| Plot Summary of Eight Million Ways to Die |
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"Unofficial private detective Matthew Scudder is hired by a high-price hooker to 'get her out of the life'. When she's killed soon after he assures her that she'll be safe from her pimp, Scudder is hired to find the culprit responsible, while at the same time waging a horrendous fight with his alcoholism."
Jack Sommersby, Resident Scholar
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"Kim Dakkinen, a high-priced prostitute wants out. She hires Matthew Scudder, a policeman turned private detective, to tell her pimp, Chance, that she's leaving. Kim says she's afraid that Chance will persuade her to stay if she faces him.
Matt taps his street sources and checks the bars, but finding Chance proves to be a job in itself. When he runs him down, Chance tells Matt Kim wasted her money – he would never hold a girl against her will. In fact, Chance has six women. He provides an apartment, clothing, food and all their necessities and keeps all their earnings. He's sophisticated, well dressed and a patron of the arts. He does not fit anyone's stereotype of a pimp.
Matt collects his fee, plus a bonus, and heads for one of his daily Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. But the next day he reads that a call girl has been “cut to ribbons,” and it turns out to be Kim. Matt, after eight days of sobriety, gives in to the urge to drink. He keeps his drinking to two a day for a short time, then has a blackout and winds up in the hospital.
Matt is sure Chance is the killer, but Chance wants to hire Matt to prove he is not. A high-class pimp, he runs high-class girls. There's a poet, an artist, a lover of classical music. Chance himself is a connoisseur of African art, and much of his money goes to his collection.
The murder looks like the work of a crazed serial killer, but Matt is searching for other possibilities. Among his clues are Kim's expensive fur coat and emerald ring, which Chance tells Matt he did not buy for her. Matt hopes that tracing these items might lead to Kim's killer.
Then a young hoodlum attacks Matt, apparently a mugger. Matt fights him off and keeps the gun he's been threatened with. The next night, as Matt leaves an AA meeting he's warned to stay off the case by a man who knows about the mugger Matt beat up.
With every reason to want a drink, Matt keeps fighting to stay sober.
Then another one of Chance's hookers, Sunny, commits suicide. A transsexual prostitute, not apparently connected with this case, is slashed in a Queens motel. The wounds are similar to Kim's. Yet, after the threats and the disappearance of Kim's emerald ring, Matt is reluctant to believe the killer is crazy.
But as Matt gets closer to figuring out who the killer is, he knows he's also closer to being the next victim.
"
David Gordon, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Eight Million Ways to Die |
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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 - 40%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 20%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10%
Tone of story
- Dry-cynical
- very upbeat
- suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
How difficult to spot villain?
- Very difficult--no foreshadowing/clues
- Difficult, but some clues given
Time/era of story:
- 1980's-1999
What % of story relates directly
to the mystery, not the subplot?
- 60%
Murder of certain profession?
- prostitutes/stripper/porn
Misc. Murder Plotlets
- killer purposefully leaves puzzle clues
- 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
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- private investigator
Age:
- 40's-50's
Eccentric/Mental:
Yes
Eccentric:
- eccentric
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
How much violence does he/she use?
- just the right amount
- a significant amount
Ethnicity/Race
- White/American
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
- soggy whimpering jelly muffin
Sense of humor
- Strong but gentle sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
- druggie/wino disease
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 20's-30's
Profession/status:
- killer
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- almost none
Motive of antagonist
- revenge
- kicks
The antagonists are:
- foreign organized crime
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
- mean, arrogant
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- bulging muscles
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- Northeast
City?
Yes
City:
- New York
Style
Person
- mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death?
- very gorey descriptions deaths/dead bodies
How many deaths?
- 3-4
Sex
Yes
What kind of sex:
- actual description of sex
Unusual forms of death
- diced
Unusual form of death?
Yes
Amount of dialog
- significantly more dialog than descript
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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