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The Fugitive King
Sarah R. Shaber Book Review

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Plot Summary of The Fugitive King
"

St. Martin's Sep 2002, 22.95, 240 pp.
ISBN 0312-290462

Over forty years ago in the North Carolina Mountain town of Boone, Roy Freedman was courting his landlord's daughter Eva Porter. When he proposed to her, she refused saying her parents would disown her if she married a Mulingeon. Roy was arrested after the family found a lot of blood in the area where Eva was last seen.

Roy confessed to the murder and was sentenced to life in prison. He was in a minimum-security prison, had a lot of privileges and even worked in the governor's mansion. Roy risked everything he had by walking out of the mansion and holding Professor Simon Shaw at gunpoint. He tells the professor he was forced to confess and wants Simon to find out what really happened to his beloved Eva. Despite his doubts, Simon is drawn into the man's story and after Roy surrenders to the law, the professor decides to find out what really happened forty years ago.

THE FUGITIVE KING is a delightful amateur sleuth novel though why Roy chose the professor rather than a pro remains questionable. Still the engaging tale stars a lovable protagonist who is very much in touch with his feelings. His sensitivity is the reason he decides to help out a man who held him at gunpoint. The support cast consists of a bunch of amiable eccentrics, the kind of people who live in a rough and ready mountain town.

Harriet Klausner
"

Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar



Review Analysis of The Fugitive King
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

Composition of Book
descript. of violence and chases - 10%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 60%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10%




Tone of story - very upbeat
How difficult to spot villain? - Difficult, but some clues given
Time/era of story: - present (2000-2010)
What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - 60%
Misc. Murder Plotlets - Proving innocence of very obvious suspect
Kind of investigator - amateur citizen investigator
Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Any non-mystery subplot? - life in that culture
Crime Thriller Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes

Main Character
Gender - Male
Profession/status: - scholar
Age: - 20's-30's
How much violence does he/she use? - none
Ethnicity/Race - White/American
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - very athletic

Main Adversary
Identity: - none

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? - 2
Amount of dialog - significantly more dialog than descript
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