Saturday, June 20, 2009

Quieter Than Sleep

Quieter Than Sleep
by Joanne Dobson

Drafts of three letters addressed to "Master" were found among Emily Dickinson's papers after her death. Who "Master" was remains a mystery to this day. These letters form the basis of the plot of Quieter Than Sleep. When the novel opens, assistant English professor Karen Pelletier is at the annual Enfield College Christmas party trying to escape from one of her colleagues, Randy Astin-Berger. Astin-Berger is trying to entice Karen into agreeing to meet with him later to discuss one of Emily Dickinson's "master" letters. Astin-Berger thinks that he may know who the "master" was. Karen escapes from him and circulates among the other guests. Later she decides to leave the party. When she opens the closet door to get her coat, Randy Astin-Berger falls into her arms. He had been strangled. Massachusetts State Police Lieutenant Piotrowski is assigned to the case. He believes that Emily Dickinson's papers are the reason for Astin-Berger's murder and hires Pelletier as a consultant to trace Astin-Berger's research of Dickinson's papers. This is the first book in the series. Karen Pelletier is a woman with a lot of inner strength. She is a single mother from a working class background whose dedication and effort earned her a teaching position at an elite college. -- recommended by Donna G. - Eiseley and Walt Branch Libraries
[ Publisher's Quieter Than Sleep web site ] [ official Joanne Dobson web site ]

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