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Death Match
Lincoln Child Book Review

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Plot Summary of Death Match
"In his recent novel “Utopia” Author Lincoln Child envisioned a theme park that used state of the art computer technology to entertain the masses. Computer technology that was so sophisticated, it could and did kill under the noses of the operators. The same idea is behind the latest book, “Death Match.”

In this case, the sophisticated computer technology is at work in “Eden, Incorporated.” For a $25,000 application fee Eden, Incorporated will provide the ultimate in match making services. An incredibly secretive company led by the reclusive Richard Silver, nobody outside the company knows how it works, but it does as literally tens of thousands of people can attest from all walks of life and all races. In some cases, six to be exact, the system has found the ultimate perfect match where couples were 100 compatible in every single testing point.

Those 100 perfect matches are known at Eden as the “super couples.” One such super couple was Lewis and Lindsey Thorne. They were the first perfect match and like all the Eden clients were followed extensively after the match to make sure everything was fine. By all appearances and testing criteria everything was fine. That is until both were found dead in what appeared to be a double suicide leaving their infant baby daughter alone in the world. Dr. Christopher Lash, once a forensic psychologist with the FBI with an impressive track record, both positive and negative, is brought in to provide a quick impartial investigation to determine what went wrong and if Eden's extensive profiling and tracking systems failed.

His access is limited at first and Dr. Lash is unable to find anything. His frustration is compounded by his slow realization that this case is so similar to the events of three years ago that ultimately destroyed his family, his FBI career and nearly took his life. Unable to explain why the first couple died, he pushes for and is finally granted full access on the news that a second super couple has died, also victims of what appeared to be a double suicide.

As Lash delves deep into the hidden world of Eden, Inc., he discovers that everything is not nearly as perfect as they would have the public believe. While the technology is advanced, it is built on the mind of man and every person has flaws hidden deep below the surface. On the hunt for a killer, he is slow to realize that his past can be exploited by a killer who believes Lash is a target that must be stopped before the secrets are uncovered.

The characters are somewhat stereotypical and remind the reader heavily of those who populated “Utopia.” Again, there is the reclusive genius, the hard edged security chief who means well and has absolute loyalty to the reclusive genius, and the deeply troubled outside expert brought into research the problem.
"

Kevin R. Tipple, Resident Scholar



Review Analysis of Death Match
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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 - 50%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10%




Tone of story - suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
How difficult to spot villain? - Challenging
Time/era of story: - present (2000-2010)
What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - 60%
Any non-mystery subplot? - science
Crime Thriller Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes

Main Character
Gender - Male
Age: - 20's-30's
How much violence does he/she use? - a little
Ethnicity/Race - White/American
How sensitive is this character? - middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - average physique

Main Adversary
Identity: - an organization
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - an above average amount
Motive of antagonist - power
How sensitive is this character? - hard edged
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Genius

Setting
United States Yes
City? Yes
City: - New York

Style
Person - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths
How many deaths? - 3-4
A lot of techno jargon? Yes
Unusual forms of death - asphyxiation - poisoning
Unusual form of death? Yes
Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
Most similar books to Death Match
The Fractal Murders by Mark Cohen
Out of the Shadows by Kay Hooper
Catering to Nobody by Diane Mott Davidson
Bird's Eye View by J.F. Freedman
The White Road by John Connolly


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Lincoln Child Resident Scholar Profiles

TOP SCHOLAR:
  
Kevin R. Tipple  

SCHOLARS:


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