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| Plot Summary of The Dead Hour |
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"The characters in books by Denise Mina don't live in elegant travel poster locations nor do they live comfortable lives. As factories in Scotland close as a response to economic decline, men who formerly supported their families are out of work.
Paddy Meaghan is a young woman and the only person in her large family who has a job. She is painfully aware of her responsibilities to the rest of her family, particularly her mother who struggles to keep the household intact. Paddy has an assignment with a Glasgow newspaper on the night shift - cruising through darkened streets with a company driver at the wheel of a company car, monitoring the police radio and checking out late night and early morning situations for snippets to appear in next morning's edition.
A call to a late night domestic disturbance in a wealthy neighborhood gives Paddy a brief glimpse of an injured woman with blood streaming across her face. The well dressed man who has answered the door presses money into Paddy's hands and persuades her and the beat policemen to leave and let him handle things. As Paddy ponders keeping the money, she learns the next day that the woman has been found dead in the house and the man has disappeared.
Mina presents a skillful contrast between Paddy's struggle to gain a toehold in her career and to persevere as her family's sole source of support, and the wasted life of a beautiful young woman, the key to the events in the late night assault."
A R Pickett, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of The Dead Hour |
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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 - 10%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 30%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 50%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10%
How difficult to spot villain?
- Difficult, but some clues given
Time/era of story:
- 1980's-1999
What % of story relates directly
to the mystery, not the subplot?
- 50%
Kind of investigator
- amateur citizen investigator
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Any non-mystery subplot?
- feelings towards family/friends
Crime Thriller
Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown)
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Female
Profession/status:
- journalist
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
How much violence does he/she use?
- a little
Ethnicity/Race
- British
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 40's-50's
Profession/status:
- criminal
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a moderate amount
Motive of antagonist
- power
How sensitive is this character?
- mean, arrogant
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Setting
Europe
Yes
City?
Yes
Style
Part of a series?
Yes
Person
- mostly 3rd
How many deaths?
- 3-4
Amount of dialog
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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Click here for more information about this book
Denise Mina Resident Scholar Profiles
TOP SCHOLAR:
 A R Pickett
SCHOLARS:
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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