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| Plot Summary of A Cold and Silent Dying |
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"
St Martin's, Dec 2004, 23.95, 272 pp.
ISBN 0312326653
With a change in administration Lincoln Prairie homicide detective Marti McAllister reports to Lieutenant Gail Nicholson. This situation neither woman likes because the lieutenant wants to be the only African-American in the department and Marti because she put too many years into being a police officer to deal with petty garbage. Lt. Nicholson is recording every move Marti makes waiting until she has enough evidence to fire her.
While Marti is coping with the Lieutenant, she and her partner are dealing with a case in which two homeless people were murdered in an abandoned house. A Desert Storm vet was in the house but they don't have enough evidence to arrest him. The lieutenant wants Marti and her partner to forget about trying to get more evidence on the vet because the public cares more about a man who served his country than two homeless people. The case is far from closed because more bodies turn up murdered in the same way the first two victims were. Marti doesn't know it but this perpetrator is known to her and poses a danger to her and those she cares about.
The animosity between the two cops feels realistic because Marti's boss is a woman who wants no competition and she knows that her subordinate could take the limelight away from her.
Harriet Klausner
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Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of A Cold and Silent Dying |
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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 - 40%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10%
Tone of story
- suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
How difficult to spot villain?
- Story partially from villain's perspective
Time/era of story:
- present (2000-2010)
What % of story relates directly
to the mystery, not the subplot?
- 60%
Murder of certain profession?
- bums
Kind of investigator
- police procedural, American
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Any non-mystery subplot?
- squabbling with fellow investigator(s)/police boss
Crime Thriller
Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown)
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Female
Profession/status:
- police/lawman
Age:
- 40's-50's
How much violence does he/she use?
- a little
Ethnicity/Race
- Black
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:
- killer
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
- 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?
- 3-4
Amount of 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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