Bantam, August 2003, 23.95, 320 pp.
ISBN 055380135XZ
Famous and rich rock star Mim Bracca is notorious for getting drunk and blacking out and it becomes bad enough that her band sends her back home to Portland to dry out. Before she enters her new home, someone kidnaps her. They drive around for a few hours before he drops her back at her home. The police don't believe her because she is famous for her lies.
Her day gets much worse when her brother Mikel drops by to tell her their father, after serving fifteen years for killing their mother, is out and living with him. Just when she thinks life can't get any lower, pornographic pictures of her, which she didn't pose for appears on the net. While trying to solve that problem she walks in to her brother's place and finds him dead, a bullet in his head. When someone kidnaps her father for a $1,000,000 ransom, Mim stops getting defensive and works up the courage to track down the kidnapper before he can kill her and her father.
The protagonist is an alcoholic but she is able to stay away from the bottle long enough to come up with a plan to try to get her and her father out of trouble. She's gutsy, feisty, and vulnerable, a combination that endears her to the audience who will root for her in the hope that she can get her act together. A FISTFUL OF RAIN is a suspense thriller that is a dark and gritty as Greg Rucka pulls no punches with this one sitting novel.
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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 - 40% Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30% How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 20%
Tone of story
- suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
How difficult to spot villain?
- Very difficult--no foreshadowing/clues
Time/era of story:
- present (2000-2010)
What % of story relates directly
to the mystery, not the subplot?
- 60%
Murder of certain profession?
- "All in the family" murder
Misc. Murder Plotlets
- "All in the family" murder
Kind of investigator
- amateur citizen investigator
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Any non-mystery subplot?
- feelings of fear/loss/inadequacy
Crime Thriller
Yes
Crime plotlets:
- escape/rescue from kidnappers
Murder Mystery (killer unknown)
Yes
General Crime (including known murderer)
Yes
Who's the criminal enemy here?
- finding a known killer
If story PRIMARILY about main chr. being hunted...
- hunted by killer/stalker
Main Character
Gender
- Female
Profession/status:
- musician
Age:
- 20's-30's
How much violence does he/she use?
- a little
Ethnicity/Race
- White/American
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
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 40's-50's
Profession/status:
- police/lawman
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a little/some
Motive of antagonist
- money/treasure
How sensitive is this character?
- mean, arrogant
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- very athletic
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- Pacific NW
Style
Person
- mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
How many deaths?
- 1
Amount of dialog
- significantly more dialog than descript
