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| Plot Summary of Slipping Into Darkness |
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"Twenty years ago, in 1983, Detective Francis X. Loughlin put away 17-year-old Julian Vega for the vicious murder of a young female doctor with a hammer. Vega has served out his sentence and has been recently released. But another young female doctor is murdered in Manhattan, and Loughlin can't help figuring Vega for the suspect.
But a DNA test of skin under the new victim's nails not only doesn't implicate Vega, but turns out to contain the genes of the girl killed 20 years before! Loughlin has to order the earlier victim exhumed and reexamined. Where was a mistake made? Could he have put the wrong person away the first time?
Along with the pressure on his record, Detective Loughlin has another secret he doesn't even want to share with his wife: he's going steadily blind. The story also views events, past and present, from the point of view of the suspect Vega as he tries to make his way in society, tries to remember the events of the crime for which he was convicted, and gets to know a pretty young cartoonist from Prishtina named Zana.
Blauner's 2006 novel, his sixth, is a compelling thriller that garnered high praise from Stephen King."
David Loftus, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Slipping Into Darkness |
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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 - 30%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 20%
Tone of story
- Dry-cynical
How difficult to spot villain?
- Challenging
Time/era of story:
- present (2000-2010)
What % of story relates directly
to the mystery, not the subplot?
- 60%
Misc. Murder Plotlets
- character killed during/after sexing
- "All in the family" murder
- solving long-past murder
Kind of investigator
- police procedural, American
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Any non-mystery subplot?
- physical disability/illness
Crime Thriller
Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown)
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- police/lawman
Age:
- 40's-50's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
How much violence does he/she use?
- a little
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:
- 20's-30's
Profession/status:
- accused criminal
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a lot
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- Northeast
City?
Yes
City:
- New York
Misc setting
- sewers/subways
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- moderately detailed references to deaths
How many deaths?
- 2
Unusual forms of death
- blunt clubbing (like seals)
Unusual form of death?
Yes
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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