| Plot Summary of A Ticket to the Boneyard |
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"Matthew Scudder, free-lance unlicensed investigator, is working for Reliable Investigations. He's recently off the booze and is attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings regularly. He's also divorced and off the police force, and he seeing Elaine, a high-price call girl who's sort of a girlfriend.
Years ago, James Lee Motley, a brutal rapist and murderer, tried to take Elaine over and become her pimp. Scudder, using somewhat unorthodox methods (to say the least) got him sentenced to 10 years in prison. Now he's out, and he's threatened to murder Scudder and all his women.
Elaine's friend, Connie, another prostitute Motley tried to beat into submission, is found dead – apparently a victim of a murder-suicide by her husband. A woman who did no more than have dinner with Scudder before the two of them were scheduled to speak at an AA meeting apparently jumps out of her window. Then a financial analyst named Elizabeth Scudder is brutally raped and murdered. Her only connection to Matthew is a coincidence of last names.
Matt finally gets a break – someone can lead him to Motley. It turns out to be a setup, and Motley nearly kills Scudder. He leaves him half-conscious on an empty lot, and warns him that he is only being left alive now because his women must all be killed before he is.
Matt intensifies the hunt. Despite his warnings, Elaine lets her guard down, and Motley gets into her apartment. Now her life and Scudder's depend on the success of his investigation.
"
David Gordon, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of A Ticket to the Boneyard |
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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 - 20%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 20%
Tone of story
- scarey (primal ax-wielding fear)
Time/era of story:
- 1980's-1999
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Crime Thriller
Yes
General Crime (including known murderer)
Yes
Who's the criminal enemy here?
- finding a known killer
If story PRIMARILY about main chr. being hunted...
- hunted by killer/stalker
Is Romance a MAJOR (25%+) part of story?
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- private investigator
Age:
- 40's-50's
How much violence does he/she use?
- a significant amount
Ethnicity/Race
- White/American
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
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 40's-50's
Profession/status:
- criminal
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a moderate amount
Motive of antagonist
- revenge
How sensitive is this character?
- mean, arrogant
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- very athletic
Setting
City?
Yes
City:
- New York
Style
Person
- mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death?
- very gorey descriptions deaths/dead bodies
How many deaths?
- 8 or more
Sex
Yes
What kind of sex:
- actual description of sex
- rape (yeech!)
Unusual forms of death
- dropped from large heights
Unusual form of death?
Yes
Amount of dialog
- significantly more dialog than descript
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