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| Plot Summary of Natural Suspect |
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"NATURAL SUSPECT
et al
Ballantine, Sept 2001, 23.95, 192 pp.
ISBN 0345437682
The Hightowers of Hightower oil may be very rich, but they are not happy. The mother Julia is a drunk; the son is a dilettante with a wife who has a single digit IQ; and the daughter believes play is weed. The patriarch, Arthur, never encouraged them to work, preferring they remain under his control until he was ready to divorce his wife and disinherit his children.
Before that could happen, Arthur is found murdered, frozen solid in the family's locked freezer. The wife is arrested because the victim's blood was on her blouse and her pearls were found in his hands. She is a heavy drunk who suffers blackouts and had no alibi. Julia hires a no name lawyer who realizes that there is a lot more to this case than meets the eye.
NATURAL SUSPECT is one story line divided by chapters with each chapter written by some very famous writers in the mystery field including Leslie Glass, Michael Palmer and John Lescroart. The chapters are numbered but no credit is given to the author (except for chapter one written by William Bernhardt) so readers will have a mystery trying to figure out which writer wrote what chapter. The chapters smoothly flow into another, but with different styles making for an interesting puzzle inside a who-done-it that turns NATURAL SUSPECT into a fine read.
Harriet Klausner
"
Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Natural Suspect |
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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
How difficult to spot villain?
- Challenging
Time/era of story:
- 1980's-1999
Spying/Terrorism Thriller
Yes
Cloak & Dagger Plotlets:
- power struggle within govt between two factions
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Legal Thriller
Yes
Legal Plotlets
- finding out whether someone is really guilty
Crime Thriller
Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown)
Yes
General Crime (including known murderer)
Yes
Who's the criminal enemy here?
- finding a known killer
Main Character
Gender
- Female
Profession/status:
- a lawyer creature
Age:
- 20's-30's
How much violence does he/she use?
- none
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:
- mastermind
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- an average 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
- average physique
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- West
Misc setting
- fancy mansion
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
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
William Bernhardt Resident Scholar Profiles
TOP SCHOLAR:
 Crystal
SCHOLARS: Soliton
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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