| Plot Summary of Cold Quarry |
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Signet, April 2003, 5.99, 304 pp.
ISBN 0451208439
In Nitro, West Virginia, Falconer Chester Carew is working his bird Elo when the falcon suddenly disappears. Chester is able to track him via a telemetry recoverer, but he walks into an ambush and is murdered, shot in the back. Attending the funeral is fellow falconers Frank Pavlicek and his former partner in the NYPD Jake Toronto. Chester's widow wants to hire Frank, who now works as a private investigator in Virginia, to find out who killed her husband.
The police tell her it was probably a drunken hunter but Mrs. Carew thinks the Stonewall Rangers, a local right wing militia group, had something to do with it. As soon as Frank starts asking questions and stirring the locals up, he is asked to “stand down” by the local police, the FBI and the ATF who have a sting operation in place that takes priority. Frank isn't one to back off and that is a good trait because he learns that the stingers are about to be stung.
The protagonist, Frank Pavlicek is a strong willed character who is so loyal to those he cares about that when Mr. Toronto is arrested, Frank does everything in his power to help him. The events that take place in this book are a reflection of the persistent atmosphere of the United States government following the events of September 11, 2001. Andy Straka not only knows how to weave current events into his story line, but also he creates an exciting thought provoking who-done-it.
Harriet Klausner
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Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Cold Quarry |
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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).
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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?
- Difficult, but some clues given
Time/era of story:
- present (2000-2010)
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?
- life in that culture
Crime Thriller
Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown)
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- private investigator
Age:
- 40's-50's
How much violence does he/she use?
- just the right amount
Ethnicity/Race
- White/American
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence
- Very much smarter than other characters
Physique
- very athletic
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a little/some
Motive of antagonist
- power
The antagonists are:
- cults
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
- very athletic
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
- significantly more dialog than descript
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