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| Plot Summary of Strange Affair |
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"
Morrow, Feb 2005, 24.95, 352 pp.
ISBN 0060544333
Chief Inspector Alan Banks of Eastvale, North Yorkshire is recuperating after he almost lost his life in a home fire set by Detective Annie Cabbot's psychopathic boyfriend. He lost everything in the fire and while on medical leave falls in a deep depression. When his brother Roy calls, leaving a message on the answering machine, he asks him for his help, saying his life might be in danger. When Banks can't get him on the phone, he travels to London but Roy is nowhere to be found.
In Eastvale, a woman is found dead in her car, a bullet in her head. In her pocket is the address of Alan's former home which is being rebuilt. Annie tries to find Banks but he didn't report to anyone where he was going. After fruitless searching, Roy's body is found in the river with a bullet in his head. Alan and Annie discover the murdered woman was Roy's girlfriend, a clear link between the two cases. Now they have to find out what Roy was afraid of and what he sent his girlfriend to tell Alan.
Harriet Klausner
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Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar
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"Strange Affair is another book in Peter Robinson's popular Inspector Banks series. Banks has lost his home to a fire. Coupled with his previous divorce and a failed romance, this event plunges Banks into a depression that isolates him from his freinds and co-workers. He is jolted into action by the disappearance of his only brother.
Following a series of clues that takes him to London, Banks uncovers evidence that his brother may have been involved in gun smuggling. His investigation takes him into the murky world of London crime. Banks finds himself and those around him placed in danger by his actions.
At the same time Inspector Annie Cabot's investigation of a roadside murder leads her to the same people being investigated by Banks. The two must work together while dealing with the awkward reality of being former lovers.
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doug mcqueen, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Strange Affair |
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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?
- Very difficult--no foreshadowing/clues
Time/era of story:
- present (2000-2010)
What % of story relates directly
to the mystery, not the subplot?
- 80%
Misc. Murder Plotlets
- "All in the family" murder
Kind of investigator
- police procedural, British
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Crime Thriller
Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown)
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- police/lawman
Age:
- 40's-50's
How much violence does he/she use?
- none
- a little
Ethnicity/Race
- British
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
- Very much smarter than other characters
Physique
- very athletic
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 20's-30's
- 40's-50's
Profession/status:
- business executive
- mastermind
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a moderate amount
Motive of antagonist
- revenge
- money/treasure
The antagonists are:
- foreign organized crime
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- very athletic
- average physique
Setting
Europe
Yes
European country:
- England/UK
Style
Part of a series?
Yes
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
- moderately detailed references to deaths
How many deaths?
- 2
Amount of dialog
- significantly more dialog than descript
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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