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| Plot Summary of Bad Business |
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"
Robert B. Parkner
Putnam, March 2004, 22.95, 320 pp.
ISBN 0399151451
No case is ever easy for Boston private detective Spenser. Wealthy socialite Marlene Rowley hires Spenser to find evidence that her husband Trent, the CEO of Kinergy (an energy trading business), is cheating on her. He tails Trent and quickly learns he is having an affair with Ellen Eisen and that another sleuth is following Ellen, whose husband Bernard also works at Kinergy.
Spenser's case becomes ludicrous when he realizes that a third private detective is following Marlene. On only Spenser's second day of surveillance, Trent is murdered in his office during working hours and nobody saw a thing. Marlene wants Spenser to find out who made her a widow, which leads Spenser into a cesspool containing sexual predators, financial finagling and serial killers.
It has been three decades since Robert B. Parker write the first Spenser novel and the series is as fresh, innovative and appealing today as it was then. The sublime but well written story line is fun to follow as private sleuthing seems like a lucrative business at least in the Boston area. Told in the first person from Spenser's point of view, BAD BUSINESS is a work of humorous prose and fantastic characterizations.
Harriet Klausner
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Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar
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"Marlene Cowley wants to hire Spenser to investigate her husband, Trent Cowley. She is convinced he is cheating on her and wants proof that will humiliate and destroy him in open court. Spenser reluctantly agrees as he does not care for this type of cases and such proof isn't required in the courts of today.
Before long, Spenser discovers that his client has a tail of her own. Apparently Trent shares the same concerns and has hired another investigator to tail her. The two investigators as a matter of professional courtesy acknowledge each other's case but neither can explain why there soon appears to be yet another investigator involved. Spenser begins looking at that angle and before he can get very far, the deaths begin. The two investigators soon vanish and Spenser is left working a case that grows stranger by the day.
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Kevin R. Tipple, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Bad Business |
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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?
- Very difficult--no foreshadowing/clues
Time/era of story:
- present (2000-2010)
What % of story relates directly
to the mystery, not the subplot?
- 80%
Kind of investigator
- hard boiled/private eye
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Any non-mystery subplot?
- feelings towards lover
Crime Thriller
Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown)
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- private investigator
Age:
- 20's-30'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
- Average intelligence
Physique
- very athletic
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 20's-30's
- 40's-50's
Profession/status:
- killer
- business executive
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a little/some
- an average amount
Motive of antagonist
- money/treasure
The antagonists are:
- big business leader(s)
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
- average physique
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- Northeast
City?
Yes
City:
- Boston
Style
Part of a series?
Yes
Person
- mostly 1st
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
How many deaths?
- 2
- 3-4
Sex
Yes
What kind of sex:
- vague references
- descript of kissing
- touching of anatomy
A lot of techno jargon?
Yes
Kind of jargon?
- math
Amount of dialog
- mostly dialog
- significantly more dialog than descript
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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