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Paint It Black
P.J. Parrish Book Review

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Plot Summary of Paint It Black
"

Kensington, Jan 2002, 6.99, 416 pp.
ISBN: 0786014199

    At twenty-six, his police days seem over so when his former boss in Mississippi Sam Dodie calls to offer him some private work, Louis Kincaid leaves his current home in Michigan for Sereno Bay in the Florida Gold Coast. Sam introduces Louis to attorney Scott Beldsoe who wants the former cop to investigate who killed Walter Tatum, the husband of his client. The local police believe Walter's wife Roberta and her missing brother Levon Baylis committed the murder that looks like a crime of passion.

    Louis immediately realizes that his black skin got him the job because the white lawyer needs someone to communicate with his difficult black client. A second similar murder of a black man, Anthony Quick, soon occurs. As Louis works closely with Police Chief Wainright, a deadly pattern of a nasty serial killer surfaces, one who must be stopped if the carnage is to end.

    PAINT IT BLACK is an exciting private sleuth tale that actually reads more like a police procedural because of Louis's background and his cooperative alliance with Wainright. The story line is fast-paced and loaded with non-stop action. Louis is an engaging lead character and the support cast augments the plot by allowing the audience to see the star in different relationships. PJ Parrish has crafted a tense serial killer thriller that sub-genre fans will appreciate and they will want to read Kincaid's previous novel DARK OF THE MOON.

Harriet Klausner
"

Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar

"Louis Kincaid is a ex law man turned PI and he is aked to come to Florrida to investigate a murder of a woman's husband. They are accused the wife of his murder and her brother. Then more murder turn up with the same MO and they have to let the wife go. The men that are killed are all black, fairly young and just happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. They finally tie them together when they figure out that they are all painted with black spray paint and dumped in the water; bays, canals etc. Louis is bi-racial and he is almost killed in the end but he gets the bad guy."
Betty Henning, Resident Scholar



Review Analysis of Paint It Black
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? - Very difficult--no foreshadowing/clues
Time/era of story: - 1980's-1999
What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - 70%
Special suspect? - lover
Kind of investigator - hard boiled/private eye
Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Any non-mystery subplot? - minority/women/homosexual issues
Crime Thriller Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes

Main Character
Gender - Male
Profession/status: - private investigator - police/lawman
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events? Yes
How much violence does he/she use? - a little - just the right amount
Ethnicity/Race - Black
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings - 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: - 20's-30's - 40's-50's
Profession/status: - police/lawman - mastermind
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount - a lot
Motive of antagonist - insanity - jealousy
The antagonists are: - racists/KKK
How sensitive is this character? - hard edged - mean, arrogant
Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Dumb - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - average physique

Setting
United States Yes
The US: - Southeast
Island? Yes
City? Yes
City: - Miami

Style
Person - mostly 3rd - rotating 1st
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment - moderately detailed references to deaths
How many deaths? - 3-4 - 5-7
Sex Yes
What kind of sex: - vague references
Unusual forms of death - perforation--swords/knives
Unusual form of death? Yes
Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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P.J. Parrish Resident Scholar Profiles

TOP SCHOLAR:
  
Betty Henning  

SCHOLARS:
Evert Borgia  Betty Koffman  


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