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| Plot Summary of Crushing Crystal |
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"
Kensington, Nov 2004, 22.00, 256 pp.
ISBN 0758202288
Literary agent Jane Stuart works and lives in Shady Hills, New Jersey and is glad to be away from the crime and troubles of New York City. She has a wonderful nanny Florence for her eleven year old son Nicholas; because of her friendship with Florence she allows her nanny's sister Crystal Ryerson to stay at her home for two weeks. When they move Crystal into her new home, Jane is thrilled to get rid of the obnoxious, meddling know it all busy body.
In the short time she has been in town, Crystal complained to Children Services stating that Myrtle Lovesy's daughter, a former drug addict, is not fit to raise her child. She also gets a teacher fired for stealing computers that he categorically denies. Crystal, an assistant director at the public library, arranges a reading group. At the very first meeting the teacher and Mrs. Lovesy are there. When Crystal climbs a ladder to get a book from the top shelf of the bookstore, it falls on her, killing her instantly. Florence ask Jane, who has solved five homicides, to find her sister's killer; she agrees to help her friend not knowing that she is putting her life on the line.
CRUSHING CRYSTAL is a fantastic cozy and a delightful amateur sleuth tale all rolled up into one terrific package. The protagonist is intelligent and loyal willing to go the extra mile to help her friend. Evan Marshall has written his best mystery to date because there is a subplot involving a missing beautiful high school girl that seamlessly returns to the main story line.
Harriet Klausner
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Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Crushing Crystal |
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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:
- present (2000-2010)
What % of story relates directly
to the mystery, not the subplot?
- 80%
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:
- 40's-50'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
- Very much smarter than other characters
Physique
- very athletic
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 40's-50's
Profession/status:
- mastermind
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- an average amount
Motive of antagonist
- money/treasure
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
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
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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