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The Man Who Risked His Partner
Stephen R. Donaldson Book Review

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Plot Summary of The Man Who Risked His Partner
"

Forge, Nov 2003, 24.95, 272 pp.
ISBN: 0765302047

In Puerto del Sol in the southwest desert, private sleuth Mick “Brew” Axbrewder feels self loathing and guilt. During an alcoholic stupor, he killed his brother. Adding to his despondency, his detective partner and lover at that time Ginny Fistoulari blew off her hand with a grenade saving his butt from his latest blunder. Though a doubting Thomas about his abilities, Brew struggles with sobriety vowing in a personal covenant to take care of the depressed Gin, who has not mentally recovered from her trauma.

Gin and Brew are hired to protect First Puerta del Sol National Bank Chief Accountant Reg Haskell. He tells them he lost a lot of money gambling at the El Machismo and has been threatened if he fails to pay off his debt. Though they doubt Reg's claim, Brew serves as his personal bodyguard. However as the sleuths investigate his story they find other fabrications and conclude the entire tale is fiction. When several murder attempts occur, Brew and Gin struggle to put aside their personal problems to uncover the person wanting their mendacious client dead.

THE MAN WHO RISKED HIS PARTNER is the second tale of an expansion of novels written in the 1980s under the name Reed Stephens (see THE MAN WHO FOUGHT ALONE). The story line mixes a hardboiled detective story inside an angst relationship drama. Though Reg is a great support character with his changing explanations fun to follow, the tale suffers from an overabundance of negativity. While Gin behaves semi comatose barely living, Brew is the poster boy for guilty loser. Their angst overwhelms a solid private detective tale, depressing the reader.

Harriet Klausner

"

Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar



Review Analysis of The Man Who Risked His Partner
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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 - 20%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 50%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 20%




Tone of story - suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
Time/era of story: - present (2000-2010)
Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Crime Thriller Yes
Crime plotlets: - white collar fraud or theft
General Crime (including known murderer) Yes
Who's the criminal enemy here? - finding a known killer

Main Character
Gender - Male
Profession/status: - private investigator
How much violence does he/she use? - just the right amount
Ethnicity/Race - White/American
How sensitive is this character? - 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: - mastermind
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount
Motive of antagonist - money/treasure
How sensitive is this character? - hard edged
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - very athletic

Setting
United States Yes
The US: - California

Style
Person - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
How many deaths? - 0 (not a murder mystery)
Amount of dialog - significantly more dialog than descript
Most similar books to The Man Who Risked His Partner
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