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| Plot Summary of Desperate Measures |
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"Matt Pittman is a journalist who is down on his luck. His son died of cancer, his wife left him, and he is too depressed to go on. He is on the verge of pulling the trigger to kill himself when his boss at the newspaper calls and asks him to do a favor. Since his boss was so helpful when his son was dying he decides he can do this one thing before he goes ahead and kills himself. His assignment is to write an obituary chronicling the life of Jonathan Wingate, a diplomat who is on death's door and expected to die at any minute. Pittman had tried to talk to him seven years ago when there were rumors of a government conspiracy to sell nuclear wapons overseas. Everywhere he turned was a roadblock. He goes to Wingate's house where he is on life support. He watches through the window and sees the man's fellow diplomats talking about him. Once they leave, he sees Wingate struggling to breathe. Without thinking he breaks in and resets the man's oxygen tubes back into place. Evidently the diplomats didn't want his life saved--but why?
Immediately Pittman finds himself pursued by men with guns as he runs away from the mansion. He is immediately investigated by cops who accuse him of killing Wingate, because his fingerprints were conveniently on the oxygen tube. But he tried to help, not hurt. It's no use. No one is listening. Pittman must find out on his own what is really going on so he can find out who was trying to kill him and why. Once he finds that out he'll know who really killed Wingate. He has to be careful though because everyone who helps him seems to end up dead too. He also meets up with nurse Jill, who treated Wingate in the hospital and has important information that helps. She joins forces with him and he finds a reason to go on living, after he has done the favor for his boss."
BethG, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Desperate Measures |
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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 - 30%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10%
Tone of story
- suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
Time/era of story:
- 1980's-1999
Spying/Terrorism Thriller
Yes
Cloak & Dagger Plotlets:
- investigating murder of politician(s)
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Who's the terrorist enemy here?
- evil subgroup in own govt
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- journalist
Age:
- 20's-30's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
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
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- an organization
Age:
- 60's-90's
Profession/status:
- diplomat
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- an average amount
Motive of antagonist
- power
The antagonists are:
- government bureaucracy
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- Northeast
City?
Yes
City:
- Dirty, dangerous (like New York)
Misc setting
- fancy mansion
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- moderately detailed references to deaths
How many deaths?
- 8 or more
Unusual forms of death
- asphyxiation
Unusual form of death?
Yes
Amount of dialog
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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David Morrell Resident Scholar Profiles
TOP SCHOLAR:
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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