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Beautiful Rage
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Plot Summary of Beautiful Rage
"

Five Star, Sep 2004, 25.95, 320 pp.
ISBN: 1410102010

In Snowden County, Virginia, forty-three year old Sheriff Lucia Dove works a missing teen case. Apparently, good girl Julie Boyer came home from school and vanished not long afterward. The only clues are her Internet romance with Floridian Lyle Taylor. Lucia works closely on the investigation with Lieutenant Jack Fincham assisting her. The two cops have the hots for one another, but hide it as he is unhappily married to an alcoholic in denial and has a child. Lucia had a child out of wedlock, but she died in an accident.

Jack's wife apparently commits suicide, but FBI Agent Mike McQuigg, Lucia's nasty ex-husband, thinks murder occurred. He legally searches Jack's home only to find a razor with DNA evidence linked to two other female teen homicides in the area. Lucia believes that Jack is being set up and wonders why Mike got involved in the case starting with the missing Julie. She begins her own inquiries not sure where it will take her, but when she gets there she is in for quite a shocker.

This solid police procedural contains an interesting lead protagonist who struggles with any wrong doing to children because of her daughter's death . The story line is fast-paced and the simmering desire between Jack and Lucia is hotter than the Arizona desert in summer. Though the identity of the serial killer will stun the audience who may think that it seems too way out, fans will appreciate this tense thriller.

Harriet Klausner

"

Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar



Review Analysis of Beautiful Rage
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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 - 40%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10%




Tone of story - very humorous
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%
Special suspect? - lover
Misc. Murder Plotlets - Proving innocence of very obvious suspect
Kind of investigator - police procedural, American
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 - Female
Profession/status: - police/lawman
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? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Very much smarter than other characters
Physique - very athletic

Main Adversary
Identity: - Male
Age: - 40's-50's
Profession/status: - mastermind
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - an average amount
Motive of antagonist - revenge
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

Setting
United States Yes
The US: - Southeast

Style
Person - mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
How many deaths? - 3-4
Amount of dialog - significantly more dialog than descript
Most similar books to Beautiful Rage
A Clean Kill by Leslie Glass
Endgame by Dee Davis
Fatal Embrace by Aris Whittier
I'm Watching You by Karen Rose
No Accident by Kathleen O'Connor


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Harriet Klausner  

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