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| Plot Summary of Desert Autumn |
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"
St. Martin's, Dec 2001, 24.95, 352 pp.
ISBN: 0312200343
Not that many people start life anew at fifty-four, but Claire Gray is one person who did. Claire was once the toast of Broadway as an award winning director and playwright, but relocates to Palm Desert to manage the Desert Arts College Theater. Mega-millionaire Glenn Yeats recruited the most talented people including Claire to chair the departments at the school.
At a welcoming party hosted by Glenn, Claire meets and hits it off with fellow chair Paul and his wife Jodie. When Paul needs a ride from the airport, Claire volunteers to take him. Upon arriving at his home, they find Jodie dead with her valuable wedding ring missing. Claire becomes obsessed with the case and soon proves quite competent at finding clues. She is so good the lead investigator officially adds her to his team.
While it seems implausible for a police officer to allow a civilian to help in a homicide case, the heroine's mindset and actions will make believers out of readers. Michael Craft provides an intense tale with appealing characters that the audience will want back in future novels. DESERT AUTUMN appears to be the first novel in
what has the potential of being a great series.
Harriet Klausner
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Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Desert Autumn |
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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
Tone of story
- very upbeat
How difficult to spot villain?
- Difficult, but some clues given
Time/era of story:
- 1980's-1999
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
Main Character
Gender
- Female
Profession/status:
- teacher
Age:
- 40's-50's
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:
- 40's-50's
Profession/status:
- writer
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a moderate amount
Motive of antagonist
- jealousy
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:
- California
Style
Person
- mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death?
- no torture/death
How many deaths?
- 1
Amount of dialog
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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Click here for more information about this book
Michael Craft Resident Scholar Profiles
TOP SCHOLAR:
 Debbie
SCHOLARS:
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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