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| Plot Summary of Out of the Dark |
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"
Mira, Oct 2003, 6.99, 384 pp.
ISBN: 1551667401
In 1977 St. Louis Sam and Maggie Cochrane live the American dream, loving each other and their little girl. However, Maggie seeks something extra beyond being a loving wife and mother so she attends classes at the community college. There she meets Soloman and his cult of followers The People of Joy. She runs away with six year old Jade to join Soloman's followers. Two years later she is dead from an overdose and Jade is sold to pediophiles.
Over the next two decades a lonely Sam becomes a successful businessman, but finds no sign of his family until friends on vacation see a portrait of Maggie. They inform Sam who asks his friend former cop Luke Kelly to investigate. Luke learns Maggie is dead, but tracks down Jade in New Orleans. He brings Jade and her companion Raphael to meet Sam. As Raphael is dying from AIDS due to his days as a child prostitute, Jade and Luke fall in love while Sam tries to become a father to his beloved adult daughter. However, someone learns of Jade's return and is worried that his career may end if the scandal of his using her as a child hooker surfaces.
OUT OF THE DARK is an exhilarating romantic suspense tale that emphasizes the family drama over the intrigue. The story line is at a superb level of quality when Sam and Jade meets and when Luke tries to reach out to his beloved. When a hired killer enters the plot, the character study takes an unnecessary back seat. Still fans of the human drama will appreciate Jade's Mount Everest climb OUT OF THE DARK.
Harriet Klausner
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Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar
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"Beautiful street artist Jade, and her equally beautiful friend, Raphael, are constantly on the run from a childhood they remember only in nightmares. Escapees from a cult that pandered them to abusers, they cling to each other for survival. Jade sells her paintings at street fairs to make ends meet. One day, she decides to put out a portrait of the woman who was her mother, but who also abandoned her to the cult when she died of a drug overdose. A tourist buys the portrait, saying it is the perfect image of her former neighbor, who disappeared with her child one night twenty years before. Jade and Raphael take the money, then flee the city the next day, heading across country to hide once more from anyone who might drag them back into horror.
The tourist takes the painting to Sam Cochrane, whose wife and daughter went missing all those years ago. Sam calls his friend, Luke Kelly, a private investigator, and asks for help. When an unexpected clue in the painting identifies the artist as Sam's daughter, Luke launches an all-out search for her.
Finding Jade and bringing her home creates a media storm, and threatens the secrecy of one of her past abusers. An abuser who will do anything to protect himself from discovery, even if it means killing Jade and everyone who loves her.
This story has a strong romance element, as well as a spiritual one of forgiveness and hope. Raphael is a man whose unselfish love and devotion make him truly unforgettable. Jade and Luke are a sweet couple, and Sam is a wonderful father. "
Kayelle Allen, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Out of the Dark |
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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
Time/era of story
- Present (2000-2010)
Action/suspense subplot?
Yes
Action:
- searching for a loved one
Inner struggle subplot
Yes
Struggle with...
- angst over rape/molest
Main Male Character
Profession/status:
- private investigator
Age/status:
- 20's-30's
How sexual is this person?
- very picky
How romantic is this person?
- very romantic
- somewhat romantic
Sex has good effect on him
Yes
Sex makes him
- sensitive
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- very athletic
- average physique
Main Female Character
Age/status:
- 20's-30's
Profession/status:
- artist
- waitress
Eccentric/Mental:
Yes
Eccentric:
- emotionally unstable
How sexual is this person?
- frigid
- very picky
How romantic is this person?
- not very romantic
How sensitive is this character?
- soggy whimpering jelly muffin
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- very athletic
- average physique
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- Midwest
- California
Misc setting
- Fancy Mansion
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
What % of story is romance related?
- 40%
- 60%
Sex in book?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- vague references
- actual description of sex
Focus of story
- Her
- equally on him and her
How much dialog
- significantly more dialog than descript
How much sexing?
- 1-2 sex acts
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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