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| Plot Summary of My Best Friend |
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"
Bantam, Jan 2002, 23.95,256 pp.
ISBN: 0385335792
Gerald was one of those people who seem to always have a black cloud following him around. His mother, Marjorie Haldane a famous but high-strung writer of children's books, ignored her son almost from the day he was born because he wasn't the perfect baby she wanted. When he was about twelve he found the dead body of his pregnant sixteen year old sister Vera in the woods near his home. The police questioned Gerald before deciding the perpetrator was her boyfriend. Later on the police questioned Gerald again because he was always showing up to see the schoolgirls play soccer. They never had enough evidence to formally charge him but he was always fearful of law enforcement from that experience.
Now in his middle age Gerald lives a quiet life and the only real social contact he has is with his landlady. His co-worker Jo thinks he's an odd duck. When her boyfriend Ron tells her that twice before the police questioned Gerald in regards to young girls, she becomes concerned because her daughter Melanie tells her that a man answering to Gerald's description has been following her around. When Melanie disappears, Ron, Jo and the police immediately focus their attention on Gerald who's also vanished. This leads to the police alerting an angry public to be on the lookout for him, not realizing that someone working behind the scenes is stirring the angry the crowd into a riotous mob.
This is a superb work of psychological suspense told from the view points of three people, Gerald, Jo and Gerald's Aunt Lillie. British author Laura Wilson imbues her novel with a Gothic feeling of foreboding so that the audience senses that something terrible is going to happen at any moment. MY BEST FRIEND is a book well worth reading.
Harriet Klausner
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Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar
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"My Best Friend is an absorbing story of the effects of family violence and secrets reaching from WWII England to tthe present day. The main character, Gerald, is the son of a much loved author of children's books, but his family life was far from the fantasy presented in the books. His older sister was murdered,his twin died at birth,and Gerald grew up to be a very lonely, sad person whose only pleasure is seeing Andrew Lloyd Weber musicals hundreds of times. The story is told in rotating first person by Gerald's aged aunt Tilly, Gerald himself and Jo, his co-worker. When Jo's daughter goes missing, Gerald becomes the prime suspect. Wilson's books are very reminiscent of those of Barbara Vine (Ruth Rendell) in their exploration of psychological suspense."
Linda Sourpuss, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of My Best Friend |
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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%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 80%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10%
Tone of story
- suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
How difficult to spot villain?
- Somewhat obvious
Time/era of story:
- present (2000-2010)
What % of story relates directly
to the mystery, not the subplot?
- 30%
Misc. Murder Plotlets
- "All in the family" murder
Kind of investigator
- british mystery (I say!)
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Any non-mystery subplot?
- feelings towards family/friends
Crime Thriller
Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown)
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- small businessman
Age:
- 60's-90's
Eccentric/Mental:
Yes
Eccentric:
- eccentric
How much violence does he/she use?
- none
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
- 40's-50's
Profession/status:
- small businessman
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a moderate amount
- an average amount
Motive of antagonist
- power
- insanity
How sensitive is this character?
- mean, arrogant
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Setting
Europe
Yes
European country:
- England/UK
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
- rotating 1st
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
How many deaths?
- 0 (not a murder mystery)
- 2
Amount of dialog
- mostly 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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