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| Plot Summary of High Water |
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"
Holt, Jun 2002, 24.00, 336 pp.
ISBN: 0805067566
After leaving the marines due to an exercise scandal leaving seven soldiers dead, former drill Sergeant Fielding Smallwood accompanied by his family relocates in Beaufort, South Carolina. Fielding almost immediately starts an affair with a local widow even as his wife Lena is dying. His adult children detest Fielding, who has treated his family like he did his units, but feels they are his failures. His son Hank returns home after doing the worst deed by going AWOL two years ago. His youngest daughter Claire is a loser divorcee with three children. His other son Ashby is an unacceptable gay. Finally, Fielding blames all his trouble on his fourth child Georgie.
They become even angrier with him when, without consulting his four adult children, Fielding has his spouse taken off life-support. As the children commiserate with one another, they all wish Fielding was dead. They got what they asked for as someone murders the former marine. Law enforcement believes that one or more of his chidlren committed the crime with Claire being the one arrested. This leaves it up to Georgie to uncover the truth because she cannot accept that brittle Claire had the iron to kill anyone.
HIGH WATER is more than just a fast-paced amateur sleuth mystery. The story line focuses on a dysfunctional southern family struggling with self-images and interrelationships, of which none of the siblings seem capable of maintaining. The story line is fast-paced as expected from a Lynn Hightower tale, but the plot clearly belongs to the Smallwood family, as the author strips their souls bare for the audience to understand them inside a strong mystery.
Harriet Klausner
"
Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of High Water |
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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 - 40%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10%
Tone of story
- suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
How difficult to spot villain?
- Difficult, but some clues given
Time/era of story:
- present (2000-2010)
What % of story relates directly
to the mystery, not the subplot?
- 60%
Misc. Murder Plotlets
- Proving innocence of very obvious suspect
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
- Female
Profession/status:
- champion of justice
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
Sense of humor
- Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence
- Very much smarter than other characters
Physique
- very athletic
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 20's-30's
Profession/status:
- mastermind
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a moderate amount
Motive of antagonist
- revenge
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- Southeast
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
How many deaths?
- 1
Amount of dialog
- significantly more dialog than descript
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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