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| Plot Summary of The Unexpected Guest |
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"When John Starkwedder drives into a ditch in thick fog on a country road, he walks to the nearest house for help - only to find a woman standing over the body of her dead husband with a gun in her hand. It looks like an open and shut murder case, but it soon becomes clear that the dead man's wife may be covering up for someone - and there are a whole host of people in the house with both motive and opportunity to commit the murder. This is a novel by Charles Osbourne based on the original play by Agatha Christie.
"
Stephen Coombs, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of The Unexpected Guest |
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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
descript. of violence and chases - 10%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 60%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10%
Tone of story
- very upbeat
How difficult to spot villain?
- Somewhat obvious
Time/era of story:
- 1930's-1950's
What % of story relates directly
to the mystery, not the subplot?
- nearly 100%
Special suspect?
- relative
Misc. Murder Plotlets
- butler provides unemotional service
- local police w/ IQ of a houseplant
- Proving innocence of very obvious suspect
- Big focus on forensic evidence
- Killer purposely leaves clues
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
Murder Mystery (killer unknown)
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- business executive
Age:
- 40's-50's
Eccentric/Mental:
Yes
Eccentric:
- obsessed
How much violence does he/she use?
- a little
Ethnicity/Race
- British
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Very much smarter than other characters
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Female
Age:
- 20's-30's
Profession/status:
- homemaker
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a substantial amount
How sensitive is this character?
- soggy whimpering jelly muffin
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Setting
Europe
Yes
European country:
- England/UK
Small town?
Yes
Small town people:
- nice, like Andy/Opie/Aunt Bee
Misc setting
- fancy mansion
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
How many deaths?
- 2
Unusual forms of death
- perforation--bullets
Unusual form of death?
Yes
Amount of dialog
- mostly dialog
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Click here for more information about this book
Agatha Christie & Charles Osbourne Resident Scholar Profiles
TOP SCHOLAR:
 Stephen Coombs
SCHOLARS:
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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