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Bones In The Attic
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Plot Summary of Bones In The Attic
"

Scribner, April 2002, 23.00, 272 pp.
ISBN 0684873796

    Matt Harper is a minor celebrity in England because of his past professional soccer playing and his present day work as a media sports commentator. While his significant other is in South Africa taking care of her ailing husband, Matt is nurturing and watching over her three children. In fact, the four of them plan to move into Elderholm and decorate much of it before Aileen returns.

   Before Matt sets a moving date, he and the decorator make a grisly discovery in the attic. They find the whole skeletal remains of a very young child lying in the corner of the room as if somebody put it there and forgot about it. Matt calls in the police but since the crime happened in 1969 it is not a high priority case. Since Matt knew most of the children in the area during that summer he begins investigating and discovers a conspiracy of gigantic proportions.

    The protagonists of THE BONES IN THE ATTIC is a good sensitive man eagerly taking care of three children not his own while their mother is away taking care of their father. Readers will get caught up in Matt's investigation of why the child died and was left up in the attic and hope he gets some answers quickly. The investigation is believable and the answers will more than satisfy the audience.

Harriet Klausner
"

Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar



Review Analysis of Bones In The Attic
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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 - Dry-cynical
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 - skilled citizen investigator
Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Any non-mystery subplot? - life in small town
Crime Thriller Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes

Main Character
Gender - Male
Profession/status: - journalist
Age: - 40's-50's
How much violence does he/she use? - none
Ethnicity/Race - White/American
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: - Female
Age: - 40's-50's
Profession/status: - government investigator
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a little/some
Motive of antagonist - insanity
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
Europe Yes
European country: - England/UK

Style
Person - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
How many deaths? - 1
Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
Most similar books to Bones In The Attic
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