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The Red Right Hand
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Plot Summary of The Red Right Hand
"Dr Riddle is trying to remember and putting on paper in detail the events that have happened on the same day. He was coming back home from Connecticut to NYC when his car had a mechanical problem in the middle of the forest. He searched for help and happily found the house of Dr. Mac Comerou, a professor who was the author of the definitive book about the psychology of murderers. After a while, Riddle left the house and soon stopped when he saw a young girl walking on the road.

The young girl, Elinor Darries, tells him that her fiancé, Inis Saint-Erme, has just been kidnapped by a kind of bum who wore a blue hat and who stole the couple's car. Back at Mac Comerou's house, Dr Riddle is told by the police that the car of the kidnapper hit a man on the road and that several witnesses had seen the bum behind the steering wheel, laughing, while an unconscious Saint-Erme was seen at the car's window.

Soon, Saint-Erme's body, with the right hand missing, is found in the swamps and Mac Comerou coldly murdered. It appears that the murderer wants to kill anyone trying to discover his real identity. Meanwhile, all the clues found by the police lead to Dr Riddle who wants to pass the night analyzing the events of the day. He's also told that he is the murderer's next victim."

Daniel Staebler, Resident Scholar



Review Analysis of The Red Right Hand
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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 - 60%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 10%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 20%




Tone of story - scarey (primal ax-wielding fear)
How difficult to spot villain? - Difficult, but some clues given
Time/era of story: - 1930's-1950's
What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - nearly 100%
Misc. Murder Plotlets - Proving innocence of very obvious suspect
Kind of investigator - amateur citizen investigator
Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Crime Thriller Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes

Main Character
Gender - Male
Profession/status: - doctor
Age: - 20's-30's
How much violence does he/she use? - just the right amount
Ethnicity/Race - White/American
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - average physique

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 40's-50's
Profession/status: - killer
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - an above average amount
Motive of antagonist - money/treasure
How sensitive is this character? - mean, arrogant
Intelligence - Very much smarter than other characters
Physique - very athletic

Setting
United States Yes
The US: - Northeast
Forest? Yes

Style
Person - mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths
How many deaths? - 5-7
Unusual forms of death - perforation--swords/knives
Unusual form of death? Yes
Amount of dialog - significantly more descript than dialog
Most similar books to The Red Right Hand
Southland by Nina Revoyr
The Three Coffins by John Dickson Carr
A Murder Is Announced by Agatha Christie
Ordeal By Innocence by Agatha Christie
Too Dead To Swing by Hal Glatzer


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Joel Townsley Rogers Resident Scholar Profiles

TOP SCHOLAR:
  
Daniel Staebler  

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