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The Big Dig
Linda Barnes Book Review

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Plot Summary of The Big Dig
"

St. Martin's, Oct 2002, 23.95, 288 pp.
ISBN 0312282702

Once is finished the highway system congestion in Boston and the surrounding areas should ease up considerably. Estimated at two billion dollars, the cost is now at fourteen billion with no end in sight. Private detective Carlotta Carlyle is hired to go undercover and look into allegations of fraud, but she comes up with nothing to show for her fee. In fact, she is fired from the last site for reasons that make little sense.

While working on the Dig Case, Carlotta is also pursuing a missing person's case. Wealthy socialite Dana Endicott wants Carlotta to find her missing friend and roommate who left one weekend to visit her parents and never returned. Nobody, including her parents, has seen or heard from her. While investigating both cases simultaneously Carlotta finds an unexpected link that send her and the FBI scrambling to prevent the slaughter of thousands of innocents.

Readers who like a hard-boiled urban noir private detective novel are going to love the BIG DIG. The plot is fast-paced, the story line is credible and the characters are totally realistic. Linda Barnes' latest installment in her long running series is her best one to date as there are a lot of twists and turns in this book. Readers will never lose interest, not even for a moment.

Harriet Klausner
"

Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar



Review Analysis of The Big Dig
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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 - 60%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10%




Tone of story - suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
How difficult to spot villain? - Very difficult--no foreshadowing/clues
Time/era of story: - present (2000-2010)
Spying/Terrorism Thriller Yes
Cloak & Dagger Plotlets: - stopping a saboteur/spy - preventing bomb/biohazard/disaster - kidnap/rescue
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
Any non-mystery subplot? - searching for missing person
Crime Thriller Yes
Who's the terrorist enemy here? - generic terrorists
Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes

Main Character
Gender - Female
Profession/status: - private investigator
Age: - 20's-30's
How much violence does he/she use? - a little
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: - an organization
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount
Motive of antagonist - revenge
How sensitive is this character? - mean, arrogant
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters

Setting
United States Yes
The US: - Northeast

Style
Person - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
How many deaths? - 3-4
Amount of dialog - significantly more dialog than descript
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Linda Barnes Resident Scholar Profiles

TOP SCHOLAR:
  
Kevin R. Tipple  

SCHOLARS:
Sarrah  


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