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| Plot Summary of The Castlemaine Murders |
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"
Poisoned Pen, Sept 2004, 24.95, 248 pp.
ISBN 1590581172
Unable to please her father and fit into 1928 English society Phryne Fisher makes her home in Melbourne, Australia with her two adopted daughters and her faithful friend Dot. Her sister Eliza is banished from England and sent by her father to live with Phryne, but acts snooty and above it all. To get her out of the house, she takes her entire family and her Chinese lover Lin Chung to the Luna Park amusement park.
While she is riding the ghost train, she touches what she thinks is a paper made ghost only to learn it is a mummified body almost eighty years old. While Lin Chung tries to find the 400 ounces of gold that was stolen from his family in 1858, Phryne inquires into the identity of the corpse. Someone is trying to stop her investigation by sending her harmless letter bombs with warning notes inside. Her search takes her to Castlemaine, the former gold camp when Lin Chung and her await the answers to the mummy with a bullet hole in his head, but danger by some very ruthless individuals also is there.
Everybody who reads a Phryne Fisher mystery will adore the heroine, a free spirited individualist who lives life by her own rules. Both the protagonist and her lover have their own individual mysteries to solve involving family honor. Readers quickly get caught up in the who-done-it because it is exciting and a great reading experience for historical armchair travelers.
Harriet Klausner
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Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of The Castlemaine Murders |
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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 - 40%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10%
Tone of story
- suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
How difficult to spot villain?
- Very difficult--no foreshadowing/clues
Time/era of story:
- 1900-1920's
What % of story relates directly
to the mystery, not the subplot?
- 90%
Misc. Murder Plotlets
- solving long-past murder
Kind of investigator
- amateur citizen investigator
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Any non-mystery subplot?
- life in that culture
Crime Thriller
Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown)
Yes
Is Romance a MAJOR (25%+) part of story?
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Female
Profession/status:
- wealthy
Age:
- 20's-30's
How much violence does he/she use?
- a little
Ethnicity/Race
- British
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
- very athletic
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 20's-30's
Profession/status:
- Prince/Nobleman/King
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a moderate amount
Motive of antagonist
- power
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Setting
Asia/Pacific
Yes
Asian country:
- Australia
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
Kerry Greenwood Resident Scholar Profiles
TOP SCHOLAR:
 Harriet Klausner
SCHOLARS:
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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