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Cold Truth
Joel Goldman Book Review

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Plot Summary of Cold Truth
"

Pinnacle, Feb 2004, 6.99, 416 pp.
ISBN: 0786014490

In Kansas City, TV news reporters catch nationally syndicated popular psychiatrist Dr. Gina Davenport falling from her eighth floor office to her death. Her local radio station manager Arthur Hackett and his wife Carol hire lawyer Lou Mason to defend their troubled twenty-one year old daughter Jordan, who confesses that she pushed the doctor out the window.

Lou has doubts as some discrepancies exist in Jordan's account of the event and her actions leading to the murder. Instead he wonders whether former felon, the Svengali-like Centurion Johnson, head of Sanctuary, a place for troubled youth that includes Jordan who is living there, is influencing his client. If the answer is yes as he suspects he wonders how to prove this is so when Jordan seems uninterested in helping her own defense.

Though Lou's latest falling in love is fun, Abby Lieberman' “side confession” is a distracter from a solid legal thriller that never slows down until the final attempt on the hero's life. Lou is a delightful protagonist who tries to do the right thing by his client, but as usual ends up in deep trouble just trying to survive. The support cast, both those recurring and those unique to this plot, provide depth to either the investigation or Lou. Joel Goldman provides another fine tale.

Harriet Klausner
"

Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar



Review Analysis of Cold Truth
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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? - 70%
Kind of investigator - skilled citizen investigator
Kid or adult book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Legal Thriller Yes
Legal Plotlets - finding out whether someone is really guilty
Crime Thriller Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes

Main Character
Gender - Male
Profession/status: - a lawyer creature
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 - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - very athletic

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 40's-50's
Profession/status: - business executive
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount
Motive of antagonist - power
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: - Midwest

Style
Person - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
How many deaths? - 1
Amount of dialog - significantly more dialog than descript
Most similar books to Cold Truth
First Degree by David Rosenfelt
Fatal Flaw by William Lashner
Silent Witness by Rebecca Forster
Unlucky In Law by Perri O'Shaughnessy
Beyond Suspicion by James Grippando


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