| Plot Summary of All the Flowers Are Dying |
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"
Morrow, Mar 2005, 24.95, 304 pp.
ISBN: 0060198311
Five years ago, someone raped and killed three little children. All the evidence pointed to Preston Applewhite, who though he denied the deed, was convicted and sentenced to execution by lethal injection. New York Dr. Bodinson visits Preston, pretending to believe the convict is innocent. Not long afterward, Preston is killed by the Commonwealth of Virginia.
In New York, Matthew Scudder, who retired from NYPD thirty years ago, has reduced his private investigative caseload to practically zero as social security, a city retirement pension, and Elaine's income from her shop seems adequate. However, he accepts Louise as a client and looks into the boyfriend David Thompson she met over an Internet dating service. As his simple inquiries tie back to the Applewhite case, he finds evidence of a serial killer who loves to kill when the moment is right. This killer targets the Scudders as his next victims, which means rape and murder is coming home to roost.
Scudder continues to age with each new book but this time grandpa feels old with his mortality confronting him as he attends several “last call” funerals of peers.
Harriet Klausner
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Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar
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"In Lawrence Block's 16th Matthew Scudder mystery, Matt is semi-retired. He agrees to follow his client's mysterious boyfriend to find out if he is what he says he is (i.e. not married, living alone, reasonably prosperous, etc.). This assignment alternates with a description in third person of a psychologist interested in whether a convicted killer can really believe he is innocent despite overwhelming evidence.
We soon discover that the psychologist is not all that he claims to be, and that he himself is a serial killer. His description appears to match that of Matt's client's mysterious boyfriend. When the killer strikes close to home, Matt and his wife, Elaine, take precautions to ensure that they are not the next victims.
While the ending is something of a surprise, you can't fault Lawrence Block for not giving you fair clues along the way, and indeed once the "mystery" is unravelled, the story becomes more of a suspense thriller than a whodunit - or who will be doing it next.
Over the course of the 16 novels, Matt has changed from a drunken cop, a divorced ex-cop, an alcoholic who regularly attends AA meetings, and finally the husband of his second wife, a former call girl. His growth is evident in all these novels, and he emerges with new lessons learned and an appreciation for the dwindling number of his friends who have survived into their 60s, as he has."
David Gordon, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of All the Flowers Are Dying |
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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 - 15%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 35%
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
- Moderately Challenging
Time/era of story:
- present (2000-2010)
What % of story relates directly
to the mystery, not the subplot?
- 50%
- 80%
Special suspect?
- chronically deranged person
Misc. Murder Plotlets
- character killed during/after sexing
- killer purposefully leaves puzzle clues
- Killer purposely leaves clues
Kind of investigator
- hard boiled/private eye
- skilled citizen investigator
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Any non-mystery subplot?
- rapes
- big city life
Crime Thriller
Yes
Crime plotlets:
- vigilante getting revenge
Murder Mystery (killer unknown)
Yes
General Crime (including known murderer)
Yes
If story PRIMARILY about main chr. being hunted...
- hunted by killer/stalker
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- private investigator
Age:
- 40's-50's
Eccentric/Mental:
Yes
Eccentric:
- obsessed
- mentally ill
- emotionally unstable
How much violence does he/she use?
- a little
- a significant amount
Ethnicity/Race
- White/American
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
- Very much smarter than other characters
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 20's-30's
Profession/status:
- killer
- criminal
Eccentric:
Yes
- mentally ill
- emotionally unstable
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a moderate amount
- a substantial amount
Motive of antagonist
- power
- insanity
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
- mean, arrogant
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- very athletic
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- Northeast
- Mid-Atlantic states
Style
Part of a series?
Yes
Person
- mostly 3rd
- rotating 1st
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
- very gorey descriptions deaths/dead bodies
How many deaths?
- 5-7
Sex
Yes
What kind of sex:
- touching of anatomy
- actual description of sex
- rape (yeech!)
Amount of dialog
- significantly more dialog than descript
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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