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| Plot Summary of Wisdom of the Bones |
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"
Signet, Feb 2003, 7.50, 416 pp.
ISBN 0451410653
In November 1963 in Dallas, homicide detective Ray Duval has received a death sentence from his doctor. In a year or maybe two, if he's lucky, he will die of congestive heart failure. The only thing that is important to Ray is his job and he knows that he will never be able to pass the annual physical exam that he is due to take in a week.
On November 20th, Ray is called to the scene where a man is found in the city dump, sliced up, skinned, and decapitated and stuffed into an old icebox. He wants to solve this case before he is forced to retire but the victim had many enemies in both his personal and professional life. He gets a lucky break when he stumbles on the fact that over two decades ago, at least twelve children, most of them black died in the same way as the victim of Ray's current case. When two more black children disappear in Dallas, Ray is sure that the deaths are all linked together and he intends to solve the case before dying.
WISDOM OF THE BONES gives the readers a sense of place during the Kennedy assassination especially with Jack Ruby threaded throughout the story line, being questioned by the protagonist about the case and ignoring his other activities. The who-done-it is well plotted and is solved by good old-fashioned police work that includes a lot of legwork. Christopher Hyde shows his ingenious ability to provide an atmospheric thriller inside a powerful police procedural.
Harriet Klausner
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Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Wisdom of the Bones |
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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 - 10%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 40%
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:
- 1960's-1970's
What % of story relates directly
to the mystery, not the subplot?
- 60%
Special suspect?
- chronically deranged person
Kind of investigator
- psychic investigator
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Any non-mystery subplot?
- feelings of fear/loss/inadequacy
Crime Thriller
Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown)
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- police/lawman
Age:
- 40's-50's
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
- physically sick
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
- insanity
How sensitive is this character?
- mean, arrogant
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- missing body parts/abilities
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- Texas
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
How many deaths?
- 8 or more
Amount of dialog
- significantly more dialog than descript
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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