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| Plot Summary of Straight |
"Derek Franklin is a steeplechase jockey nearing the end of his career. He broke his left ankle in a fall from a horse during a steeplechase at Cheltenham a few days before and talked his doctor into putting him in a soft cast so his muscles would not atrophy. After returning from the doctors, he received a telephone call in which he was told that his brother Greville was in intensive care at St. Catherine's Hospital at Ipswich close to 2 hours away. Not being able to drive himself, he gets his neighbor Brad to drive him. His brother has been in a horrible accident in which scaffolding fell on him as he was walking down the sidewalk. Hours after Derek's arrival his brother passes away leaving Derek all his possessions: his house, his horses (Dozen Roses & Gemstones) and his business (Greville is a gem merchant).
Derek is in for a wild ride; not only must he learn his brother's business, he must acquaint himself with his brother's employees, Greville's girlfriend Clarissa, and a certain jeweler named Prospero Jenks. Then there is the case of the missing diamonds that his brother took a 1.5 million-dollar loan out to buy and his brother's ransacked office and house. Moreover, to make matters worse there is a racing scandal dealing with Greville's horse Dozen Roses, a trainer named Nicholas Loder and a drug kingpin named Rollway.
"
Amanda Campbell, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Straight |
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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 - 60% Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 10% How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10%
Tone of story
- depressing/sad
Time/era of story:
- 1980's-1999
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Crime Thriller
Yes
Crime plotlets:
- horse crime
General Crime (including known murderer)
Yes
Who's the criminal enemy here?
- drug dealers
If story PRIMARILY about main chr. being hunted...
- hunted by killer/stalker
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- jockey
Age:
- 20's-30's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
How much violence does he/she use?
- a little
Ethnicity/Race
- British
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Very much smarter than other characters
Physique
- very athletic
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 40's-50's
Profession/status:
- accused criminal
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a little/some
Motive of antagonist
- revenge
The antagonists are:
- Drug kingpins
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Dumb
Physique
- quite fatty
Setting
Europe
Yes
European country:
- England/UK
City?
Yes
City:
- London
Farm/Ranch?
Yes
Farm/Ranch:
- farm
Style
Person
- mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
How many deaths?
- 2
Sex
Yes
What kind of sex:
- vague references
Amount of dialog
- 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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