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| Plot Summary of Who's Afraid Of Virginia Ham |
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"
Phyllis Richman
HarperCollins, Apr 2001, 23.00, 243 pp.
ISBN: 0060183896
Competing with two other newspapers for the circulation of the DC crowd propels Washington Examiner Managing Editor Bull Stannard to bring in a popular young gun from Los Angeles. Bull believes that thirty-two years old Ringo Laurenge, known for his rap work on the OJ trial, will bring a slew of new readers to the paper, which in turn means new ad money. Bull allows Ringo carte blanch with no one's section protected from the new kid on the block.
However, Ringo proves to be arrogant and nasty rather quickly, earning the hatred of the entire news room in spite of his brilliance at writing a story. No one is saved from his scathing remarks and soon much of the staff wants him dead including restaurant critic Chas Wheatley, who has had the boy wonder steal some of her ideas. However, she believes he crosses the line when he attacks a local restaurant, Two Views. Not long afterward, someone decides to take matters into their own hands and kills Ringo. Chas wonders if perhaps one of her colleagues murdered the odious journalist or perhaps someone involved in the restaurant he dissed did the deed. She starts her own investigation to find out who did it and why.
WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA HAM, the third Wheatley culinary mystery, is an exciting, cleverly plotted who-done-it with a myriad of suspects as the victim is universally loathed. Chas is a wonderful character and the support cast adds to the savory demeanor of a gourmet delight of an amateur sleuth novel.
Harriet Klausner
"
Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Who's Afraid Of Virginia Ham |
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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
How difficult to spot villain?
- Very difficult--no foreshadowing/clues
Time/era of story:
- 1980's-1999
Spying/Terrorism Thriller
Yes
What % of story relates directly
to the mystery, not the subplot?
- 60%
Kind of investigator
- amateur citizen investigator
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Crime Thriller
Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown)
Yes
General Crime (including known murderer)
Yes
Who's the criminal enemy here?
- finding a known killer
Main Character
Gender
- Female
Profession/status:
- journalist
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:
- journalist
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- an average 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
United States
Yes
The US:
- Northeast
Style
Part of a series?
Yes
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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