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| Plot Summary of Spiked |
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"
Poisoned Pen, Jul 2003, 24.95, 318 pp.
ISBN: 1590580591
Lowell Daily Empire reporter Eddie Bourque strongly believes that his stop in this Massachusetts city is short term as his goal is Boston, New York, and DC. However, his ambition is slightly deterred when his beat partner Danny Nowlin is found dead in the Worthen Canal. Eddie refuses to accept the official position that an accident occurred because his peer was a junkie.
Eddie begins investigating the homicide, but soon runs into walls put up by the police who want the case closed. Worse yet his boss demands he drop the story or risk his job. Even the first generation immigrants he talks to refuse to cooperate, which is out of character. In spite of threats and pressure, Eddie obsesses over obtaining the truth, but when clues lead him to follow a Cambodian woman into the city's poorest neighborhood; thugs beat Eddie up and dump him into a canal. Eddie survives, but now the police, his newspaper, and an unknown assailant's hired gun want him silent, but Eddie still doesn't know why.
This investigative tale will grip the audience because of Eddie's bulldog determination to obtain the truth. The joy is watching the tenacious Eddie's attitude change. He goes from not making waves that interfere with his achieving his ambition of working for the Globe to an obsessive need at any cost to learn what happened to his partner and why seemingly everyone wants him silent. Though the town's apparent total reaction of silence seems stretched, distrusting neighborhoods have done likewise besides sometimes the paranoids are right as this fun who-done-it proves so.
Harriet Klausner
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Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Spiked |
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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 - 30%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 20%
Tone of story
- suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
How difficult to spot villain?
- Very difficult--no foreshadowing/clues
Time/era of story:
- present (2000-2010)
What % of story relates directly
to the mystery, not the subplot?
- 80%
Kind of investigator
- skilled citizen investigator
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:
- journalist
Age:
- 20's-30's
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
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 20's-30's
Profession/status:
- mastermind
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- an average amount
Motive of antagonist
- power
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- Northeast
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
How many deaths?
- 3-4
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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