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| Plot Summary of The Bank of Fear |
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"In London England, Sam Hoffman is an financial investigator for hire, but don't call him a spy. That's what his alcoholic father did for the CIA and he wants no part of that lifestyle. One day Hoffman is approached by Ramon Pinta, a distraught Filipino claiming his wife was murdered by Nasir Hammoud. Pinta and his wife were employed by Hammoud, but Hoffman is skeptical of the story and doubts he can learn much about this man. After some cursory fact checking he learns Hammoud is a very interesting and enigmatic fellow and his company little-known multinational corporation Coyote Investments is even more mysterious. He is able to learn the name of a young woman named Lina Alwan employed at Coyote who may have some information helpful to him.
Hoffman's efforts towards getting Lina to cooperate with his investigation are refused, as she is clearly terrified of speaking out against her well-connected employer. Hoffman has been around long enough to know that when he receives a call from the Philippine Embassy that Mr. Pinta has quietly returned home and no longer wishes for his services, Pinta is dead and someone wants this investigation to go away. Lina has accidentally viewed a secret and sensitive personal file of Hammoud's. Meanwhile Hoffman's attentions toward her have got the top people at Coyote upset. Lina is now under suspicion and her bosses begin making veiled threats about her safety. But it is not until Hammoud tells Lina that her elderly Aunt still residing in Iraq has died suddenly that Lina gets angry enough to help Hoffman to take down Coyote Investments and it's head man.
When the Ruler of Iraq is toppled there is a power struggle. One of the top brass from Coyote is returned to Iraq, and believed dead as the search begins for rumored hidden wealth, some of which has been laundered through Coyote. Lina makes a desperate attempt to gain incriminating evidence against her boss but is detected by the bad guys who seem to always have the upper hand. Lina is roughed up by Iraqi security forces and barely manages to escape with the help of a friend named Helen from college. Helen is a computer whiz who guides Lina through the steps she must take to get to Switzerland and using the Internet, break into the banking computers to unmask the activities of Hammoud and Coyote Investments. What follows is a rapid paced adventure one step ahead of her boss and those now in power in Baghdad looking for what they claim is their money. With Hoffman's help she may just save her life and expose Hammoud's criminal activity before he can hurt anyone else."
David Fletcher, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of The Bank of Fear |
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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 - 30%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 20%
Tone of story
- suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
Time/era of story:
- 1980's-1999
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Crime Thriller
Yes
Crime plotlets:
- high tech/computer crime
General Crime (including known murderer)
Yes
Who's the criminal enemy here?
- evil corporation/rich guy
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- private investigator
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
- White/American
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 40's-50's
Profession/status:
- business executive
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- throughout most of the book.
Motive of antagonist
- money/treasure
How sensitive is this character?
- mean, arrogant
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- missing body parts/abilities
Setting
Europe
Yes
Asia/Pacific
Yes
City?
Yes
Misc setting
- resort/hotel
Style
Accounts of torture and death?
- very gorey references to deaths/dead bodies and torture
How many deaths?
- 8 or more
Sex
Yes
What kind of sex:
- descript of kissing
Unusual forms of death
- rough sex
Unusual form of death?
Yes
Amount of dialog
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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Click here for more information about this book
David Ignatius Resident Scholar Profiles
TOP SCHOLAR:
 David Fletcher
SCHOLARS:
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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