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Stir of Echoes
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Plot Summary of Stir of Echoes
"

Tor, Jul 2004, 12.95, 223 pp.
ISBN: 0765308711

Returning to his home in Hawthorne from working at the North American Aircraft plant in Inglewood, Tom Wallace sees the car belonging to Philip, his brother-in-law, who is a psych major at Berkley. That night Tom, his pregnant wife Anne and Phil go next door to attend a party. Phil offers to hypnotize any volunteers, but no one steps forward so he informs “brother man” that he is the chosen victim. Phil successfully hypnotizes Tom.

That night while unable to sleep, Tom begins hearing voices of people he knows and impressions in his dead culminated with a ghost in his living room. Suddenly, Tom's middle class American dream lifestyle seems meaningless as the hypnosis has aroused psychic abilities that he never knew he had. He hears the intimate most confidential thoughts of those around him and learns secrets that shake his existence, but worse is the visits from the murder victim demanding he help her find her killer.

This is a reprint of a 1950s thriller (and a one degree Bacon movie) that combines an amateur sleuth subplot within a fast-paced paranormal story line containing a ghostly element and psychic abilities. Tom is a terrific protagonist as readers observe the contrast between his lifestyle and his new ESP abilities. The support cast adds depth to Tom's travails as he tries to solve a homicide and regain his former existence without “hearing” the thoughts of others.

Harriet Klausner
"

Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar



Review Analysis of Stir of Echoes
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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: - 1930's-1950's
What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - 70%
Misc. Murder Plotlets - solving long-past murder
Kind of investigator - psychic investigator
Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Crime Thriller Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes

Main Character
Gender - Male
Profession/status: - small businessman
Age: - 20's-30's
Has special powers? Yes
Magical/mental powers of main character: - mind reading - clairvoyant
How much violence does he/she use? - a little
Ethnicity/Race - White/American
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - very athletic

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 40's-50's
Profession/status: - business executive
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount
Motive of antagonist - revenge
How sensitive is this character? - hard edged
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - average physique

Setting
United States Yes
The US: - Northeast

Style
Person - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
How many deaths? - 1
Amount of dialog - significantly more dialog than descript
Most similar books to Stir of Echoes
Murder Is a Girl's Best Friend by Amanda Matetsky
The Black Piano by Constance Little and Gwenyth Little
Sunset and Sawdust by Joe R. Lansdale
It Had to Be You by Jill Churchill
Hunter's Dance by Kathleen Hills


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Harriet Klausner  

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