|
|
| Plot Summary of Burning Bridges |
|---|
"
Kensington, Oct 2004, 6.99, 320 pp.
ISBN: 0758208240
In 1896, thanks to his exposé article on Tammany Hall corruption, Harper's magazine hires reporter Marshall Webb while the Lexow Committee tries to see that corrupt politicians and cops do time. Marshall wants to work on a different story and his boss is eager to oblige him. His topic of choice is to look at the upcoming referendum to decide whether Brooklyn and Staten Island should merge with Manhattan; supporters and opponents are volatile on the subject.
He attends the town meeting hosted at Brooklyn's Canarsie Hall where wealthy industrialist Joshua Thompson provides a rousing speech in support of the third largest city in America remaining independent. As Marshall interviews Joshua, shots are fired; Joshua is dead. Detective Buck Morehouse investigates the homicide; he teams up with Marshall using the reporter as bait to lure a killer.
Troy Soos has written a fantastic historical mystery starring a likeable hero. His girlfriend wealthy socialite Rebecca Davies, who runs a home for women in trouble, plays more of a secondary role this time as opposed to her prime actions in the previous novels. The most intriguing character is Detective Morehouse, who receives free gratuities that today would be considered corruption but is quite acceptable in the Gay Nineties of New York. This well written and thoroughly researched BURNING BRIDGES, besides containing a wonderful period piece who-done-it, also leaves the audience with the concept that crime, including corruption and graft is defined by society, which changes the definition periodically.
Harriet Klausner
"
Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar
|
|
| Review Analysis of Burning Bridges |
|---|
|
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).
|
|
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
- suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
How difficult to spot villain?
- Very difficult--no foreshadowing/clues
Time/era of story:
- 19th century
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
Any non-mystery subplot?
- big city life
Crime Thriller
Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown)
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Male
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?
- 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
- money/treasure
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- very athletic
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- Northeast
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
|
|
|
Click here for more information about this book
Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
Use our site!
17 FREE Sci-Fi Ebooks!
FREE "How to be happy" Ebook!
Funny Videos
Feedback
Most recent discussions:
General Book Talk
Book writing discussion
Off-topic message board
George W. Bush
10:31:12 PM
Robert Segarra
5:13:47 PM
Deric Longden
3:49:15 PM
Slavomir Rawicz
10:00:34 AM
Karen Armstrong
10:51:40 AM
Anonymous
1:39:52 PM
Suzanne Weyn
6:24:19 PM
Colin Forbes
12:23:54 PM
John Christopher
5:12:45 AM
Tom Clancy
2:19:45 AM
Margaret Peterson Haddix
5:36:55 PM
Nikolai Tolstoy
7:46:16 AM
J.K. Rowling
11:40:22 PM
Jack Higgins
4:54:08 PM
Eloise Jarvis McGraw
12:51:17 PM
Jane Rubino
1:21:00 PM
Lori Wick
2:11:45 AM
Betty Mahmoody
5:57:33 PM
Patricia Cornwell
2:48:17 PM
Andrew Clements
9:13:44 PM
Silicon Valley
More message boards
|
