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Thief in Retreat
Aimee and David Thurlo Book Review

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Plot Summary of Thief in Retreat
"
Aimee & David Thurlo
St Martin's, Dec 2004, 23.95, 288 pp.
ISBN 0312290085

Sister Agatha stops a robbery in progress by punching the felon in the nose. She then rides back to Our Lady of Hope monastery where she will confess to the mother superior that she committed violence against another human being. Before her confession occurs, the archbishop talks to her.

He wants her to go to the retreat, a former monastery where religious folk art belonging to the archdiocese is on display. Someone is stealing some of the artifacts and replacing them with forgeries. The Archbishop wants Sister Agatha to recover the church property and catch the thief. She drives her motorcycle to the retreat with her guard dog Pax sitting in the sidecar. Almost immediately she finds the murdered body of the art professor who was testing two objects to determine their authenticity. While Sister Agatha is there, more objects go missing, the handyman vanishes and Sister Agatha sees the ‘ghost' who is haunting the halls at the inn. Sister Agatha baits a trap and hopes that the killer and thief fall for it.

A convention of mystery writers is staying at the retreat, giving readers, an insiders' look at the world of writing and getting published.

Harriet Klausner

"

Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar



Review Analysis of Thief in Retreat
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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%
Murder of certain profession? - conventioneers
Kind of investigator - amateur citizen investigator
Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Any non-mystery subplot? - theft/fraud investigation
Crime Thriller Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes

Main Character
Gender - Female
Profession/status: - religious figure
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
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? - hard edged
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Very much smarter than other characters
Physique - average physique

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
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Aimee and David Thurlo Resident Scholar Profiles

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