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| Plot Summary of Unnatural Fire |
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"
Morrow, Mar 2001, 24.00, 368 pp.
ISBN: 0688176836
In 1699, Countess Ashby de la Zouche reflects on how far she has fallen. Only fifteen years have passed since her lover King Charles II died and now under the Dutch ruler she is doing time in Fleet Prison for owing money to a druggist. The countess realizes her only passage to freedom is selling gossip. She finds a gem with a high society marriage here in the prison. However, her former servant Alpiew, also a resident of Fleet, uses sex to attain the same information, but sells the juicy item to printers Mr. and Mrs. Cue first. Alpiew is freed, but quickly realizes she needs an address if she is to have the gossip reporter job. She returns to buy the Countess' freedom.
The duo agrees to form a partnership of mistrust, as Ashby believes Alpiew stole her husband years ago. Cue sends them a client who hires them to follow her cheating spouse. They trail the merchant Beau Wilson, but someone kills him and the two sleuths begin inquiries into a deadlier game where they can become the victims.
UNNATURAL FIRE is an entertaining historical mystery that is fun to read because of the depth of background material is neatly interwoven into the plot. Readers will love or hate the lead couple, but regardless of that fact, they will remain drawn into following their antics. The support cast provides layers of complexity and the feeling that the audience is watching a late seventeenth century movie unfold due to the richness of the text. Fidelis Morgan has written a ribald historical where any moment this reviewer expects Fielding's Tom Jones to aid the amateur sleuths.
Harriet Klausner
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Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Unnatural Fire |
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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
Tone of story
- very upbeat
Time/era of story:
- 17th century
Disaster, natural or nuclear
Yes
What % of story relates directly
to the mystery, not the subplot?
- 50%
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Crime Thriller
Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown)
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Female
Profession/status:
- unemployed
Age:
- 20's-30's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
How much violence does he/she use?
- a little
How sensitive is this character?
- middling 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
Age:
- 20's-30's
Profession/status:
- mastermind
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a moderate amount
Motive of antagonist
- revenge
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Setting
Europe
Yes
European country:
- England/UK
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
How many deaths?
- 1
Amount of dialog
- significantly more descript than dialog
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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