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| Plot Summary of Too Beautiful to Die |
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"
Putnam, Jul 2003, 23.95, 304 pp.
ISBN: 039915048X
Three years may have passed, but African-American Blades Overstreet remains bitter over the incident that nearly cost him his life and ultimately did cost him his wife. During a bust, an undercover white cop “accidentally” shot police officer Blades, who felt it was a deliberate effort to eliminate a black cop. The brass told him to shut up so he quit and sued. The acrimonious aftertaste and avenging obsession over the subsequent two years led to his wife Anais leaving him to go to California.
Jimmy Lucas once saved Blades' life so he now asks a big favor of Blades. Jimmy wants Blades to help his "Precious" find her long lost father. Warning Jimmy that the debt is now paid, Blades begins making inquiries only he finds a murdered FBI agent during his investigation. Already detested by the NYPD brass and most of its rank and file for failing to live up to its blue color code, Blades finds federal and local law enforcement want to hang his black butt with the crime. He knows he needs to uncover with 200 proof evidence the identity of the real culprit or he will find himself behind bars.
Though containing a powerful condemnation of racism, this exciting urban noir is clearly for those in the audience who appreciate macho males bragging about sexual conquests in between acts of violence. So the question begs itself as to why this suburban female reviewer kept reading in spite of feeling like an outsider. Somehow Blades hooks the reader as an underdog David who the audience follows in hopes he wins the day against entrenched Goliath bureaucracies and regains his love. This work is clearly for specified sub-genre fans that will enjoy Blade's New York City joy ride.
Harriet Klausner
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Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar
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"Blades Overstreet, a black ex-NYPD cop obligates himself to a gorgeous soap star, appropriately named Precious, as a favor to Jimmy Lucas, the man who had saved his life. Precious wants to know the identity of her father and someone is willing to tell her who he is for $50,000, so Blades offers his protective services to assist her with this transaction. When they both find their contact, who unbeknownst to them is an ex-FBI agent, dead in his apartment, Blades realizes that this small favor has turned into one huge mess. And if things couldn't get worse for Blades, Precious is found dead in his apartment. How will Blades clear his name? Who killed Precious and why? Most importantly, who was Precious father?"
dee stewart, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Too Beautiful to Die |
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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 - 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?
- Difficult, but some clues given
Time/era of story:
- present (2000-2010)
What % of story relates directly
to the mystery, not the subplot?
- 60%
Special suspect?
- investigator him/herself
Kind of investigator
- skilled citizen investigator
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
- champion of justice
Age:
- 20's-30's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
How much violence does he/she use?
- just the right amount
- a significant amount
Ethnicity/Race
- Black
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Very much smarter than other characters
Physique
- very athletic
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 20's-30's
- 40's-50's
Profession/status:
- government investigator
- criminal
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a moderate amount
- an average amount
Motive of antagonist
- revenge
The antagonists are:
- Drug kingpins
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
- mean, arrogant
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- very athletic
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- Northeast
Style
Person
- mostly 1st
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- no torture/death
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
How many deaths?
- 2
- 3-4
Sex
Yes
What kind of sex:
- descript of kissing
- descript. of breasts
Amount of dialog
- significantly more dialog than descript
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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 dee stewart
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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