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| Plot Summary of The Third Victim |
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"
Bantam, Jan 2001, 6.99, 384 pp.
ISBN: 0553578685
In Bakersville, Oregon, instead of himself, Sheriff Shep O'Grady surprisingly places Deputy Raine Connor in charge of the mass murder scene at the elementary school. The killer cleanly shot in the head information technology teacher Melissa Avalon. Two little girls were also killed but with multiple bullets. Much of the physical evidence is already damaged due to the chaos that occurred before Raine arrives on the scene, but more contamination follows. Raine arrests Danny on suspicion of murder. He confesses to the shootings. His father further contaminates the crime scene before Raine can get him to leave.
The State sends Homicide Detective Abe Sanders, a methodical cop, to take charge of the case. FBI Special Agent Pierce Quincy leaves his dying daughter to also join the investigation. Quincy tells Raine he has some doubts about Danny being the killer because of the precise way the teacher was murdered. As the trio works together, a town wonders why a good little boy would do such a bad thing. Overwhelming evidence points towards the lad but some items lead to a more professional murderer yet no clear suspect surfaces.
Though everyone struggles with the shock of school children murdering their peers in schoolhouses, this novel is a taut well-written thriller. The characters are well constructed so that readers can understand how they react to events during the murders and its aftermath. Still, this is a difficult topic to read a fictionalized account on true events such as what happened in Colombine. Still, as with the author's previous novels such as THE PERFECT HUSBAND and The Other Daughter, Lisa Gardner provides an exciting, non-stop thriller.
Harriet Klausner
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Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar
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"Being a policewoman in a small town just got harder for Lorraine Conner when her boss's son is accused of shooting two young girls and his teacher.
FBI profiler Pierce Quincy is sent to the crime scene and must deal with his feelings towards Officer Conner even though she is hiding a huge secret of her own. Accused of murdering her mother when she was 14 years old, she must confront her own feelings while trying to clear a 13 year old boy and keep him out of prison for life. As Quincy works to clear the boy and force Lorraine to relive her fear, his own daughter is in a coma.
Working against her and Quincy are the parents of the boy and his sister who witnessed the unspeakable acts. Police Officer Shep is determined his son will not go to prison no matter what he has to do or say. But the townspeople are certain the killer has been found and only want him punished, no matter what his age.
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Darlene Magdaluyo, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of The Third Victim |
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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 - 20%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 50%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30%
Tone of story
- suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
How difficult to spot villain?
- Challenging
Time/era of story:
- present (2000-2010)
What % of story relates directly
to the mystery, not the subplot?
- 70%
Murder of certain profession?
- students/teachers
Misc. Murder Plotlets
- Proving innocence of very obvious suspect
- Big focus on forensic evidence
Kind of investigator
- police procedural, American
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Any non-mystery subplot?
- feelings of fear/loss/inadequacy
Crime Thriller
Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown)
Yes
Is Romance a MAJOR (25%+) part of story?
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Female
Profession/status:
- police/lawman
Age:
- 20's-30's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
How much violence does he/she use?
- a little
- just the right amount
Ethnicity/Race
- White/American
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 40's-50's
Profession/status:
- killer
- scholar
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- an average amount
Motive of antagonist
- power
How sensitive is this character?
- mean, arrogant
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- Pacific NW
Small town?
Yes
Small town people:
- nice, like Andy/Opie/Aunt Bee
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- moderately detailed references to deaths
- very gorey descriptions deaths/dead bodies
How many deaths?
- 3-4
- 8 or more
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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