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Dead Man Talking
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Plot Summary of Dead Man Talking
"Dead Man Talking

Five Star, Dec 2004, 25.95, 360 pp.
ISBN: 1594142572

In Six Gun, Texas, author Alice Carpenter has worked out the rules of sharing her home with ghosts. However, her cousin Katy Gueydon is not doing quite as well and begs Alice to help her with Sir Gary Gavin and a corpse she finds in her swimming pool at Esprit d'Chene estate. Alice calls her former spouse Detective Jack Carpenter, who works near her cousin's home, while she drives the two hours to help Katy.

Alice quickly learns that the victim is Bucky Wilson-Jones, son of a state senator. Though Bucky was a reprobate, Alice realizes that the prime suspect is her cousin, a steal magnolia who has lost her metallic backbone. As Alice investigates the current killing, tries to solve Gary's two century old “undeliberate” murder, and works with settling down a bewildered and angry Bucky, she needs help. Jack don't believe in ghosts so she turns to her mentor Twila Brown and their neighbor Granny to form the ghosthunter amateur sleuth team.

Harriet Klausner
"

Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar



Review Analysis of Dead Man Talking
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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 - 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 - solving long-past murder
Kind of investigator - amateur citizen investigator
Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Any non-mystery subplot? - ghost buddy
Crime Thriller Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes

Main Character
Gender - Female
Profession/status: - writer
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 - 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: - 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: - Texas

Style
Person - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
How many deaths? - 2
Amount of dialog - significantly more dialog than descript
Most similar books to Dead Man Talking
The Ghost and Mrs. McClure by Alice Kimberly
The Ghost and the Dead Deb by Alice Kimberly
Dust to Dust by Lillian Stewart Carl
Ghost of a Chance by Flo Fitzpatrick
Sex, Ghosts and Gumshoes by Bob Gunn


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T.M. Simmons Resident Scholar Profiles

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Harriet Klausner  

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