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| Plot Summary of Shop Till You Drop |
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"
Signet, May 2003, 5.99, 288 pp.
ISBN 0451208552
After hearing the judge's ruling in a St. Louis Courtroom, Helen Hawthorne goes on the run, leaving a job that pays six figures annum and her family and friends behind. She ends up in Fort Lauderdale working in sales in the exclusive female clothes store Juliana's, earning minimum wage off the books. The clientele consists of trophy wives and men's mistresses who have nothing better to do than shop until they drop. After two weeks on the job, Helen comes to believe that her boss is skimming money, selling illegal drugs, arranging for illegal plastic surgery and hiring a hit man for a customer.
Before Helen can decide what to do about what she thinks is going on, Christina takes off on a vacation and never comes back. Her body is found in a barrel floating in the ocean and Helen soon has proof that her former boss was blackmailing five customers and her ex-boyfriend. When Helen tries to solve the crime and collect the reward money, the killer decides to make Helen the second victim.
The first Dead-End Jobs mystery is such a smashing success it will provide long-term job security for Elaine Viets. The tale contains wit, local color and a cast of secondary characters that is eccentric and funny. The heroine is a delightful mix of grit; determination and stubbornness, which is why she goes from one deadly encounter to another. She doesn't know the meaning of the word quit and she hounds all the suspects until one of them finally makes a move on her. Elaine Viets' SHOP TILL YOU DROP is electrifying.
Harriet Klausner
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Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Shop Till You Drop |
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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
- suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
How difficult to spot villain?
- Difficult, but some clues given
Time/era of story:
- present (2000-2010)
What % of story relates directly
to the mystery, not the subplot?
- 60%
Special suspect?
- best friend
Kind of investigator
- amateur citizen investigator
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Any non-mystery subplot?
- life in that culture
Crime Thriller
Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown)
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Female
Age:
- 40's-50's
How much violence does he/she use?
- a little
Ethnicity/Race
- White/American
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- very athletic
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Female
Age:
- 20's-30's
Profession/status:
- killer
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
- very athletic
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- Southeast
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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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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