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| Plot Summary of Poverty Bay |
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"This is a series featuring Thomas Black, a private detective. He used to work for the Seattle police department. Initially he is hired to find a missing "kid" (about 20 years old) named Lance Tyner, who has recently inherited $15 million from his grandfather. The grandfather aced out his own son, Lance's father, and his other two grandchildren. The kid's father Martin is especially eager to find him because the kid was showing signs of sharing the money, even though he is not legally required to. Black finds the kid left on a beach on Poverty Bay, beat up and some money scattered around. Fortunately Black found him when he did, or else the kid would have been drowned in the tide.
No sooner does Black find him, when he goes missing again. He misses his appointment with the attorney and then misses an appointment with his fiancee Lucy who was going to go apply for a marriage license. Black traces him to his apartment where he finds him dead. How killed him? There seem to be no clues, except to try to track down Lance's friends and fiancee to see what they know. The fiancee is easy to find but can't really help. The two friends are another matter. Lance was an idealist who wanted to use his money to do charitable deeds. He did not accept help from his father. He lived basically as a homeless man for two years and these were his main associates. Black has to track them down through the hobo network, in the city's abandoned buildings and alley ways and culverts and railroad tracks. Did one of them know about his money and kill him for it? And who stood to inherit? The will is missing, but if the will were known, the beneficiary may have a powerful motive for murder. Black will figure it all out with the aid of his attorney friend Kathy Birchfield."
BethG, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Poverty Bay |
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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 - 40%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 30%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10%
Tone of story
- suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
How difficult to spot villain?
- Very difficult--no foreshadowing/clues
Time/era of story:
- 1980's-1999
What % of story relates directly
to the mystery, not the subplot?
- nearly 100%
Special suspect?
- best friend
Murder of certain profession?
- bums
Kind of investigator
- hard boiled/private eye
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Any non-mystery subplot?
- inheritance struggle
Crime Thriller
Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown)
Yes
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?
- just the right amount
Ethnicity/Race
- White/American
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 20's-30's
Profession/status:
- thief/con artist
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a moderate amount
Motive of antagonist
- money/treasure
How sensitive is this character?
- mean, arrogant
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- Pacific NW
City?
Yes
Style
Part of a series?
Yes
Person
- mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
How many deaths?
- 3-4
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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