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| Plot Summary of City of Shadows |
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"In the Berlin of the 1920's, inflation is rampant. Middle income people find their savings worthless, black markets thrive, and nightclubs, strip parlors, and the forerunners of gay and lesbian bars are packed each evening as curious tourists with hard currency to spend fill the tables and drink the cheap liquor.
Esther, a young Jewish woman finds a steady job in a shady nightclub thanks to her proficiency in several languages. When the nightclub proprietor befriends an eccentric mental patient and announces plans to pass her off as Grand Duchess Anastasia of Russia, Esther finds herself involved against her better judgement. And problems multiply as it becomes clear that the mysterious woman's irrational fears are not so irrational after all - someone is stalking her at regular intervals. Two people who might know something of her past are found dead, tortured and their throats slashed open. Esther's assignment to keep the mysterious "Anastasia" safe is threatened with disaster.
In the meantime, the Berlin police force faces the same deprivations as the rest of the populace. Something in the chain of events involving Esther and murders occurring among her acquaintances attracts Detective Schmidt and he becomes convinced that Esther is correct - there is a mass murderer at work in Berlin.
Ten years later, in the weeks just prior to Hitler's becoming Chancellor,more murders occur, the chain of authority in the ranks of the police force is in turmoil as the Gestapo takes over, and Schmidt and Esther strive to make sense of it all."
A R Pickett, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of City of Shadows |
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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).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Composition of Book
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 30%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 40%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 30%
Tone of story
- suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
Time/era of story:
- 1930's-1950's
Kind of investigator
- amateur citizen investigator
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Any non-mystery subplot?
- politics
Crime Thriller
Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown)
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Female
Profession/status:
- photographer
Age:
- 20's-30's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
How much violence does he/she use?
- none
Ethnicity/Race
- German
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Female
Age:
- 40's-50's
Eccentric:
Yes
- obsessed
- eccentric
- emotionally unstable
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a substantial amount
Motive of antagonist
- power
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Setting
Europe
Yes
European country:
- Germany
City?
Yes
City:
- dangerous
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- moderately detailed references to deaths
How many deaths?
- 3-4
Amount of dialog
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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Click here for more information about this book
Ariana Franklin Resident Scholar Profiles
TOP SCHOLAR:
 A R Pickett
SCHOLARS:
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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