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The White Road
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Plot Summary of The White Road
"Private Investigator Charlie Parker is trying to settle down to a quiet life with his pregnant girlfriend Rachel, so the last thing he needs is a desperate call for help from his old friend Elliott Norton. Norton has taken on the job of defending a young black man accused of the rape and murder of a powerful and wealthy white industrialist in South Carolina. Can Charlie help to keep Norton's client alive long enough to stand trial? As he is reluctantly drawn into the case, keeping Norton's client alive turns out to be the least of Charlie Parker's troubles.
"

Stephen Coombs, Resident Scholar

Review Analysis of The White Road
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot

Composition of Book
descript. of violence and chases - 20%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 20%




Tone of story - suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
How difficult to spot villain? - Challenging
Time/era of story: - present (2000-2010)
What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - 60%
Special suspect? - best friend
Murder of certain profession? - "All in the family" murder
Misc. Murder Plotlets - character killed during/after sexing - local police w/ IQ of a houseplant - "All in the family" murder - Proving innocence of very obvious suspect
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
Age: - 20's-30's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events? Yes
How much violence does he/she use? - a significant amount
Ethnicity/Race - White/American
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - very athletic

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 60's-90's
Profession/status: - accused criminal
Eccentric: Yes - obsessed - deluded - eccentric
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a little/some
Motive of antagonist - power
The antagonists are: - rednecks
How sensitive is this character? - mean, arrogant
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - average physique

Setting
United States Yes
The US: - Northeast - Deep South
Small town? Yes
Small town people: - hostile, like Gomer Pyle on steroids
Misc setting - prison

Style
Part of a series? Yes
Person - mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death? - very gorey references to deaths/dead bodies and torture
How many deaths? - 8 or more
Sex Yes
What kind of sex: - vague references - rape (yeech!)
Unusual forms of death - hanging - frying (cooking) - rough sex - flamed - drowned - impaled - perforation--bullets - perforation--swords/knives - blunt clubbing (like seals)
Unusual form of death? Yes
Amount of dialog - significantly more descript than dialog
Most similar books to The White Road
Murder Can Ruin on Your Shower by Selma Eichler
Burning Moon by Richard Barre
Most Fortunate Son by Eric Luck
Fear of the Dark by Gar Anthony Haywood
Predator by Patricia Cornwell


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