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| Plot Summary of City of Gold and Shadows |
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"Charlotte Rossignol's great-uncle, the renowned archaeologist Alan Morris, disappeared over a year ago. When she visits his last dig at Aurae Phiala, a Roman site on the Welsh border, she meets the charming and knowledgeable Gus Hambro. Her suspicions of him flare up when he secretly slips out of the hotel at night. Following him down the river path to Aurae Phiala, she is just in time to rescue him from drowning after a murderous attack.
Detective Chief Inspector George Felse links the attack to the death of a schoolboy, Gerry Boden, who was last seen on the site after wandering away from a school party. On his body is a valuable gold coin apparently filched from a hidden Roman treasure hoard. Similar pieces have been appearing on the international antiques market for some time, and it seems possible that whoever has been concealing the discovery for personal profit is the murderer.
Charlotte is invited to stay with the curator and his young wife, personal friends of her great-uncle, while the police are examining the site for clues. Gus offers his expertise in preserving any artifacts uncovered during the search; he is again almost killed when a tunnel collapses on him. As he recovers Charlotte gets to know him better, becoming more convinced that he is not what he seems to be. When Gus sees a shadowy figure in a Roman helmet, he goes to investigate. The mystery of Charlotte's great-uncle is about to be solved."
Maureen Evans, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of City of Gold and 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 - 40%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 40%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 20%
Tone of story
- very upbeat
How difficult to spot villain?
- Difficult, but some clues given
Time/era of story:
- 1960's-1970's
What % of story relates directly
to the mystery, not the subplot?
- 40%
Special suspect?
- relative
Murder of certain profession?
- museum nerd
Kind of investigator
- british mystery (I say!)
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Any non-mystery subplot?
- art/artifacts
Crime Thriller
Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown)
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Female
Profession/status:
- musician
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
- British
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- an above average amount
Motive of antagonist
- money/treasure
Setting
Europe
Yes
European country:
- England/UK
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- moderately detailed references to deaths
How many deaths?
- 2
Amount of dialog
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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