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Dead for the Winter
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Plot Summary of Dead for the Winter
"

St. Martin's Press, Nov 2004, 23.95, 272 pp.
ISBN: 0312333196

Arizona victims advocate Chloe Newcombe hires carpenter Terry Barnett to build a bookcase for her. With her former lover somewhere south of the equator, Chloe finds the charming Terry quite attractive and ponders a fling with him. Several observers watch her flirt outrageously with Terry, but the affair ends before it starts when he calmly mentions his artist spouse Heather; Chloe rejects the idea as not worth the complication.

Not long afterward, someone murders Terry. Heather and Cloe are considered suspects by a man named Detective Flynn. Chloe begins investigating. She quickly learns how Terry's brother had a falling out over twenty years ago.

The who-done-it is a well written combination amateur sleuth (in some ways competing sleuths between Fred and Chloe) and police procedural.

Harriet Klausner
"

Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar



Review Analysis of Dead for the Winter
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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? - 70%
Special suspect? - lover
Misc. Murder Plotlets - Proving innocence of very obvious suspect
Kind of investigator - skilled citizen investigator
Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Crime Thriller Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes

Main Character
Gender - Female
Profession/status: - psychiatrist
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: - small businessman
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount
Motive of antagonist - jealousy
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: - West

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 Dead for the Winter
Raise the Dead by Jane Rubino
Double Exposure by Bonnie Hearn Hill
Legacy of Masks by Sallie Bissell
Sign of the Book by John Dunning
Till The End of Tom by Gillian Roberts


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