| Plot Summary of Time to Murder and Create |
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"Jacob “Spinner” Jablon, a small-time snitch and blackmailer brings Matt Scudder an envelope and a request: Open the envelope only if I should die unexpectedly. The envelope contains the evidence Jablon is using to blackmail three people. The envelope also contains $3,000 as Scudder's fee for finding the person who killed him.
Scudder, an ex cop and unofficial, unlicensed private investigator, decides to pretend he's continuing the blackmail as a way to force the murderer into the open. Scudder visits the three victims and indicates that he wants a big one-time payment, and he wants it immediately.
Henry Praeger was paying Jablon to keep quiet about a fatal accident his daughter was involved in several years back. She killed a small child while driving drunk and high on drugs. Praeger paid off officials to ensure that she was never prosecuted. Then Jablon showed up, and he was getting a regular monthly check to keep the whole thing quiet.
Beverly Ethridge is at the top of New York society, with a wealthy husband and fashionable friends. But in her younger days she was a prostitute and an actress in pornographic films. Jablon's envelope contains the pictures and documentation to prove it.
Ted Huysendahl had a penchant for young boys, and again Jablon has the photographs to prove it. He's extremely wealthy and plans to run for governor. He's paying Jablon well to keep his secret.
Matt lets each of these victims know that he is taking up where Jablon left off. Several nights after he has spoken to the three victims, he leaves his favorite bar, Armstrong's, and is nearly run down by a car that careens onto the sidewalk to hit him. He is only saved by the scream of a bag lady, giving him time to hit the ground and flatten himself against a building.
The next day, he visits Praeger, and while he waits in an outer office, Praeger shoots himself. Matt comforts himself with the thought that Praeger killed Jablon, tried to kill him, and thus deserved his fate.
When he calls on Ethridge, he discovers that part of Jablon's payment was in sex – and given Ethridge's looks and experience, that was great pay. But Scudder is not interested; he says wants cash and a lot of it.
Soon after, he is attacked by a thug with a knife. He outfights the thug and, using a judo throw, accidentally kills him. That seems to indicate that he pressured a man who was innocent of murder into committing suicide.
Matt must determine which of the two remaining suspects killed Jablon and tried to kill him twice. He's under some pressure to come up with an answer quickly, because the killer is likely to try again."
David Gordon, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Time to Murder and Create |
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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 - 30%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 30%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 20%
Tone of story
- Dry-cynical
How difficult to spot villain?
- Difficult, but some clues given
Time/era of story:
- 1960's-1970's
What % of story relates directly
to the mystery, not the subplot?
- 80%
Kind of investigator
- hard boiled/private eye
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Crime Thriller
Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown)
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- private investigator
Age:
- 20's-30's
How much violence does he/she use?
- a significant amount
Ethnicity/Race
- White/American
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 40's-50's
Profession/status:
- business executive
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a moderate amount
Motive of antagonist
- power
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Setting
City?
Yes
City:
- New York
Style
Part of a series?
Yes
Person
- mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death?
- moderately detailed references to deaths
How many deaths?
- 2
Unusual forms of death
- drowned
Unusual form of death?
Yes
Amount of dialog
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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