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Southland
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Plot Summary of Southland
"This story is set in Los Angeles during 1930 to present and is the tale of a Japanese family and a murder that takes place during the Watts uprising in 1965. There were 4 black Negro boys found murdered in Frank Sakai's walk-in freezer. His grand daughter has found something in an earlier will leaving money to a man named Curtis Martindale and when she goes to find him, she finds out that he was one of the boys found in the walk-in freezer. Jackie, Frank's granddaughter, teams up with a man by the name of James Lanier who was a cousin to Curtis to hopefully find the truth.

The story goes from Frank being a young boy in Angeles Mesa to present day when he has just passed on. He left a box of items that Jackie has went through to see if there are any clues for $40,000, Frank left.

It took me a while to get used to the book jumping from one time frame to another and also from one person to another person. But I am glad that I stuck with it, because it is a very well done book. There is also a lesbian relationship that Jackie is trying to work out for herself."

Connie Rutter, Resident Scholar

Review Analysis of Southland
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).
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 - 60%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10%




Tone of story - suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
How difficult to spot villain? - Difficult, but some clues given
Time/era of story: - 1930's-1950's
What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - 80%
Misc. Murder Plotlets - solving long-past murder - Proving innocence of very obvious suspect
Kind of investigator - amateur citizen investigator
Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Crime Thriller Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes

Main Character
Gender - Female
Profession/status: - student
Age: - 20's-30's
How much violence does he/she use? - a little
Ethnicity/Race - Japanese
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Intelligence - Average intelligence

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount
Motive of antagonist - power

Setting
United States Yes
The US: - California

Style
Person - mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths
Sex Yes
What kind of sex: - lesbians!
Amount of dialog - significantly more descript than dialog
Most similar books to Southland
The Red Right Hand by Joel Townsley Rogers
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Murder with Mirrors by Agatha Christie
A Murder Is Announced by Agatha Christie
Ordeal By Innocence by Agatha Christie


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