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| Plot Summary of My Ex-Best Friend |
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"
Simon & Schuster, July 2003, 23.00, 242 pp.
ISBN 0743244222
After twenty-three years of friendship, Lydia Finelli has dropped out of the life of Claire Newman just when she gave birth to the twins. A hurt Claire goes on with her life, balancing her family's need against her full time job as a star journalist at Nationweek. When Claire runs into Lydia at the local bakery, she asks Claire if she can call her, Claire who'd desperately needs to know why Lydia cut her off so completely agrees.
Lydia sets up an appointment for Claire to meet her at her home. When Claire arrives, she finds Lydia dead in her bed, the victim of an apparent suicide. Claire reestablishes her relationship with Lydia's husband Matthew and his son Collin but can't help wondering why Lydia killed herself. As she starts investigating she finds small, but almost insignificant clues that prove that Lydia may have been murdered and she goes all out to confirm her theory even when she knows she is putting her own life in danger.
Beth Brophy's underlying theme throughout the whole book is that evil often wears the face of goodness so people can't tell the monster living amongst them. Readers' hearts will go out to the heroine, a woman hurt by her friend's coldness, but who still cares enough about her to bring her killer to justice and make sure that her son is psychologically healing. Claire treats Lydia's death as she would a news-breaking story, investigating all reasonable theories and following up on the smallest clues. MY EX-BEST FRIEND is a fascinating work of psychological suspense.
Harriet Klausner
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Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of My Ex-Best Friend |
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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 - 30%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 20%
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?
- 80%
Kind of investigator
- skilled citizen investigator
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Any non-mystery subplot?
- feelings towards family/friends
Crime Thriller
Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown)
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Female
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
- Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- very athletic
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 40's-50's
Profession/status:
- doctor
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a moderate amount
Motive of antagonist
- revenge
How sensitive is this character?
- mean, arrogant
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 1st
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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