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| Plot Summary of Desert Winter |
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"
St. Martin's, Feb 2003, 23.95, 288 pp.
ISBN 03123051x
After spending over three decades on Broadway directing award winning plays Claire Gray at the age of fifty-four changes careers when she is recruited by computer mogul billionaire Glenn Yeats to chair the theatre department at the Desert Arts College in Palm Springs. After three months of working there she is only a week away from directing her first play “Laura”.
She wants everything to be perfect so she and her friend Grant Knoll ask local collector Stewart Chaffee if she can borrow his valuable Australian case clock that will bring much authenticity to the production. Grant and Claire agree to pick it up the next day after Stewart recalls where he placed it, but when they visit the estate, they find Stewart dead. Confined to a wheelchair, it at first looks as if the refrigerator fell on top of Stewart but the police quickly discover it is a murder. There are so many suspects with sufficient motive and opportunity that Claire devises a very clever way to smoke the killer out of hiding.
Michael Craft is a talented, gifted storyteller who is clearly a grandmaster of the amateur sleuth tale. Claire's romance with a student almost half her age feels natural and beautiful, and her ability to connect the dots makes her a realistic detective. Fans of the Mark Manning series also written by Mr. Craft will be delighted to know that he plays a key role in this tale and his nephew Thad makes a cameo appearance in this crafty all in the family production.
Harriet Klausner
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Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Desert Winter |
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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 - 40%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 40%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10%
Tone of story
- suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
How difficult to spot villain?
- Very difficult--no foreshadowing/clues
Time/era of story:
- present (2000-2010)
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
Any non-mystery subplot?
- feelings towards lover
Crime Thriller
Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown)
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Female
Profession/status:
- teacher
Age:
- 40's-50's
How much violence does he/she use?
- none
Ethnicity/Race
- White/American
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence
- Very much smarter than other characters
Physique
- very athletic
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Female
Age:
- 20's-30's
Profession/status:
- small businessman
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a moderate amount
Motive of antagonist
- money/treasure
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
- very athletic
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- California
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
How many deaths?
- 1
Amount of dialog
- significantly more dialog than descript
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