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The Bone Orchard
D. Daniel Judson Book Review

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Plot Summary of The Bone Orchard
"

Bantam, Mar 2002, 6.50, 336 pp.
ISBN: 0553584162

    In Southampton, Long Island, private investigator Frank Gannon hires Declan MacManus to tail a client's son-in-law who might be cheating. Declan wants to say no, but cannot allow his best friend Augie, still recovering from severe injuries, to go on the case alone.

    Augie and Declan conduct a stakeout in a lonely back road when they notice a person in the nearby woods. Soon a car arrives followed by an explosion with the vehicle falling into a pond. Declan pulls the driver out of the water, but is too late to save the teenage girl. Because of his poor relationship with the police chief, Declan leaves the area. Later, Augie informs Declan that the police destroyed the crime scene evidence. That night both men are separately attacked with Augie killing one of his assailants and Declan badly injuring his. The police arrest Augie for murder, forcing Declan to take his buddy's teenage daughter into his home while trying to prove his friend's innocence against a conspiracy that includes the police.

    THE BONE ORCHARD is an exciting private detective mystery that belies the fact that this book is D. Daniel Judson's first novel. The story line is loaded with action as readers take a tour of the underbelly of the Hamptons. Declan adheres to what he believes is morally correct and is aided by the secondary characters providing depth so that readers fully grasp how much ethics mean to him and how much future appearances by him will mean to the audience.

Harriet Klausner
"

Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar

Review Analysis of The Bone Orchard
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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 - 60%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10%




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? - 60%
Special suspect? - investigator him/herself
Misc. Murder Plotlets - Proving innocence of very obvious suspect
Kind of investigator - hard boiled/private eye
Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Crime Thriller Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes
General Crime (including known murderer) Yes
Amnesia story? Yes
Who's the criminal enemy here? - finding a known killer
If story PRIMARILY about main chr. being hunted... - hunted by killer/stalker

Main Character
Gender - Male
Profession/status: - private investigator
How much violence does he/she use? - just the right amount
Ethnicity/Race - White/American
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: - a moderate 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: - Northeast

Style
Person - mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
How many deaths? - 2
Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
Most similar books to The Bone Orchard
The Poisoned Rose by D. Daniel Judson
Goofy Foot by David Daniel
Tribeca Blues by Jim Fusilli
Windy City Knights by Michael A. Black
Underkill by Leonard Chang


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