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| Plot Summary of Judgment Calls |
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Henry Holt, July 2003, 23.00, 352 pp.
ISBN 0805073868
Thirteen years old Kendra Martin turns tricks to fund her heroin habit. Two johns pull her into their car, beat her, sodomize and rape her. They leave her for dead in an isolated park. Two Samaritans find her and call 911. The emergency room doctors save her life. After she recovers she identifies one of the perpetrators as Frank Derringer, an ex-con out on parole who is supposed to stay away from underage girls as the condition for his continued freedom.
Deputy District Attorney Samantha Kincaid goes against the advice of her immediate superior and decides to charge Derringer with numerous felonies that will put him away for a long time. At first her case looks solid but Frank's defense attorney makes such a compelling argument that a serial killer committed the crime that her boss and his superior force her to drop out of the prosecution. Samantha isn't willing to let the case slip away from her and see justice perverted so she starts her own independent investigation, an action that almost gets her killed.
Alafair Burke, the daughter of well renowned crime thriller writer James Lee Burke, has inherited her father's talent for writing a compelling and enthralling novel. This legal thriller has plenty of action scenes, surprises and courtroom scenes so readers will find themselves thoroughly enjoying JUDGMENT CALLS which is, as hard as it is to believe, the author's debut novel. The protagonist has a vulnerable side that will endear her to readers as well as a bulldog tenacity that allows her to do her job in spite of overwhelming odds. This reviewer can't wait for the second Samantha Kincaid legal thriller.
Harriet Klausner
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Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar
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"When a distant voice tells an Iowa farmer (Costner) to build a baseball diamond in the middle of his cornfield, he obliges to the request. Soon, Shoeless Joe Jackson (Liotta) and others return from the dead to play a game. Jackson hadn't played much since he was banned from the major leagues for participating in the Black Sox scandal of 1919. Even the novelist (James Earl Jones) shows up at the diamond. The phrase "If you build it, they will come" has become such a popular catchphrase in the major leagues that it has inspired the building of Baltimore's Camden Yards, Cleveland's Jacobs Field, and Turner Field in Atlanta, to name a few."
Teddy, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Judgment Calls |
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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 - 30%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 20%
Tone of story
- very humorous
How difficult to spot villain?
- Very difficult--no foreshadowing/clues
Time/era of story:
- present (2000-2010)
Time/era of movie:
- 1980's-1999
Kind of sports story:
- baseball
What % of story relates directly
to the mystery, not the subplot?
- 50%
Kind of investigator
- police procedural, American
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Sports story?
Yes
Legal Thriller
Yes
Legal Plotlets
- finding out whether someone is really guilty
Crime Thriller
Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown)
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Female
Identity:
- Male
Profession/status:
- a lawyer creature
- farmer
Age:
- 20's-30's
- 20's-30's
How much violence does he/she use?
- just the right amount
Hair color?
- brunette (Brown)
Hair type
- (man) short/standard straight
Events of movie makes character more...
- caring
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
Ethnicity/Race
- White/American
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor?
- Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence
- Very much smarter than other characters
Physique
- very athletic
Secondary Main Character
Identity:
- ghost
Hair color
- brunette (Black)
How much in movie?
- 80%
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
- Male
Age:
- 20's-30's
- 60's-90's
Profession/status:
- killer
- writer
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a moderate amount
- 60%
Motive of antagonist
- revenge
Hair color
- brunette (Black)
Hair type
- (man) short/standard straight
Ethnicity/Nationality
- Black
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
How sensitive is this character?
- mean, arrogant
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- very athletic
Setting
United States
Yes
Yes
The US:
- Pacific NW
- Midwest
Farm/Ranch?
Yes
Farm/Ranch:
- farm
- lot of descript of crop raising
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
- no torture/death
Movie makes you feel...
- full of laughter
How many deaths?
- 1
Any profanity?
- Occasional swearing
Amount of dialog
- significantly more dialog than descript
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