Elaine Flinn is the author of three "Molly Doyle" mysteries: Dealing In Murder, Tagged For Murder, and, most recently, Deadly Collection.I asked Elaine to apply the "page 69 test" to her latest book. Here's what she reported:
Eerie to see how on the mark this test is! On page 69 of Deadly Collection - the crux of the plot is about to be revealed!Many thanks to Elaine for the input.
The mover who had fallen returned and said, "I got to go back in that hole. My cell phone must have come off when I fell."
"I'll hold the flashlight while you check it out, " Randall said as he moved to the opening in the wall. Ducking in behind the mover, he angled the beam on the floor. "I"ll move the light in sweeps, okay? You see something, give me a holler."
Not long afterward, they could hear the mover yell, "To the right...yeah, that's got it. I got it." And then they heard him shout, "What the hell? Hey, come in closer. You won't believe this!"
Alas, the jacket copy gave the 'find' away! But then the real mystery is not always what was found, but how the killer is found, right?
Click here to read an excerpt from Deadly Collection and here for reviews.
In addition to writing mystery novels, Elaine conducts the engaging and informative "On the Bubble" interviews at Murderati, the most recent one with Alexandra Sokoloff. Find more of these interviews--with the likes of Sarah Weinman, Ian Rankin, and Tess Gerritsen--at Murderati or at Elaine's website.
Previous "page 69 tests":
Louise Welsh, The Bullet Trick
Gregg Hurwitz, Last Shot
Martha Powers, Death Angel
N.M. Kelby, Whale Season
Mario Acevedo, The Nymphos of Rocky Flats
Dominic Smith, The Mercury Visions of Louis Daguerre
Simon Blackburn, Lust
Linda L. Richards, Calculated Loss
Kevin Guilfoile, Cast of Shadows
Ronlyn Domingue, The Mercy of Thin Air
Shari Caudron, Who Are You People?
Marisha Pessl, Special Topics in Calamity Physics
John Sutherland, How to Read a Novel
Steven Miles, Oath Betrayed
Alan Brown, Audrey Hepburn's Neck
Richard Dawkins, The Ancestor's Tale
--Marshal Zeringue
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