| Plot Summary of Ashes to Ashes |
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"A victims rights advocate gets involved in a serial crime case thru working with a suposed witness. "
Jenyfer Morgan, Resident Scholar
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"This is a story about an exFBI agent turned social worker/witness advocate who becomes entangled in a case with a serial killer. Plot twists abound, including the involvement of a billionaire and his missing daughter, Kate's former lover who happens to be the FBI's top profiler sent to find the killer and the witness who isn't talking! Great read! "
Lynnell Irving, Resident Scholar
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"The novel starts out with the death of two hookers, and in the eyes of the city, these murders are minuscule and non important. There was something special about these murders, the way they were tortured, the way they were burned that attached themselves to a third victim. Jillian Bondurant, the only daughter of Mr. Bondurant, a billionaire, was claimed dead by her own father. The body found in the park, decapitated, and burnt to a crisp, was unidentifiable. A man recommended by Bondurant's personal friend, and Jillian's physiologist was brought on board to figure out the culprit of these murders. Detective John Quinn of the FBI brought a lot of experience to the situation.
There was a witness. Angie DiMarco was caught running out of the park at the time of the crime. Taken under the police's witness program, she was given an advocate. Despite the former FBI agent Kate Conlan's hatred for children cases, she gave up fighting with her boss Rob, and took her in to be her friend. John Quinn and Kate Conlan had somewhat of a history as well. There was an affair between them. The two haven't seen each other in years, and despite what tore them apart to begin with, passion would come back into play.
Quinn's interrogation with Mr. Bondurant left him with a very uncomfortable feeling. Bondurant was defiantly hiding something, the question is what. Kovac, Quinn's local partner on the case, found something very interesting. Mr. Bondurant did not fight for the rights of her daughter during his divorce because of incest accusations and blackmail from his former business partner's ex- wife. For a large portion of her life, she lived in France with her mother, until she passed away, and her step father, whom Jillian had sexual relations with.
Angie disappears, and Kate fears that the “Cremator,” as the media had dubbed this villain, has taken her. On the same day, another one of her witnesses is found dead and burned with the same cuts as found in the earlier victims. Kate fears the only logical connection between the two is she.
Meanwhile, Mr. Bondurant is more unstable then ever and finally releases his guilt. During a press conference to address the situation of the case, Mr. Bondurant comes up on stage and screams “I killed her,” and points a gun to his temple. After a feeble attempt to calm him down by his lawyer, Edwyn Noble, who is the husband to the Mayor who is Kovac's boss, Bondurant fires, but only scrapes the side of his skull because of his shakiness. In private he reveals that Michele Finlow was blackmailing him to reveal some of the lyrics of Jillian's more “deep” songs. (Depicted or suggested father daughter intimacy on a more sexual level). Now, he also reveals that he did not kill her literally, but figuratively. When Bondurant was supposed to pay Finlow in exchange of the lyrics, she also had put Jillian's head in the duffel bag. As soon as he looks, Bondurant shot and fatally wounded her. At this point, Angie comes to Kate's house with her supervisor Rob. When Quinn and Kovac arrived at the scene where Michele was shot, the body was no longer there, only blood. Now the killer will complete his most anticipated and fantasized kill.
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, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Ashes to Ashes |
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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 - 50%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10%
Tone of story
- suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
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?
- 70%
Misc. Murder Plotlets
- character killed during/after sexing
- Big focus on forensic evidence
Kind of investigator
- police procedural, American
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Any non-mystery subplot?
- feelings towards lover
Crime Thriller
Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown)
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Female
Profession/status:
- a lawyer creature
Age:
- 20's-30's
How much violence does he/she use?
- just the right amount
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 20's-30's
Profession/status:
- a lawyer creature
Eccentric:
Yes
- obsessed
- mentally ill
- emotionally unstable
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a substantial amount
Motive of antagonist
- insanity
How sensitive is this character?
- mean, arrogant
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- Midwest
City?
Yes
City:
- New York
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- very gorey references to deaths/dead bodies and torture
How many deaths?
- 5-7
Sex
Yes
What kind of sex:
- vague references
- descript of kissing
- touching of anatomy
- actual description of sex
- descript. of breasts
- descript. of other female areas
- descript. of male nudity
Unusual forms of death
- asphyxiation
- flamed
Unusual form of death?
Yes
Amount of dialog
- mostly dialog
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