to live the high life because Argentina doesn't have an extradition treaty with the United States. Nora Blackbird wants to preserve the family homestead so she takes the job as the assistant to the society editor covering social events of the rich and famous.

When Nora attends the hunt club breakfast, her sister Emma is nowhere to be found even though she was supposed to be riding. After covering the story she looks for Emma but other guests find her in a barn stall, unconscious from too much drink and the murdered body of Rush Strawcutter next to her. Her whip is covered in blood and the police believe she is the perpetrator but Nora knows better and once again goes into sleuth mode to flush the guilty party out of hiding.

SOME LIKE IT LETHAL is a fabulous amateur sleuth mystery. The heroine is fearful about becoming involved with Michael because he was born and raised in a Mafia family and she is afraid to trust that he is totally innocent of any crimes, allowing her to seem vulnerable to readers beneath her tough exterior. Nancy Martin has written a real puzzler because the victim was so laid back and gentle that nobody, including Nora, believes he had an enemy in the world. Take a walk on the wild side with this rowdy and witty who-done-it.

Harriet Klausner

"

Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar



Review Analysis of Some Like It Lethal
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 - 40%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 40%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10%




Tone of story - very upbeat
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
Is Romance a MAJOR (25%+) part of story? Yes

Main Character
Gender - Female
Profession/status: - journalist
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
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: - doctor
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a little/some
Motive of antagonist - jealousy
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

Setting
United States Yes
The US: - Northeast

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 Some Like It Lethal
Shadow Dance by Julie Garwood
Ahead of the Game by Suzann Ledbetter
This Old Souse by Mary Daheim
Murder by Design by Jon P. Bloch
Last Writes by Laura Levine


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