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Massacre Island
Martin Hegwood Book Review

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Plot Summary of Massacre Island
"

St. Martin's, Oct 2001, 23.95, 288 pp.
ISBN: 0312280955

    All private investigator Jack Delmas wants to do is have fun with his daughter before she returns home to her mother and watch a football game. However, his brother the lawyer sends a potential client to Jack at his home in Bay St. Louis. Carolyn Caviss wants to know why someone killed her beloved daughter Rebecca and three other people in Dauphin Island off the Alabama coast. Jack wants to refuse the grieving woman stating that the police are still investigating the murders. He cannot reject her plea especially when he sees the media is painting the quartet as a focus of drug and orgy activities while the Sheriff does nothing except appear on TV.

    Jack travels to Dauphin Island and begins a careful inquiry so as to not run a foul of the local law enforcement investigation. However, with the help of Deputy Jimbo McInnis, Jack begins to uncover a twisted case that includes lunatic environmentalists, depraved wealthy individuals, and murderers who will kill a private sleuth getting to close to the truth.

    MASSACRE ISLAND is an engaging private investigative mystery that works because the key players make the plot work. The story line is deep as the case twists and turns with each step that appears to bring Jack closer to the truth yet ends up meandering further from why Rebecca died. Martin Hegwood provides an entertaining tale for those who enjoy a solid sleuthing story.

Harriet Klausner
"

Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar

Review Analysis of Massacre Island
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).
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
How difficult to spot villain? - Difficult, but some clues given
Time/era of story: - 1980's-1999
Spying/Terrorism Thriller Yes
What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - 60%
Kind of investigator - hard boiled/private eye
Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Crime Thriller Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes
General Crime (including known murderer) Yes
Who's the criminal enemy here? - finding a known killer

Main Character
Gender - Male
Profession/status: - private investigator
Age: - 40's-50's
How much violence does he/she use? - just the right amount
How sensitive is this character? - middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - average physique

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 40's-50's
Profession/status: - mastermind
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount
Motive of antagonist - power
How sensitive is this character? - mean, arrogant
Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence - Average intelligence
Physique - average physique

Setting
United States Yes
The US: - Deep South

Style
Person - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
How many deaths? - 3-4
Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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