| Plot Summary of American Gothic |
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"Dr. G. Gordon Gregg is one of Chicago's foremost citizens, the owner of the Castle, a gothic-style mansion in the heart of 19th century suburban Chicago that doubles as a pharmacy and hotel.
But Dr. Gregg hides a dark secret, for inside its walls the Castle is a maze of secret rooms, hidden passages, torture chambers, dissection labs, gas chambers, and crematoriums. The operator of a lucrative sweetheart scam, Gregg makes tens of thousands of dollars wooing women, transferring their assets to himself, and making them "disappear," along with a few troublesome wives and former business partners.
Dr. Gregg is no longer working undetected, however, for a spunky newspaper reporter named Crystal is hot on his trail. Crystal is angry that Gregg is getting away with wholesale fraud and murder, and also that his machinations have cost her fiancé his job with the latest victim's insurance company.
Now, with the help of her editor Charlie Hogan and a local police detective, Crystal is going undercover inside the Castle to ferret out Gregg's secret. "
James Craver, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of American Gothic |
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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 - 20%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 30%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 20%
Tone of story
- suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
Time/era of story:
- 19th century
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Horror Story?
Yes
Horror plotlets
- the mad stabber chased me!
Main Character
Gender
- Female
Profession/status:
- journalist
Age:
- 20's-30's
How much violence does he/she use?
- a little
Ethnicity/Race
- White/American
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
Sense of humor
- Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 40's-50's
Profession/status:
- killer
Eccentric:
Yes
- eccentric
- mentally ill
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- throughout most of the book.
Motive of antagonist
- money/treasure
The antagonists are:
- evil doctors
How sensitive is this character?
- mean, arrogant
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Setting
City?
Yes
City:
- Chicago
Misc setting
- fancy mansion
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- moderately detailed references to deaths
How many deaths?
- 5-7
Sex
Yes
What kind of sex:
- vague references
- descript of kissing
Unusual forms of death
- asphyxiation
- poisoning
- perforation--swords/knives
Unusual form of death?
Yes
Amount of dialog
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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