| Plot Summary of The Second Time Around |
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Simon & Schuster, April 2003, 26.00, 302 pp.
ISBN 0743206061
Everyone who met the charismatic Nicholas Spencer felt drawn to him so it isn't too hard for him to get people to invest in his medical research company Gen-stone. He was very excited that his company had developed a vaccine that would prevent cancer or cure people who had it. A few weeks before it was supposed to be given to the FDA for testing, Nick's plane crashed and though his body wasn't found, he was presumed dead.
A couple of weeks later, it is discovered that funds are missing from the company and Gen-stone's test results prove that the miracle elixir doesn't work. Most people believe that Nick was a con artist who defrauded innocent folks and that his wife, Lynn was part of the scam. Lynn asks her stepsister Carley, a financial reporter for the Wall Street Weekly, to help her clear her name. Coincidentally, Carley is assigned to do a profile of Nicholas Spencer. The deeper she gets into her investigation the more she's convinced that Nick was just as much a victim as the company's stockholders, a theory that could get her killed if she isn't careful.
Mary Higgins Clark can always be counted on to write an entertaining thriller and she doesn't disappoint her fans in her latest work THE SECOND TIME AROUND. The protagonist is likable and her actions make sense within the context of the plot. The novel moves along briskly so that readers never lose interest in the tale. The only quibble with the novel is that the stalker-subplot feels like filler so ignore it and enjoy a relatively taut and exciting thriller.
Harriet Klausner
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Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar
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"In this richly detailed story by Mary Higgins Clark, Nicholas Spencer, who is head of a medical research company, disappears. After developing an anticancer vaccine, Nicholas suddenly disappears. His private plane crashes en route to Puerto Rico, but his body is not found.
Earle results of the vaccine seemed highly promising. Yet, coinciding with Nicholas Spencer's disappearance comes news that the FDA is denying approval. Then follows the shocking revelation that Spencer had looted Gen-stone huge sums of money-including the lifetime savings of people who had risked every cent they had.
Marcia, "Carley DeCarlo, the thirty-two-year-old columnist for the Wall Street Weekly, is assigned to cover this story. Carley is the stepsister of Spencer's wife, Lynn, an aggressive PR woman whome she dislikes and distrusts.
The day after news of her husband's disappearance rocks the financial and medical world. Lynn attends a meeting of the stockholders of Gen-stone, flaunting expensive clothing and jewelry. Accuseds of having participated in the scam, she appears indifferent to the anger and despair of the people attending, among them a man whose child has cancer and who is now about to lose his home. That night she narrowly escapes death when her mansion in Bedford, New York is set on fire. She turns to Carley, begging her to use her investigative skills to prove that she was not her husband's accomplice.
As Carley proceeds with her investigation, she is confronted by seemingly impenetrable questions. What she doesn't know yet, is that there is someone hiding out there killing people to get revenge for the loss of his wife. And as the facts begin to unfold, she becomes this man's next target."
Boppy, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of The Second Time Around |
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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 - 20%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 45%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 15%
Tone of story
- suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
How difficult to spot villain?
- Very difficult--no foreshadowing/clues
- Difficult, but some clues given
Time/era of story:
- 19th century
- present (2000-2010)
What % of story relates directly
to the mystery, not the subplot?
- 50%
- 60%
Special suspect?
- chronically deranged person
Misc. Murder Plotlets
- Proving innocence of very obvious suspect
Kind of investigator
- police procedural, American
- skilled citizen investigator
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Crime Thriller
Yes
Crime plotlets:
- white collar fraud or theft
Murder Mystery (killer unknown)
Yes
General Crime (including known murderer)
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Female
Profession/status:
- journalist
Age:
- 20's-30's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
How much violence does he/she use?
- none
- a little
Ethnicity/Race
- White/American
- Russian
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Strong but gentle sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- very athletic
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
- Female
Age:
- 20's-30's
Profession/status:
- killer
- criminal
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a moderate amount
- an average amount
Motive of antagonist
- revenge
- power
The antagonists are:
- rednecks
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
- Very much smarter than other characters
Physique
- very athletic
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- Northeast
City?
Yes
City:
- New York
Misc setting
- fancy mansion
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
- rotating 1st
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
- moderately detailed references to deaths
How many deaths?
- 3-4
Amount of dialog
- significantly more dialog than descript
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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