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| Plot Summary of Without a Trace |
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"In a small Indiana town, young girls are disappearing, vanishing without a trace. Because there are no bodies, the powers that be don't agree that any crimes have been committed, perhaps they just left home?
Seasoned police detective, Rex Thomas is not convinced that the girls, all students at the same university with everything going for them, would suddenly just leave without telling anyone and not even taking any clothes or belongings with them.
New cop, Drew Kane is delighted when he is partnered with Det. Thomas and gets to work on the investigation. His delight soon turns to horror when his new girlfriend, Angela, goes missing and her car is left on his driveway in a blaze of flames...
Written by a police officer, Without a Trace has a great sense of realism and some scenes concerning the killer are very uncomfortable to read. You keep wondering if that noise against the window pane was really just a branch scratching the pane or was it fingernails scraping the glass? The book certainly gives you shivers.
It's a fast paced book, with short chapters which encourage you to read on to find out what happens next. The killer when he is finally revealed comes as a big surprise. A few times I thought I'd figured it out, but was wrong on both counts!
Reviewed by Annette Gisby, author of Silent Screams.
"
Annette Gisby, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Without a Trace |
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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 - 20%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 20%
Tone of story
- scarey (primal ax-wielding fear)
How difficult to spot villain?
- Difficult, but some clues given
Time/era of story:
- 1980's-1999
What % of story relates directly
to the mystery, not the subplot?
- 50%
Special suspect?
- chronically deranged person
Murder of certain profession?
- students/teachers
Misc. Murder Plotlets
- cooped up in spooky house
- Proving innocence of very obvious suspect
- Big focus on forensic evidence
- Killer purposely leaves clues
Kind of investigator
- police procedural, American
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Any non-mystery subplot?
- feelings towards lover
Crime Thriller
Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown)
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- police/lawman
Age:
- 20's-30's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
How much violence does he/she use?
- a significant amount
Ethnicity/Race
- White/American
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- bulging muscles
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 40's-50's
Profession/status:
- a lawyer creature
Has special powers?
Yes
Magical/mental powers of main antagonist:
- is very quick
Eccentric:
Yes
- emotionally unstable
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- an average amount
Motive of antagonist
- insanity
The antagonists are:
- lawyer creatures
How sensitive is this character?
- mean, arrogant
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- bulging muscles
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- Midwest
Small town?
Yes
Small town people:
- nice, like Andy/Opie/Aunt Bee
Misc setting
- prison
Style
Person
- mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death?
- very gorey references to deaths/dead bodies and torture
How many deaths?
- 5-7
Sex
Yes
What kind of sex:
- vague references
- descript of kissing
- touching of anatomy
- descript. of male nudity
- rape (yeech!)
Unusual forms of death
- asphyxiation
- crushed
Unusual form of death?
Yes
Amount of dialog
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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