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| Plot Summary of Cold Springs |
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"
Bantam, May 2003, 23.95, 340 pp.
ISBN 0553802364
Chadwick intends to send his teenage daughter Katherine to Cold Spring, a boot camp style school in Texas because she's addicted to heroin and running with the wrong crowd. Before he can do that she overdoses while she is baby-sitting five-year-old Mallory Zedman. The incident traumatizes the little girl who saw her beloved baby-sitter die.
Nine years later Mallory dates the boy whose brother supplied Katherine with heroin and is an addict too. Accompanied by Chadwick she is sent to Cold Springs, but once she arrives everything begins to fall apart. Mallory's mother has been accused of embezzling $27 million dollars. Mallory's father is tired of paying blackmail money and sends his bodyguard to kidnap his daughter so they can flee the country. Mallory becomes the target of a killer who has murdered anyone who has gotten in the way and the only person who can save her is Chadwick, who is a suspect in at least two homicide investigations.
Rick Riordan has written a crime thriller that ranks with the works of Patricia Cornwell, Dennis Lehane and Thomas Harris. Chadwick feels guilty for not acting sooner in saving his daughter and in Mallory he sees the hope for his redemption, The protagonist soon learns, almost too late, that only Mallory can save herself from her own destructive impulses. Although much of this novel takes place on an isolated school in Texas, it has the feel of an urban noir thriller. This is a must read for anyone who wants to read an unforgettable thriller starring a villain that matches the bite of Hannibal Lechter.
Harriet Klausner
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Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Cold Springs |
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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 - 50%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 20%
Tone of story
- suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
How difficult to spot villain?
- Difficult, but some clues given
Time/era of story:
- present (2000-2010)
What % of story relates directly
to the mystery, not the subplot?
- 60%
Special suspect?
- best friend
Misc. Murder Plotlets
- Proving innocence of very obvious suspect
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Crime Thriller
Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown)
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- champion of justice
Age:
- 40's-50's
How much violence does he/she use?
- a little
Ethnicity/Race
- White/American
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Very much smarter than other characters
Physique
- very athletic
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 20's-30's
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a moderate amount
Motive of antagonist
- revenge
How sensitive is this character?
- mean, arrogant
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- very athletic
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- Texas
- California
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
How many deaths?
- 5-7
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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