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B is for Burglar
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Plot Summary of B is for Burglar
"Sue Grafton does it again! The second book in the series brings us right back to Kinsey Millhone (2 weeks later) following A is for Alibi. A rich widow is missing, and so is her cat. The house next door is torched and another body is discovered. Kinsey uses her witt and expertise to track down the missing widow, solve a murder, and figure out why someone would burglarize a house for credit card bills?! Fast read! Loved it!"
Darcey, Resident Scholar

"Finding wealthy Elaine Boldt looks like it will be a fast case for Kinsey Millhone. The flashy widow was last seen wearing a $12,000 lynx coat, leaving her condo in Santa Teresa for her condo in Boca Raton. But somewhere in between there, she vanished. Kinsey's case goes from puzzling then turns sinister when a house is torched, an apartment is burgled of worthless papers, the lynx coat comes back-without Elaine. And then, Elaine's bridge partner is found dead. Soon Kinsey's clues begin to form a capital M-not for missing, but for murder; and a lot of it!"
Boppy, Resident Scholar



Review Analysis of B is for Burglar
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot

Composition of Book
descript. of violence and chases - 30%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 55%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10%




Tone of story - suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
How difficult to spot villain? - Challenging
Time/era of story: - 1980's-1999
What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - 50% - 60%
Misc. Murder Plotlets - Big focus on forensic evidence - Killer purposely leaves clues
Kind of investigator - hard boiled/private eye
Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Any non-mystery subplot? - searching for missing person - grudge
Crime Thriller Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes
Who's the criminal enemy here? - catching thief

Main Character
Gender - Female
Profession/status: - private investigator
Age: - 20's-30's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events? Yes
How much violence does he/she use? - just the right amount
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 - very athletic - average physique

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male - Female
Age: - 40's-50's
Profession/status: - criminal
Eccentric: Yes - mentally ill - emotionally unstable
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a little/some
Motive of antagonist - money/treasure - power
The antagonists are: - rednecks
How sensitive is this character? - soggy whimpering jelly muffin - mean, arrogant
Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence - Average intelligence
Physique - average physique

Setting
United States Yes
The US: - California

Style
Part of a series? Yes
Person - mostly 1st - rotating 1st
Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths
How many deaths? - 3-4
Unusual forms of death - flamed - impaled - blunt clubbing (like seals)
Unusual form of death? Yes
Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog - significantly more descript than dialog
Most similar books to B is for Burglar
Salem by Neil White
The Big Switch by Jack Bludis
Death By Jury by John Lutz
Shadow Wars by Steve Logan
"I" is For Innocent by Sue Grafton


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Sue Grafton Resident Scholar Profiles

TOP SCHOLAR:
  
David Gordon  

SCHOLARS:
Amy Honan  Crystal  Joan Sellarole  Fenella  Tena van't Foort  Mariana  BethG  Amy in Wisconsin  Felicia Jordan  


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