"Selma Newquist understands that her husband, Tom's carelessness about diet, smoking and exercise led to the heart attack that killed him. But she can't accept not knowing what had him so stressed out in his last months of life that he was losing weight, not sleeping and constantly nervous. She hires detective Kinsey Milhone to find out.
Kinsey soon discovers that virtually everyone in Nota Lake County idolized Tom and dislikes Selma. Most people in town see Kinsey's job as digging up some kind of dirt on Tom, and they are wary of her. One night, a mysterious assailant attacks her in her motel room and dislocates two of her fingers.
As she digs into Tom's last few months, she finds he was working on a double murder – one killing in Nota Lake and the other near Kinsey's home town of Santa Theresa. Investigating that side of the case gives her an excuse to go home for a few days and enjoy familiar surroundings and the company of friends.
In Santa Theresa Kinsey discovers enough about Tom's case to return to Nota Lake, where she is now so unwelcome even the gas station attendants refuse to serve her. It seems the whole town is united to keep the secret of what Tom knew about the murders and why it might have upset him. Kinsey realizes that someone in town may be afraid enough of what she'll find to kill her – and he nearly does.
"
David Gordon, Resident Scholar
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Review Analysis of N is for Noose
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 - 20% Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 30% Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20% How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 30%
Tone of story
- suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
How difficult to spot villain?
- Challenging
Time/era of story:
- 1980's-1999
What % of story relates directly
to the mystery, not the subplot?
- 80%
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?
- feelings of fear/loss/inadequacy
Crime Thriller
Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown)
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Female
Profession/status:
- private investigator
Age:
- 20's-30'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
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a moderate amount
Motive of antagonist
- revenge
How sensitive is this character?
- mean, arrogant
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- very athletic
Setting
Small town?
Yes
Small town people:
- hostile, like Gomer Pyle on steroids
Style
Part of a series?
Yes
Person
- mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death?
- moderately detailed references to deaths
How many deaths?
- 3-4
Unusual forms of death
- hanging
Unusual form of death?
Yes
Amount of dialog
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
