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A Place of Safety
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Plot Summary of A Place of Safety
"    Chief Detective Barnaby and his young, sometimes rash, sidekick Gavin Troy are called to a small English village with the charming name of Ferne Bassett to unravel a murder and mysterious disappearance. A troubled youth from a high class halfway house has gone missing. The lady of the house guiltily thinks she might be arrested for her drowning and fears blackmail. But while demands for payoff continue to come in, the potential blackmailer is found dead by the river, his face nearly chewed away by animals. The list of suspects is long at first but narrows quickly under Barnaby's wide-ranging inventigation.

    Our detective must choose among several possible alternative explanations for what happened, all the while dealing with a daffy busybody, a gay writer and his wife, a former clergyman, a handsome but deranged chauffer, and his own staff. "

Joe Miller, Resident Scholar

Review Analysis of A Place of Safety
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).
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 - 60%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10%




Tone of story - suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
How difficult to spot villain? - Difficult, but some clues given
Time/era of story: - present (2000-2010)
What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - 90%
Special suspect? - chronically deranged person
Misc. Murder Plotlets - Big focus on forensic evidence
Kind of investigator - british mystery (I say!)
Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Any non-mystery subplot? - searching for missing person
Crime Thriller Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes

Main Character
Gender - Male
Profession/status: - police/lawman
Age: - 40's-50's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events? Yes
How much violence does he/she use? - none
Ethnicity/Race - British
How sensitive is this character? - middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence - Very much smarter than other characters
Physique - average physique

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 20's-30's
Profession/status: - accused criminal
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a substantial amount
Motive of antagonist - money/treasure
How sensitive is this character? - mean, arrogant
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Average intelligence
Physique - bulging muscles

Setting
Small town? Yes
Misc setting - fancy mansion

Style
Part of a series? Yes
Person - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths
How many deaths? - 1
Sex Yes
What kind of sex: - homosexuals doing their thing
Unusual forms of death - asphyxiation
Unusual form of death? Yes
Amount of dialog - mostly dialog
Most similar books to A Place of Safety
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Caroline Graham Resident Scholar Profiles

TOP SCHOLAR:
  
Joe Miller  

SCHOLARS:
Harriet Klausner  


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