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Skeleton At The Feast
Patricia Hall Book Review

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Plot Summary of Skeleton At The Feast
"

St. Martin?s, Jan 2001, 23.95, 256 pp.
ISBN 0312282687

   Detective Michael Thackery is in trouble with the Bradfield brass since a female police officer died on his last major case. The leadership claims negligence on his part and failure to obey orders caused the death. He is up for review in a short time but his superior, Detective Superintendent Jack Longley sends Michael to a seminar at St. Fridsuade's College to keep him out of the firing line.

    The Master of the college, which happens to be Michael's alma mater, wants his former pupil to investigate the sudden disappearance of Professor Mark Harrison. The professor vanished with his girlfriend, but left behind a wife under psychiatric care, a son dead from a drug overdose, and a bitter daughter. Much to Michael's surprise, his investigation leads to scandals and crimes that the college would prefer never see the light of day.

    Patricia Hall's ongoing series starring Michael Thackery and his girlfriend Laura Ackray continues to be one of the better British police procedurals on the market today. SKELETON AT THE FEAST is a complex, multi-layered mystery that shows how ugly the academic world can turn. The romance between Michael and Laurie is progressing and fans of the series will take much pleasure in this novel and want to read the next book in this delightful series

Harriet Klausner
"

Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar



Review Analysis of Skeleton At The Feast
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
How difficult to spot villain? - Very difficult--no foreshadowing/clues
Time/era of story: - 1980's-1999
What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - 40%
Murder of certain profession? - students/teachers
Kind of investigator - british mystery (I say!)
Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Any non-mystery subplot? - feelings towards lover
Crime Thriller Yes
Crime plotlets: - escape/rescue from kidnappers
Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes
General Crime (including known murderer) Yes

Main Character
Gender - Male
Profession/status: - police/lawman
Age: - 40's-50's
How much violence does he/she use? - just the right amount
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
Age: - 60's-90's
Profession/status: - scholar
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount
Motive of antagonist - insanity
How sensitive is this character? - hard edged
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Average intelligence
Physique - average physique

Setting
Europe Yes

Style
Person - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
How many deaths? - 3-4
Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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