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The Corpse Had a Familiar Face
Edna Buchanan Book Review

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Plot Summary of The Corpse Had a Familiar Face
"For many years, Buchanan was police reporter for the Miami Herald -- in an exciting part of the country for her line of work, which featured more than 5,000 corpses and brought her the Pulitzer. Her engaging and entertaining account relates many of the big stories she worked on, and the lessons learned: "A corpse has no privacy"; "I often joke that my job keeps me single and celibate"; "You should not pity most criminals, either; tie a tourniquet on your heart"; and the case that taught her ALWAYS to ask what the victim was wearing."
David Loftus, Resident Scholar



Review Analysis of The Corpse Had a Familiar Face
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
job/profession: - journalist/editor
Job/profession/poverty story Yes
Period of greatest activity? - 1950+

Subject of Biography
Gender - Female
Profession/status: - journalist
Age: - 20's-30's
Ethnicity - White
Nationality - American (!)
How sensitive is this person? - middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other people

Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings? - 4 ()
United States Yes
The US: - Southeast
City? Yes
City: - dangerous - Miami
Century: - 1980's-Present

Style
Person - mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths
Book makes you feel? - thoughtful
Is book humorous? Yes
If humorous, kind of humor - eccentric personalities - Dry-cynical
Commentary on society? Yes
Commentary on - love/sex - selfishness - justice system - wicked men
Autobiography? Yes
Pictures/Illustrations? - None
How much dialogue in bio? - little dialog
How much is philosophy rather than life story? - 0-25% of book
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Bravo, Amerikanski - and Other Stories from World War II by Mark Scott
I Want to Thank My Brain for Remembering Me by Jimmy Breslin


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