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| Plot Summary of Twice |
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"
St. Martin's, Apr 2004, 23.95, 304 pp.
ISBN: 0312314051
New York City Detective Halford “Ford” McKirdy feels déjà vu as he investigates the murder of Richard Stratton III. The obvious suspect is Julian Ross who slept through the decapitation and dismembering of her spouse though sharing the bed just like a decade ago when her first husband Tad Jansen was killed. Julian's mother Eleanor hires private eyes Jeffrey Marks and pregnant Lydia Strong to find out who killed her son-in-law, but hides some eerie similarities between mother and daughter from her sleuths.
While the twosome and peer Dax Chicago investigate, Jed McIntyre escapes from the asylum he went to for killing Lydia's mother to stalk his victim's daughter. Meanwhile the three detectives learn about the Ross family tree filled with generations of twins and similar deaths to that of Richard and Tad. Following the clues the threesome leaves the Manhattan subways for Haunted, New York where confrontations with the past and present will haunt everyone for the rest of their lives.
Though the tension starts at a high pace, unfortunately the suspense never fully retains that early feel of weird intrigue of THE DARKNESS GATHERS when Ford struggles with the impossibility of the physical evidence. The story line contains twin subplots that ultimately merge, but is strongest when the private sleuths investigate the murders.
Harriet Klausner
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Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar
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"The third in Miscione's series starring true crime novelist Lydia Strong and her lover, former FBI agent Jeffrey Mark, Twice opens with the gory death of an artist's husband. Unfortunately for Jordan, this is the second of her husbands to die in just such a way. Her mother hires Jeffrey and Lydia's company to look into the death, but the further they dig, the more questions they find. Death runs in Jordan's family, and a trip to her ancestral home only deepens the mystery.
Meanwhile, the man who murdered Lydia's mother and several other women has been released from the psychiatric institution where he has been held for all these years. From the letters he had sent her, Lydia knew he had not forgotten her, and she, Jeffrey, and their friend Dax Chicago are taking no chances. However, they mean to catch him before he can harm Lydia--or anyone else. Their search leads the three into a place many think of as only a myth--the city beneath New York City."
Sarrah, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Twice |
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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 - 40%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10%
Tone of story
- suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
How difficult to spot villain?
- Very difficult--no foreshadowing/clues
Time/era of story:
- present (2000-2010)
What % of story relates directly
to the mystery, not the subplot?
- 70%
Misc. Murder Plotlets
- Proving innocence of very obvious suspect
Kind of investigator
- husband/wife boy/girlfriend investigators
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Crime Thriller
Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown)
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Male
- Female
Profession/status:
- private investigator
- writer
Age:
- 20's-30's
Eccentric/Mental:
Yes
How much violence does he/she use?
- a little
- just the right amount
Ethnicity/Race
- White/American
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Strong but gentle sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
- Very much smarter than other characters
Physique
- very athletic
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 40's-50's
Profession/status:
- killer
- business executive
Eccentric:
Yes
- obsessed
- wild
- eccentric
- mentally ill
- emotionally unstable
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a moderate amount
Motive of antagonist
- jealousy
- kicks
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
- mean, arrogant
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- very athletic
- average physique
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- Northeast
City?
Yes
City:
- New York
Misc setting
- sewers/subways
Style
Part of a series?
Yes
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
- very gorey descriptions deaths/dead bodies
How many deaths?
- 1
- 5-7
Sex
Yes
What kind of sex:
- vague references
Unusual forms of death
- dropped from large heights
- hanging
- diced
- perforation--bullets
Unusual form of death?
Yes
Amount of dialog
- significantly more dialog than descript
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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