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The Specialist
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Plot Summary of The Specialist
"

Five Star, Dec 2004, 25.95, 260 pp.
ISBN: 1594142610

On Vancouver Island, jewelry designer widow Kirsten Zelichovsky awaits the arrival of her flirty sister Emma Knelson. However, when Emma fails to appear, Kirsten turns to the police, who offer no satisfaction.

To get away from her worries, Kirsten joins some friends caving. When she finds a passage into one cave, her cronies dub it Kirsten's Cave. However, she is stunned when inside the cave she finds a ring that is the first major piece of jewelry she made; one that she gave to Emma. As she begins to dig into what happened to her sister, she meets two interesting individuals just arriving in British Columbia from Tasmania. Dr. Stafford is a Canadian doctor while Teague Kendall is a writer interested in police procedures involving missing tourists. However, as Kirsten gets closer to the truth, she wonders who to trust for one of these newcomers is the Specialist, a serial killer with an exotic taste for food.

Harriet Klausner
"

Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar



Review Analysis of The Specialist
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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)
Time/era of story: - present (2000-2010)
Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Crime Thriller Yes
General Crime (including known murderer) Yes
Who's the criminal enemy here? - finding a known killer
If story PRIMARILY about main chr. being hunted... - hunted by killer/stalker

Main Character
Gender - Female
Profession/status: - artist
Age: - 20's-30's
How much violence does he/she use? - none
Ethnicity/Race - White/American
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Very much smarter than other characters
Physique - very athletic

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 20's-30's
Profession/status: - doctor
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount
Motive of antagonist - money/treasure
How sensitive is this character? - hard edged
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - very athletic

Setting
The Americas (not US): Yes
The Americas: - Canada

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
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